25-year old Dustin Keller is a TE on the rise.  He played in 16 games (12 starts) last season for the Jets and he caught 45 passes for 522 yards (11.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Keller has now played in 32 games (18 starts) in his two years with the Jets and he has caught 93 passes for 1,057 yards (11.4 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Keller really seems to get along well with Mark Sanchez and a good TE is a young QBs best friend.  Look for Keller to have his best year yet in 2010 for the Jets.

30-year old Ben Hartsock is the Jets’ blocking TE.  He played in 16 games (7 starts) for the Jets last season in which he caught 1 pass for 2 yards (2.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Hartsock has now played in 72 games (33 starts) in his six years in the NFL and he has caught 28 passes for 275 yards (9.8 avg) with 1 TD grab. 

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE JETS TEs in 2010:  B

38-year old Tony Richardson and rookie 5th round pick John Conner will hold down the fullback job in 2010.  Richardson is really an outstanding blocker and when the Jets throw him a bone and give him the ball he does something with it.  Richardson played in 16 games (10 starts) for the Jets last season and he carried the ball 7 times for 48 yards (6.9 ypc).  He also caught 3 passes for 10 yards (3.3 avg) last season.  Richardson has now played in 218 games (123 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 424 times for 1,714 yards (4.0 ypc) with 15 TD runs.  He has also caught 205 passes for 1,512 yards (7.4 avg) with 9 TD grabs in his career.  Richardson is one of the better fullbacks around and I look for him to have another good season in 2010.  John Conner will get to learn from one of the best fullbacks in the game eventually replacing him down the road.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE JETS FBs in 2010:  A

Gone is Thomas Jones and in his place in 2010 will be future Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson.  Make no mistake though, 2nd year RB Shonn Greene is going to do the heavy lifting in the Jets’ running game.  Greene played in 14 games (0 starts) as a rookie for the Jets last season in which he carried the ball 108 times for 540 yards (5.0 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He’s not much of a receiver though as he didn’t catch any passes during the regular season.  He stepped up his game in the playoffs as the Jets rode his battering ram type running style all the way to the AFC Championship Game.

30-year old LaDainian Tomlinson might not have a lot of tread left on his tires but the Jets aren’t going to run him into the ground either in a attempt to keep him fresh and productive.  L.T. played in 14 games (all starts) for the Chargers last season in which he carried the ball 223 times for 730 yards (3.3 ypc) with 12 TD runs.  He also caught 20 passes for 154 yards (7.7 avg) last season.  Tomlinson, unlike Greene, is a good receiver which should get him on the field a lot on third downs.  Tomlinson has now played 9 years in the NFL in which he has appeared in 141 games (all starts).  In those games, L.T. has carried the ball 2,880 times for 12,490 yards (4.3 ypc) with 138 TD carries and he has also caught 530 passes for 3,955 yards (7.5 avg) with 15 TD grabs. 

The Jets drafted Joe McKnight out of USC to replace Leon Washington who was traded to the Seahawks during the NFL Draft.  McKnight will be a good change of pace for the Jets when he’s on the field as he is much faster than Greene or Tomlinson.  He should turn into a nice weapon for the Jets in 2010 and beyond.

25-year old Chauncey Washington will have a hard time making the team unless he excels on special teams.  Washington played in 2 games for the Cowboys last season but he didn’t touch the football.  He has played in 8 games (0 starts) in his two years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 4 times for 9 yards (2.3 ypc).  Washington has also caught 1 pass for 9 yards in his NFL career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE JETS RBs in 2010:  B

23-year old Mark Sanchez didn’t play especially well during the regular season but he stepped up in the playoffs.  The Jets hope that Sanchez builds on his playoff success during the regular season in 2010.  He played in 15 games for the Jets last season and he completed 196 of 364 passes (53.8%) for 2,444 yards with 12 TD passes and 20 INTs (63.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 36 times for 106 yards (2.9 ypc) with 3 TD runs last year.  The Jets will likely take off the shackles and let Sanchez throw the ball more in 2010 as he has more than enough arm to make all of the throws needed.  They also hope that he learned to slide in the off-season so that he doesn’t get drilled too often like he did last year which caused him to miss a game.  The Jets were 8-7 (53.3%) when Sanchez started last season and they expect to improve on that record in 2010.

The Jets tried to trade 26-year old Kellen Clemens during the off-season but they found no takers.  That means that Clemens will return at Mark Sanchez’ backup in 2010.  Clemens played in 10 games for the Jets last season in which he completed 13 of 26 passes (50%) for 125 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (63.8 QB Rating).  Clemens also carried the ball 12 times for 1 yard (0.1 ypc) but most of those where kneel downs to run out the clock at the end of Jets’ wins.  Clemens has now played in 24 games in his four years with the Jets and he has completed 146 of 282 passes (51.8%) for 1,680 yards with 5 TD passes and 11 INTs (59.7 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 44 times for 119 yards (2.7 ypc) with 1 TD run in his NFL career.  The Jets are 4-5 (44.4%) in games started by Kellen Clemens and they would likely go super conservative if he were forced into action in 2010.

23-year old Erik Ainge has yet to appear in a game for the Jets in his career and he will have to battle 24-year old Kevin O’Connell for the #3 job during training camp.  O’Connell played in 2 games in 2008 for the Patriots in which he completed 4 of 6 passes (66.7%) for 23 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (73.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 3 times for -6 yards (-2.0 ypc) that season (they were kneel downs at the end of wins). 

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE JETS’ QBs in 2010:  B-

The Jets will likely run the ball a lot more often than they have in recent seasons to protect whichever young QB they decide to go with in 2009.  Jets fans want rookie Mark Sanchez to be thrown into the fire right from Day #1.  But, he will have to beat out Kellen Clemens to get the nod in September.  Remember, Sanchez only started 1 season at USC….but he was great last year for them.  He can make all of the throws needed to succeed in the NFL.  It will be interesting to see how he handles the speed of the game.  Kellen Clemens had a chance to beat out Chad Pennington a couple of seasons ago and it didn’t go too well.  While he does have good physical skills he often throws the ball where he shouldn’t resulting in turnovers.  Still he will be given a chance to compete with Sanchez for the starting job in 2009.  Erik Ainge is clearly the #3 QB on the Jets.  He was suspended last season by the NFL for taking a banned substance so he’s in the Dog House with the Jets already.  But, he was a decent QB in college so maybe the light bulb over his head will turn on soon.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON:  D