The Jets wanted to improve their running game for the 2008 season and with that in mind they brought in 36-year old fullback Tony Richardson.  Richardson is a bit on the small side at 6′1″, 236 pounds but he is a solid blocker, a decent runner and a good receiver.  Richardson played in 14 games (3 starts) for the Vikings last season and he carried the ball 7 times for 13 yards (1.9 ypc).  He also caught 11 passes for 89 yards (8.1 avg) last season.  Richardson opened a lot of holes for the potent running game of the Vikings last season and the Jets hope he does the same for Jets’ running backs in 2008.  Richardson has now played in 186 games (106 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 407 times for 1,601 yards (3.9 ypc) with 15 TD carries.  He has also caught 201 passes for 1,498 yards (7.5 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  Richardson will do a good job for the Jets in 2008 and it was money well spent bringing him in. 

Converted linebacker A.J. Schable is currently the #2 fullback on the Jets’ depth chart.  Schable is a big guy at 6′3″, 281 so he should have no problem with the blocking part of the job.  He played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals last season and he made 10 tackles.  It will be interesting to see if he can handle the position switch.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B