New York Jets: Projecting the final 53-man roster for 2018

The New York Jets head into preseason Week 4 with most of their roster probably decided, with a few exceptions at the back-end. Who will make the final 53?

The New York Jets are playing the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday in the final installment of the 2018 preseason. With a few exceptions, the roster is probably mostly locked in the eyes of the organization.

Players will be playing for special teams and back end roster spots, but that’s it. We won’t see any starters in this week’s action.

The Jets are coming off a 5-11 season that saw quite a few close games, even one against the Patriots. So what will the roster look like as they try to improve from that record? Let’s take a look.

Active 53-man Roster

Quarterbacks (3)

Sam Darnold, Teddy Bridgewater, Josh McCown

This is the most stable quarterback room the Jets have had since the days of Chad Pennington. There’s no doubt as to what the pecking order should be, and McCown is basically a glorified quarterbacks coach, which is fine despite his salary. It’s time for the Jets to be thinking about their future, and they can with this quarterback room.

Running Backs (3)

Bilal Powell, Isaiah Crowell, Trenton Cannon

This is a solid group of running backs. They have the fire power to give Darnold — the presumptive starter — the help he needs. There isn’t a top-flight back in this group, a la Ezekiel Elliott, but that’s okay, because it’s about team running and being able to do multiple things rather than one guy carrying the load with this offense.

Wide Receivers (6)

Robby Anderson, Quincy Enunwa, Terrelle Pryor, Jermaine Kearse, Tre McBride, Andre Roberts

This group isn’t getting the love national. In fact, one pundit said he couldn’t even name a player in this group (although I believe that was just hyperbole for television). That said, this group — with Darnold starting at quarterback — could be among the best in the league, because they have wide receivers that can do it all from running routes to blocking.

Tight Ends (4)

Neal Sterling, Chris Herndon, Clive Walford, Eric Tomlinson

The Jets will choose not to keep any fullbacks. So, that means they will be using their tight ends in multiple ways. Expect to see a lot of 12 and 22 personnel sets for the Jets as they bring along Darnold, especially in the red zone.

Offensive Line (9)

Kelvin Beachum, James Carpenter, Spencer Long, Brian Winters, Brandon Shell, Brent Qvale, Dakota Dozier, Travis Swanson, Jonotthan Harrison

This is the weakest group on the Jets. Their starter are middle of the road in the NFL, but their depth has gotten exposed during the preseason. The Jets need a lot of luck on their side in terms of health this season.

Defensive Line (6)

Leonard Williams, Mike Pennel, Nathan Shepherd, Henry Anderson, Foley Fatukasi, Steve McLendon

This will be the strong suit of the Jets. Many people think the Jets edge rush is an issue (and it is), but the Jets would prefer to be able to get to the quarterback the way they did back in 2015, using their front three as their primary pass rusher and mix and match the linebackers in coverage and pass rush responsibility.

Linebackers (8)

Brandon Copeland, Avery Williamson, Darron Lee, Jordan Jenkins, Frankie Luvuu, Kevin Minter, Neville Hewitt, David Bass

For this group to be successful, the Jets are going to have to blitz a lot. They’re also going to have to mix and match coverage well. The Jets will have to find the right match to get the best out of this group.

Cornerbacks (6)

Morris Claiborne, Trumaine Johnson, Buster Skrine, Parry Nickerson, Darryl Roberts, Juston Burris

The combination of the three up front along with the cover corners will be the backbone of the defense. The scheme the Jets want to run relies on a lot of man coverage. This group specializes in that.

Safeties (4)

Jamal Adams, Marcus Maye, Doug Middleton, Terrence Brooks

Expect to see three on the field a lot. Bowles likes a lot of three safety looks, with one playing the slot. Also, Adams will play in the box. Adams and Maye will take the next step, and become one of the premier safety tandems in the league.

Specialists (3)

Jason Myers, Lachlan Edwards, Thomas Hennessey

This is the easiest group to forecast. Myers is up against a rookie who has been riding the roller coaster, and the other two are the only ones at their positions on the roster.

Non-Active Players

Reserved/Injured, Designated to Return (1)

Elijah McGuire

Depending on how long the Jets feel, McGuire won’t be active and, according to Pro Football Talk, McGuire won’t be ready for the season opener. If the Jets use this option, McGuire will remain inactive until at least Week 7, and can return no later than Week 9.

When he does return, the Jets will have options. They can send Trenton Cannon to the practice squad or cut Clive Walford. For the beginning part of the season, though, McGuire will not be on the active roster.

Reserved/Suspended (1)

Kevin Pierre-Louis

There are currently three members of the Jets roster that are facing suspension. ArDariuus Stewart and Rashard Robinson will not make it past the 53-man cut day and Pierre-Louis will. One of the linebackers will be cut after Pierre-Louis returns from his suspension, and that will likely be Kevin Minter.

Next. NFL Draft 2019: 10 Players you must watch. dark

Practice Squad (7)

Kacy Rodgers II, Dimitri Flowers, Alex Baducci, Dakota Sheppley , Jeremy Clark, Anthony Wint, Brandon Bryant

The practice squad is good for two reasons. A player can continue to hone his skills there, and maybe earn a 53-man roster spot at some point during the season, and football is a game of attrition. Injuries happen, opening a spot for one of these guys to move up to the main roster.

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