Continuing a busy run of collecting players' signatures on dotted lines, the Jets this morning signed second-round tight end Jace Amaro, the 6'5", 265-pounder from Texas Tech who set NCAA tight end receiving records last year.
Thus the San Antonio resident continues an excellent run for himself. An avid San Antonio Spurs fan, he opted not to attend the NFL draft but instead went to the Spurs' May 8 home NBA playoff game against Portland that the Spurs won, 114-97, en route to their five-game triumph over the Trail Blazers.
The next night Amaro found out he had been drafted by the Jets in Round 2 with the 49th overall pick, a development that he said made it "the greatest day of my life," in part because he sensed we would be the NFL team that selected him.
"On the visit I felt like I fit really well there," he told reporters that night. "I honestly thought I was going to get picked in the first round by them. It didn't happen and that was something that was disappointing because you go into the second round and you don't really know who's going to pick you. The place where I wanted to play at was in New York and to be a Jet, and I'm just glad it happened in the second round and it's something that I'm very fortunate for."
Head coach Rex Ryan felt just as fortunate.
"I think the combination of him and [Jeff] Cumberland gives you two big targets — believe me, those guys are hard to defend," he said. "There's no doubt about it, I like both of those tight ends. And then we have Sasquatch [Zach Sudfeld], too. We have some matchup issues for some people. We're really excited about it."
College scouting director Jeff Bauer said Amaro's mid-4.7-second 40 time is fast enough.
"For a big guy, that's moving very well," Bauer said. "You can tell in the tape he separates. He can get down the seam, he runs away from safeties. It's a number to us. We look at it, but it's what we see on the tape. His play speed is good."
Amaro is expected to show that speed and his hands and his new uniform number, 88, beginning today as the Jets hold their rookie minicamp at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center.
