New York Jets: Five players to be thankful for in 2017

Austin Seferian-Jenkins

What an unusual situation we have with this young man, wouldn’t you agree? Nine times out of ten, it’s the guy that started in New York that gets his career resurrected in a small town. In the case of Austin Seferian-Jenkins, it’s the exact opposite. He came up to New York from Tampa, Florida to start again, and it worked. It worked to the delight of the Jets and their fans.

Seferian-Jenkins got his start in 2014, coming out of the same class and going in the same draft round as our old friend Jace Amaro. ASJ flashed his talent in Tampa Bay but never got out of his own way. Between injuries and off the field problems it never got going. The last straw with the Buccaneers came after a DUI arrest and he was subsequently released. Despite the new scenery, Seferian-Jenkins did very little in 2016, catching only 10 passes for 110 yards. That was in part because Chan Gailey did very little with the tight end in his system.

Now he joins John Morton who is used to working with Jimmy Graham. Clearly that would be a big plus for the tight ends and ASJ has reaped the most of the benefits. He has already hit a career-high in receptions with 39, is 50 yards away from matching his career high in yards and one touchdown away from doing the same. Heading into 2017 he lost weight and got himself clean. In doing so Austin Seferian-Jenkins has reinvented himself as a football player.

Thank goodness it happened in a Jets uniform.