From beginning his NFL career as an undrafted free agent in 2022 to being signed to the Jets active roster in 2023, special team's gunner Irvin Charles has emerged an ace for the Green & White this season.
Charles spent most of the 2023 season playing behind Pro Bowler and special teams captain Justin Hardee after Charles was signed to the Jets' active roster in October. Hardee, who was a free agent in the offseason (signing with Tennessee), played 79% of the Jets' special teams snaps last season.
"I think Irv's got as much talent as anybody in the league and I think he can be a dominate player in this league," special teams coordinator Brant Boyer said during training camp in August. "Irv can be a dominate guy for us and he's going to be a heavily relied on guy for us this year."
Reliable is exactly what Charles has been on special teams this season. He has a blocked punt and has a Pro Football Focus grade of 89.9 through 13 games .
"Before you get to what you want to do, there's this stuff that you have to do," Charles said about his success this season. "There's a preparation standpoint. There's an aspect of getting everybody else ready and getting your team ready. Being able to check all the boxes and still being able to go out there and execute on flying around, confident and free. I'm in a good spot right now because I have good people, I have a good coach, I have good teammates who trust me and put me in position."
"I really want to give credit to Boyer. He just gives me the freedom to make those plays and to take those chances. We go over the film, we go over our opponents, we do the self-scouts, we check up on everything. Between him and T-Mo [punter Thomas Morstead], they give me a lot of respect. With that respect, I feel like it's my right to do something with it. They say, 'Everybody just do their job. Nobody has to be Ssuperman,' but I can't. I want to have that kick. I like to affect the game anyway I can. [Boyer] puts me in great positions to do that all the time and whenever I get that opportunity, I have to pay it forward."
Following the Jets bye in Week 12, interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich highlighted special teams as an area he wanted to improve on.
"I just felt like we lost a little bit of that edge," Charles said. "We lost a little bit of that aggressiveness that we had last year and at the beginning of the season. When we did that self-scout, it really was just that the silent tape is everything. If you're not popping off the silent tape, not making loud plays, not being consistently aggressive and doing things that you've normally been doing to get to this point, it really hits you differently. We really sat down, we self-scouted, we talked about things and we really dove into where we felt like things went left."
Charles put himself on the map this season in the Jets' Week 2 matchup against the Tennessee Titans when he blocked a punt in the third quarter. His performance that game earned him a special team grade of 91.3 according to Pro Football Focus, the highest of his career.
After the self-scout over their bye week, the unit approached their Week 14 matchup against the Seahawks with renewed aggression and energy. In the game, the Jets had a kick return touchdown, two fumble recoveries and a blocked extra point.
On the Seahawks' first punt, when Charles was triple-teamed, he covered 46 yards and made a solo tackle on the play.
"Getting back to the basics," Charles said about his approach last week. "Just being aggressive, being violent and just having confidence in every guy that they're going to do their job. Once the return's on we're going to do our job, everything just comes together so peacefully. When we give [Boyer] the confidence to call the type of plays that he calls up for us and to be able to execute it like that, it's good. It gives us a certain confidence that whatever he calls and whatever they're lined up in, we can get it done."
The Jets final five-game stretch this season will begin on Sunday against the Dolphins (5-7) at Hard Rock Stadium. Charles and the rest of the players on special teams are primed to face their AFC East rival.
"I just want to keep being an impact player," Charles said. "Keep making plays, keep showing up, keep being a spark. I like hearing my name get called. I like just doing what I can, whether that's blocking a kick, setting up blocks, getting tackles, whatever it may be for this week, I'll get it done."
