Aaron Glenn and the New York Jets may have to wait a bit longer before Omar Cooper Jr. and Kenyon Sadiq are both rolling together, but Cooper’s ankle injury could quietly create a bigger lane for the rookie tight end.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday that Cooper, the No. 30 pick in April, is week-to-week after spraining his ankle. The former Indiana standout already flashed before going down, hauling in a 30-yard catch in Sunday’s 23-10 win over Robert Saleh’s Titans.
Rapoport also said the Jets are hoping to get Cooper back within the next four weeks. If that timeline holds, his return would land around Week 5 at home against the Browns or Week 6 at New England. Even before the update, Cooper was not expected to play Sunday against the Packers.
That leaves Garrett Wilson and Adonai Mitchell as the obvious lead options in the passing game, with Isaiah Williams also in the mix. But Cooper’s absence could open the door a little wider for Sadiq, the No. 16 pick who already looks like he has made an impression on Glenn and offensive coordinator Frank Reich.
Sadiq did plenty with limited preparation after missing training camp and the preseason because of a hernia. In his regular-season debut, he finished with three catches for 21 yards and a 3-yard rushing touchdown, becoming only the second tight end in league history to score a rushing touchdown in his NFL debut. The only other name on that list is Hall of Famer Ozzie Newsome.
The Jets clearly trust Sadiq’s versatility. He and Mason Taylor each saw three targets against the Titans, trailing only Wilson’s seven. That kind of usage says plenty about how New York views the former Oregon tight end, especially after he made up for lost summer reps by making an immediate impact.
“Every time he’s been on the field, whether it was in practice or even in the game, he’s a guy who’s going to make an impact,” Geno Smith said of Saqid. “He’s a professional, he understands what to do … he showed up in a big way.”
That doesn’t mean Sadiq is about to turn into Isaiah Likely or Travis Kelce overnight. Wilson and Mitchell have been Smith’s preferred targets for months, and Taylor also built on what he showed during the offseason. And there’s no need to overreact to the Miami product’s -2 yards on two catches last week, especially since one of those receptions still went for six yards.
Still, if Reich really wants Smith distributing the ball all over the field, Week 1 offered a strong glimpse. Smith hit eight different receivers in the win, including Arian Smith and Braelon Allen, while several former Jets who followed Saleh to Tennessee watched him carve up the defense.
Sunday’s matchup could give the tight ends more room again. Green Bay gave up 115 receiving yards to Vikings tight ends Tucker Kraft and Jonnu Smith last weekend, a number that makes it easy to understand why Sadiq and Taylor could be worth watching heading into the afternoon.
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