How the hell am I supposed to know who this is? - Jelani Woods

In an occasional feature, we briefly highlight any of the lesser-known players that make an unexpected impact during camp, preseason or the regular season.

Today, we focus on tight end Jelani Woods:

What he did:

Woods has been consistently producing and has seen more work than expected with the first unit. He's apparently impressed at least one key teammate:

His solid contributions continued yesterday when he caught a touchdown pass from Cade Klubnik to end practice:

Outlook:

Woods is probably fourth on the depth chart (and might even be fifth if Andrew Beck is to be considered part of the tight end group), but he seems to be earning opportunities on merit having spent most of last season inactive. Woods was a waiver claim right before the season but only played in four games last season.

Prior to that, he had a decent rookie season back in 2022 and then missed two straight seasons with injuries, so 2026 could be his first chance since his rookie season to prepare for and play in a full season. He impressed with his size and blocking at the end of last year, but is there room for him on the roster?

With Kenyon Sadiq injured and Mason Taylor having dropped some passes, Woods can present himself as a viable alternative to Jeremy Ruckert for key reps at the tight end position. Will the Jets carry all four (potentially along with Beck) during the regular season, though?

More on Woods:

Here's our in-depth scouting report on Woods.