Zach Wilson needs Jets’ tight ends to be better moving forward

Tight end was never a strength for the Jets heading into 2021. Even before New York traded Chris Herndon, the group didn’t look strong.

After Week 1’s loss to the Panthers, they look even worse.

Not only did the duo of Tyler Kroft and Ryan Griffin fail to positively affect the passing game, but they were also horrible blockers as well. Zach Wilson targeted Kroft and Griffin 11 times combined against Carolina, but they only finished with six receptions for 48 yards. The yardage isn’t terribly concerning considering Kroft’s average depth of target was just 3.2 yards and Griffin’s was only 4.0 yards, but failing to haul in almost half of the targets tanked a few drives for the Jets.

Now, not all of those incomplete passes were the tight ends’ fault. A lot of the mistakes made in the passing game were the direct result of the Jets’ poor offensive line. Wilson went to his tight ends frequently when he was forced out of the pocket with pass-rushers in his face. Those throws were rarely pristine, which led to a lot of the miscues.

Kroft and Griffin were never meant to be important pass-catching pieces of this offense, though. The Jets added several receivers over the offseason so that their tight ends could focus on blocking more. However, Kroft and Griffin were not reliable in that role, either.

Griffin’s 16.5 pass-block Pro Football Focus grade ranked second-worst among qualified tight ends in Week 1, while Kroft’s 24.0 grade finished third-worst. Griffin’s run-block grade wasn’t much better at 43.1, which ranked second-worst.

If the Jets’ offensive line continues to play poorly, they’ll need support from the tight ends. It’s why the Jets used 12 personnel – one running back, two tight ends and two receivers – on 40 percent of their snaps, according to Sharp Football Stats. That ranked third in the league in Week 1 behind the Falcons and Patriots. But New York only had a 42 percent success rate out of that package, partly due to the inefficient play of Kroft and Griffin.

This may not be the norm for the Jets’ offense moving forward. New York lost Jamison Crowder and Keelan Cole for a week and both figured to play prominent roles in the offense. Their absence forced the Jets to feature Braxton Berrios and rookie Elijah Moore instead. Berrios played well and tied Corey Davis in targets and receptions, but he’s also the Jets’ fourth-string receiver.

Crowder and Cole should return this week, which changes the dynamic of the playcalling and personnel packages. New York lined up in 11 personnel – one running back, three receivers and one tight end – on 50 percent of their offensive snaps, which is below the league average of 57 percent and ranked 21st in the league. Wilson should have a better time passing with more competent catchers at his disposal in Week 2.

The Jets never meant to rely on the tight ends as pass-catchers. It’s likely why they were fine trading Herndon before the season. But New York needs its tight ends to block. That they didn’t in Week 1 is more concerning than their receiving ability because of how necessary good protection is in the wide-zone offensive scheme.

Week 1 could be an anomaly considering how often Kroft and Griffin ran routes, but it’s still not encouraging to see how much they negatively affected the Jets’ offense in the season opener.

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