The New York Jets finally addressed a lacking tight end group in the NFL Draft with Jordan Leggett, but what does he bring to the table?
Is rookie Jordan Leggett finally the panacea to the tight end woes of the New York Jets? He needs to be because New York can’t continue to go on with putrid production at the position for much longer.
The Jets selected the Clemson product in the fifth round (150th overall) in this year’s draft and it’s a step in the right direction for New York. No team has had worse tight end production the last two seasons than the Jets. Over the last two years, they’ve had a grand total of 26 receptions from their tight ends — in 32 games. Those numbers are downright embarrassing.
Something had to be done and the Jets feel they have selected a fine prospect in the 6-5, 258 pounder. Leggett had 46 receptions for 736 yards and seven touchdowns for the Tigers during their National Championship season in 2016 and seemed to raise his performance in the biggest games. In Clemson’s 35-31 triumph over Alabama in this year’s title game, Leggett led all Tiger receivers with 95 receiving yards on seven receptions. He stepped up big in a huge spot.
Let’s take a look at some of Leggett’s career highlights at Clemson:
The first thing that grabs your eye when you watch tape of Leggett is how effective he is in the red zone. A big man with excellent hands, Leggett runs the slant route very effectively and will be an excellent target inside the 20. New Jets offensive coordinator John Morton came from New Orleans, a team that featured tight ends in their passing attack. Expect Morton to formulate a plan for Leggett, not only in the red zone, but also via seam routes down the middle of the field.
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The Navarre, FL native had just two dropped passes in his last two seasons at Clemson so he is a reliable target that can turn a short pass play into a long-gainer with his burst and acceleration in the open field. Leggett has a strong YAC (yards after catch) pedigree and is powerful and athletic enough to break tackles for extra yards.
Leggett is also productive on screen passes. He’s able to evade tacklers rather well in those situations and has deceptive speed once he catches the football. A first-team All-SEC selection last season, Leggett averaged 14.3 yards per reception in his four years at Clemson and many of those yards came after securing the ball.
There are several areas that Leggett needs to improve on going forward though. His run-blocking is below average and that has to get better because the Jets want to be a ball-control team with their shaky quarterback depth chart. His route running is not crisp.
Leggett is also known for having a motor that he turns on and off like a light switch. The tight end seems to rise to the occasion for the big games — which is great — but then he has all but disappeared in other contests. Leggett needs to be more consistent with his level of passion, urgency and desire in every game, not just select ones. He won’t survive in the brutal world of the NFL otherwise.
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Coming in as a rookie, Leggett is far from a finished product and he needs to work on a variety of aspects of his game to fulfill his immense potential. However, for a fifth-round selection, general manager Mike Maccagnan made a fine choice here because Leggett should provide the Jets with their best tight end prospect since Dustin Keller was drafted by New York with the 30th overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.