As the preseason games begin this weekend, as the New York Jets travel to the Midwest to face the Green Bay Packers at historic Lambeau Field, there have been discussions at Florham Park that the Jets are thin at Wide Receiver. As the depth chart was released by the team this week, some believe the Jets’ passing attack will be thin, with Garrett Wilson and Tight End Mason Taylor being the only two reliable receivers they have.
Arian Smith’s Breakthrough Training Method
Since the 2025 NFL Draft, the Jets took a chance on Georgia Wide Receiver Arian Smith. While he has the speed to get down the field and create space to be wide open, the issue has always been the dropped passes. Some have said his lack of concentration at times is an issue that makes him drop balls going down the sidelines.
However, he has been improving his play during camp, and the Jets’ coaching staff has utilized science to help address his dropping issues. He’s putting on strobe goggles to help his vision and concentration, improving his play by paying attention to the ball and nothing else. It will allow his vision to pick up the ball faster and make him a dangerous player.
He is well aware that there has been negative chatter about him, and he is using it to dedicate himself to performing better at training camp and become determined to be a better player. If all of these things do come together and Smith can become that dangerous Wide Receiver, that’s a positive for the Jets, and it does avoid a double team against Garrett Wilson.
Allen Lazard’s Commitment to Jets’ Culture
In his first two seasons with the Jets, it’s been a bit of a hit or miss with Allen Lazard. Sure, he’s had some great plays, making strong catches and scoring several touchdowns, a total of 60 receptions for 841 yards, but at the same time, he’s made some horrible drops that raised questions for many people. Why is he still here? Lazard met with Aaron Glenn before Camp began and said he wanted to be here.
“When Coach Glenn got hired, I met with him. I told him I wanted to be here. I came here to continue my legacy and be a part of something great and changing the culture. And even though the past two years haven’t gone that way, doesn’t mean that steered me away from my goals, which is to come here and be a big part of the change and turn of things here with the Jets. So I’m glad that we were able to figure things out, and I’m still here to be a part of this new regime and to be a part of something great.”
“I remember playing against Lazard when I was [the defensive backs coach] in New Orleans, and we played Green Bay quite a bit, and he made several plays against us,” Glenn said. “So that’s what I remember, and that’s what I saw. Listen, he’s a good player. He’s a big slot [6-5, 227], he can block, he’s able to catch balls in traffic and make plays, and you just don’t let guys like that walk out the building.
“And I know sometimes it happens. But if you can keep a guy like that, get him bought into what we’re trying to do, which he is. There’s value and the value of his leadership. In the years he’s been in league with some of the young guys that we have. We have a young team, especially in that room, you have young guys. So with him and JRey [Reynolds] there, man, it’s valuable to have those guys there.”
He is aware that he’s in a battle for the number two wide receiver position, and when they get to their first preseason game and a return to Lambeau Field for the former Packers receiver, it should be a nice homecoming for him. But with the amount of reps he will be getting, it will be interesting to see what he will do with Justin Fields under center.
Battle For Final WR Roster Spots
The bigger questions lie with the other names who are currently in camp. Second-year man Malachi Corely, third-year receiver Xavier Gipson, and free agents Tyler Johnson and eight-year veteran Josh Reynolds. These are the other receivers who will attempt to crack the 53-man roster. Gipson is known more for his special teams play as a kick returner.
Corley’s rookie season wasn’t what it was supposed to be, but he has a chance to erase last year and improve nicely under Glenn and his coaches out on the field. With the veterans Johnson and Reynolds, they hope to latch on and give this team some veteran talent to enhance this season. We will see what they can do, but until then, the hope is to have everyone healthy and no injuries at Lambeau Field this weekend.
Preseason Proving Ground at Lambeau Field
This will be the Jets’ first preseason game of the season. As Head Coach Aaron Glenn has stated, he will play his starters in week one. No one knows how long the starters will remain out on the field, but with this being the first preseason game, there is a feeling that it could be either a short time or an entire first quarter until the backups and the third stringers will play the rest of the game.
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