Head coach Robert Saleh's first Jets team will have captains — five of them.
The offensive captains will be two Green & White newcomers, one of them a veteran in WR Corey Davis and one a rookie in QB Zach Wilson. On the defensive side, LB C.J. Mosley and DL Folorunso Fatukasi will wear the C patches on their jersey. For the special teams, Justin Hardee gets the nod. The quintet was voted on by the team and Saleh said today that every week the Jets will have one captaincy nomination from the coaching staff.
Mosley was named Jets defensive captain in the 2019 preseason, before he got hurt in the opener against Buffalo. Later in the season, Fatukasi stepped in as a captain, alongside his fellow defensive lineman whom he looked up to in Steve McLendon.
And Wilson being the only first-year player voted in as a captain by his teammates caught Saleh's eye.
"I was like, 'Oh, look at that,' " he said of Wilson. "I think it's more of a testament to him and the way he's been able to conduct himself here. You go to the cafeteria and he's hanging out with his O-linemen, he's got an infectious personality, so credit to him the way he's handled himself so far."
And asked specifically about Davis' captaincy, Saleh said:
"From a coach's standpoint, when you draw up a player, you can't draw it up better for him with his mindset, the way he prepares every day, the way he goes about his business, the way he talks to his teammates, the way he takes care of himself. Then you go on the field, he's on his job, every single detail. He's deliberate in everything that he does. And then, on top of it, he's pretty damn good at what he does, too. He's been everything we expected as a free agent pickup, because they don't always work out that way, and knock on wood, he's been awesome."
