The pads don't come on until Monday at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center, but Friday's practice was feisty.
The Jets focused on red-zone work and ended their session with a four-play red-zone sequence that culminated in the offense celebrating. Corey Davis' sliding catch from Zach Wilson gave the offense the win.
"It was 2-2 so we gave it a 2-point play at the end," HC Robert Saleh said. "That's kind of the situation you saw. Any time you can get into a competitive nature, they love it and coaches love it. You always want that purpose. It gets heated especially when it goes the fourth day in a row. You get sick of seeing each other. It's going to get heated, it's going to get competitive, which is fine."
Two plays earlier, Wilson tried to float a pass to TE Tyler Conklin in the back of the end zone with Del'Shawn Phillips in coverage. S Jordan Whitehead read the play well and picked it off. Wilson responded, finding rookie WR Garrett Wilson in the back of the end zone with fellow rookie Sauce Gardner in coverage. Davis then couldn't corral what would have been the game-winning catch before securing the victory on the next play.
"His hands are super strong attacking the ball," CB Michael Carter II said. "Crisp routes and he has sneaky speed. He'll definitely get up on you for sure. I feel like he's definitely hungry this season to prove whoever has been talking and whatever people have been saying about him wrong. You can definitely tell when a guy is hungry out here and he's definitely hungry. He's taking every rep 100% serious and it's good for us on the back end because we get better and he's getting better, too."
Rotation at CB
Cornerbacks Bryce Hall and Sauce Gardner have been alternating days taking first-team reps across from D.J. Reed. Hall, on the first throw in the first team period, nearly intercepted Wilson's pass for Davis in Friday's practice and Gardner, the No. 4 pick in April's draft, broke up a pass intended for Denzel Mims. While Gardner has acclimated quickly, Saleh said that the next step is to see how he holds up in the run game once the pads come on.
"First game against Baltimore they're not going to be shy looking for a corner and contact," he said. "There's a lot of things that are different than the college game. … This is a lot more condensed towards offenses seek corners in the run game. There's a lot of things we have to see before we declare anything."
See the Green & White on the field during Day 3 of Jets Training Camp.
Jetcetera
WR Rashard Davis showed off his wheels on an end-around that he took for a score. … Quinnen and Quincy Williams had sacks on back-to-back plays. … UDFA RB Zonovan Knight had two long catch-and-runs. … Fellow UDFA WR Irvin Charles was on the receiving end of a long pass from Mike White. … Eddy Piñeiro and Greg Zuerlein each made 3 of 4 field-goal attempts. … Rookie TE Jeremy Ruckertis "getting closer" to returning to practice. … HC Robert Saleh said thatMekhi Becton had his best practice. … New LB Kwon Alexanderwill not participate in team periods the next two days. Saleh, who coached him at San Francisco in 2019-20, described him as a "ball of energy" and "a special young man." Both LT George Fant and WR-KR Braxton Berrios continue to participate in individual drills but have been held of team action. They both are expected back next week.
