Jets second-round tight end Mason Taylor has a shot to make a quick impact in his rookie year due to New York's pass-catching depth.
Through two weeks of camp, he's looked capable of capitalizing, even catching the eye of the team's best wide receiver.
"He's a dog," Garrett Wilson said of Taylor, via the team's website. "It's consistent work. Consistent work is the best way I can put it. He's got great hands. He trusts his hands, and he finds a way to be open when he needs to be. Then the ball finds him and he makes the play. You know, for a position like that, he's as good as I've seen in just making the play, finishing the play and being open. That's a position where if you can do that for a long time, you are going to make a lot of money. So, I think he's got a bright future ahead of him, and he's really going to help us this year because he's a great player. He came in ready."
Taylor, who had 129 receptions for 1,308 yards and six touchdowns across three seasons at LSU, is part of a tight end room comprised of Jeremy Ruckert, Stone Smartt, Zack Kuntz and Neal Johnson.
Kuntz and Johnson haven't logged a catch in their careers, while fourth-year pros Smartt and Ruckert have combined for 66 receptions, 644 yards and one score.
Behind Wilson at wide receiver, New York is counting on Allen Lazard, free-agent additions Josh Reynolds and Tyler Johnson, 2024 third-rounder Malachi Corley and 2025 fourth-rounder Arian Smith.
There's potential at both positions, but no one, save Wilson, is an established difference-maker, leaving the path clear for Taylor to emerge early as the type of contributor the Jets envisioned when drafting him.
"I see growth and development out of Mason," offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand said. "He's on the path to becoming what we expected and hoped he could be. And he's done a really nice job this camp in the pass game and in the run game as well. So, again, daily improvement by him, and we're excited to see where that continues to go."
By all accounts, Taylor has hit the ground running in practice and passed the eye test, something that can be expected from the son of a Pro Football Hall of Famer like Jason Taylor.
The next step will be putting it all together in a game atmosphere, such as when the Jets and Packers meet for their first preseason contest on Aug. 9.
