The New York Jets wrapped up their first three organizied team activites last week.
New York held practices from May 20th through May 22nd and it was a first look at many of the players on the team's roster in a practice format, including quarterback Justin Fields. Head coach Aaron Glenn praised the team for their commitment and attendance. There was 100 percent attendance for at least a portion of the first set of OTAs. That's impressive and somewhat surprising as they are not required for players to attend.
The Jets have gotten to work and SNY's Connor Hughes talked about Fields' performances through the first few practices.
"All eyes were on Justin Fields. Understandably," Hughes said. "Sure, he was in his underwear, as Glenn called it, but this was the first time to see the Jets' new quarterback doing football-like things on a football field. The downside: There isn't too much to talk about with him off Wednesday. He looked solid in the seven-on-seven portion of practice. There is undeniable zip on his passes. He had two highlights (one to Garrett Wilson, another to Allen Lazard) in the deeper middle portion of the field between a few defenders. Very pretty. The full-team period didn't go nearly as well. That's nothing against Fields. The Jets endured pretty consistent protection breakdowns. This Jets defensive scheme is much more active than Robert Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich's. The front five had some issues diagnosing and picking it up.
"The defense sacked Fields on six of his 10 drop backs. Fields completed three of the other four. Two were dump-offs to Jeremy Ruckert. One was a short pass to Wilson. The miss was a little alarming. The Jets blitzed. Offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand dialed up a perfect beater that had Josh Reynolds open on a corner route without safety help. It seemed a pretty easy pitch-and-catch for a would-be long gainer (potential touchdown). Fields missed him pretty bad. It should be noted the weather outside was pretty cruddy."
This sounds pretty positive for the first set of OTAs, especially in the horrible whether that has been hitting the northeast. There will be plenty of updates about Fields throughout the offseason and this is positive.