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New York Jets: Early 53-man roster, depth chart prediction 2018

By Michael Pallas

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 09: Sam Darnold
LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 09: Sam Darnold /
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KANSAS CITY, MO – SEPTEMBER 17: Kicker Cairo Santos #5 of the Kansas City Chiefs kicks a successful field goal from the hold of Dustin Colquitt #2 to give the Chiefs the first score during the first quarter of the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Arrowhead Stadium on September 17, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. ( Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO – SEPTEMBER 17: Kicker Cairo Santos #5 of the Kansas City Chiefs kicks a successful field goal from the hold of Dustin Colquitt #2 to give the Chiefs the first score during the first quarter of the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Arrowhead Stadium on September 17, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. ( Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images) /

Special Teams

Kicker: Cairo Santos
Punter: Lachlan Edwards
Long Snapper: Thomas Hennessy
KO Return: ArDarius Stewart, Trenton Cannon
Punt Return: Elijah McGuire, Trenton Cannon

In 2017, special teams wasn’t all that special for the Jets. Football Outsiders measures DVOA, on FG/XP, Punts, Kickoffs, and returns. The Jets were at or near the bottom of the NFL on kickoff and punt returns and in punting. Their -3.0 percent overall DVOA was 25th in the NFL.

2018 brings another training camp in which Lachlan Edwards has no competition to be the team’s punter. So, he’s the starter by default. He’s going to have to make huge strides to stay on the roster in 2019.

Where the Jets have to make even bigger strides is in the return game. They’re going to have to drastically improve on returns. They averaged 20.1 yards per kickoff return (23rd in the NFL), 4.5 yards per punt return (last), and were tied for eighth in fair catches with 22.

Next: NFL 2018: Ranking all 32 starting RBs

Special teams typically gets lost in the shuffle when you have a bad season like the Jets did in 2017. Football is a three-phase game, though, and when special teams is as bad as the Jets was in 2017, it will limit success. Drastic improvements are needed for this team to take the next step.

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