No matter what the future holds for Jets tight end Tyler Conklin in his NFL journey, he will forever hold the distinction of catching the 500th regular-season TD pass from storied quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
But asked about his highlight of the 2024 season, other than the scoring catch against Miami in the season finale, Conklin, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent in March, went to another division rival.
"I think the touchdown I caught against the Patriots is pretty cool," Conklin said, referring to the 2-yard pass in the first quarter in Week 8 on Oct. 27. "You know, Aaron threw a rope in there and a little seam, and I caught it with one hand and took a big shot to end it. I think that was a pretty cool play. Pretty good one-hand grab that finished off with me taking a pretty good hit."
In his third season with the Green & White after playing four years in Minnesota, Conklin, 29, caught the most TD passes (4) of his NFL career. Overall in the 2024 season, he played in 16 games, was targeted 72 times, had 51 receptions for 449 yards (8.8 per catch) and converted on 24 first downs. He also took 805 snaps (80%) on offense.
Conklin has ticked all the boxes when it came to being an all-around tight end -- a guy who made the difficult catches (over the middle or elsewhere), and blocked well in the run and pass game.
"I pride myself on being an all-round tight end," he said. "I feel like I bring some things to the table that not a lot of guys bring to the table when it comes to being able to play all three downs. And I do feel like there's some meat on the bone and some things I could have done better.
"I feel like everybody leaves the season kind of thinking that. And I think some of that is just the way things kind of went as a team sometimes. I don't think anybody had the individual seasons that they, you know, were hoping for or wishing for, or knew they could do. Just the way things played out as a team. So I think I played some good ball, and I think I put some good things on tape, but I definitely think I got some better football than me."
He turned reflective when he talked about his time at 1 Jets Drive.
"It's been a roller coaster of emotions in my three years here in general," he said. Whether it's been outside expectation, the way things have gone, the camaraderie and the brotherhood that we do have in this locker room. And I think it is different from any other place or any other year in my career.
"I think that the big thing is just being grateful and trying to be where my feet are, and just enjoying the moment. Trying to be as present as possible and not take it for granted. And you can get so caught up in things that didn't go well, or things you wish you could have done better, And sometimes you just gotta sit there and be you're going on your eighth year in the NFL. It's a blessing. So I'm just grateful."
