Should new Jets pickup Jelani Woods be the instant TE2?

The New York Jets claimed three players off waivers following Tuesday’s roster cutdown deadline.

One of those was Jelani Woods, a fourth-year tight end who was waived by the Indianapolis Colts.

Woods is the Jets’ first addition at tight end since they selected Mason Taylor in the second round of the NFL draft. His arrival is relatively important for a waiver pickup, as he enters one of the thinnest tight end units in the NFL (on a team that projects to heavily prioritize the position). Thus, Woods could quickly find himself playing a vital role for New York.

Is Woods ready to immediately usurp Jeremy Ruckert and Stone Smartt?

Let’s dive into his player profile.

Background

Woods was chosen by Indianapolis out of Virginia in the third round (73rd overall) of the 2022 NFL draft.

There was a lot to like about the Georgia native, who offered a combination of dazzling physical traits and excellent collegiate production.

In his final college season, Woods generated 44 receptions for 598 yards and eight touchdowns, a major breakout compared to his 31 receptions for 361 yards and four touchdowns across three seasons at Oklahoma State.

Standing at 6-foot-7 and 253 pounds, Woods ran a 4.61 in the forty, repped 24 times on the bench, leaped 129 inches in the broad jump, and posted a 37.5-inch vertical. He registered a perfect 10.0 Relative Athletic Score. To boot, he carried 34.5-inch arms.

This sounds a lot like the profile of a tight end who should have gone in the first round. However, Woods’ scouting report was littered with concerns about his blocking and the lankiness of his frame, which dropped him into the early third round. He was still the second tight end off the board, though, behind only Trey McBride of the Cardinals.

Rookie season

Woods began his rookie year playing a small role for the Colts. Over his first nine games, Woods played just 24.6% of the Colts’ offensive snaps and was targeted only 13 times. However, he managed to catch seven of those for 79 yards and three touchdowns.

After missing two games with a shoulder injury, Woods was thrust into a larger role to close the season, and he began to show promising strides.

Over the final six games of 2022, Woods played 45.5% of the snaps and caught 18 of 27 targets for 233 yards (no touchdowns). His per-game averages over this span would project to 51 receptions and 660 yards across 17 games.

Injuries

Woods is still waiting for his chance to build on his finish to the 2022 season.

In 2023, Woods missed the entire regular season due to multiple hamstring injuries.

In 2024, Woods missed another full season due to toe surgery.

2025 Preseason

Woods had a successful preseason for Indianapolis.

Across three games, Woods caught seven of his 12 targets for 75 yards. It doesn’t jump off the stat sheet, but the quality of his receptions was high.

With two contested catches, one missed tackle forced, and 56 yards after the catch, Woods registered an 89.6 receiving grade at Pro Football Focus, which led all tight ends (min. 5 targets).

Usage, player profile

Alignments

Back in 2022, the Colts used Woods in various roles. He primarily lined up as an in-line tight end, doing so on 57.9% of his snaps, but he also lined up in the slot on 27.9% and out wide on 14.1%.

This preseason, Woods was utilized in-line at an even higher rate (71.1% of his snaps).

Blocking roles

Showing their lack of confidence in his run-blocking, the Colts were reluctant to have Woods on the field for run plays in 2022. He averaged just 7.2 run-blocking snaps per game, and 67.6% of his snaps came on pass plays.

Woods earned a subpar 50.3 run-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus in his rookie year. For what it’s worth, in last year’s regular season, every Jets tight end was below the 50.0 threshold, including Jeremy Ruckert’s horrendous 39.0.

Woods’ run-blocking grade slightly improved to 57.7 this preseason. That was higher than every Jets tight end outside of Mason Taylor.

The Colts have shown little faith in Woods as a pass protector. He was asked to play only six pass-blocking snaps in his rookie year, and he gave up a hit on one of those.

Receiving roles

As a receiver, Woods was primarily deployed as a downfield threat in his rookie year. His ADOT (average depth of target) was 10.7, ranking fourth-highest among 43 qualified tight ends (min. 30 targets).

Woods feasted in the intermediate range. A whopping 79% of his receiving yards came on intermediate catches (10-19 yards downfield). Woods hauled in 14 of 18 intermediate targets for 248 yards and three touchdowns. In all other parts of the field, he caught 11 passes for 64 yards and no touchdowns.

In this year’s preseason, all of Woods’ receptions were under 10 yards downfield.

Woods’ primary strength as a receiver is his contested-catch ability. He has shown he can maximize his 6-foot-7 frame.

In the 2022 regular season, Woods secured 4-of-7 contested targets. This preseason, he went 2-of-3.

Woods’ hands are middle-of-the-pack. He had two drops on 25 receptions in 2022 (7.4% drop rate).

Jets role

Due to his newness in the scheme, the Jets may not utilize Woods as their TE2 immediately. But unless Jeremy Ruckert or Stone Smartt vastly exceed expectations to start the year, Woods should be the Jets’ TE2 in due time.

Woods’ receiving ceiling is well above Ruckert’s. He had nearly as many receiving yards in a six-game stretch to close his rookie season (233) as Ruckert does in 41 career games (264), and that’s despite getting only 27 targets over that span compared to Ruckert’s 52 career targets.

Not to mention, Woods offers a much larger catch radius and superior athleticism.

Smartt’s receiving upside is more comparable to Woods. The former Charger has displayed some potential in that phase, highlighted by his 13 catches for 164 yards in a four-game stretch near the end of last season (on just 14 targets).

However, Smartt barely qualifies as a tight end, checking in at 6-foot-4 and 226 pounds. He is shorter and lighter than wide receiver Allen Lazard. Smartt can be utilized as a mismatch weapon in the F role, but his lack of size makes him a non-factor as a Y tight end.

Woods has lined up in-line on the majority of his career snaps. He can do damage as a receiver from that alignment, which Smartt will likely not do much of. That makes Woods the Jets’ clear-cut second-best receiving option in the Y role.

While Woods’ blocking is not a strength, there is no evidence that he should be considered any worse than Ruckert or Smartt. In fact, there is reason to believe he could be a slight upgrade.

It is worth noting that the Jets have Andrew Beck on their roster, who is capable of assuming blocking assignments that would typically go to tight ends. While Beck is listed as a fullback, he has four years of experience as an NFL tight end, and he still played some snaps an in-line blocker for New York in preseason games.

Beck’s presence will alleviate some of the pressure on New York’s tight ends to block. Blocking will still matter heavily for those players – Beck cannot do it all, as the Jets want him to primarily handle traditional fullback responsibilities (or else they would have just signed him as a tight end) – but some of the burden will be lifted compared to teams that do not have a Beck-type to help out.

Thus, the Jets’ priority in the tight end room shifts to receiving capabilities. This area becomes even more critical when considering a) the Jets’ lack of depth at wide receiver and b) Justin Fields’ historical preference for targeting tight ends.

Woods is clearly the Jets’ second-most appealing Y tight end as a pass catcher. Beck is the team’s best option as the second tight end in run-heavy concepts, but for pass-heavy 12 personnel concepts, Woods is now the best option. Smartt can be utilized as a matchup weapon on pass downs, while Ruckert can be tossed out there for the rare 13 personnel package as the third wheel.

Expect Woods to become the Jets’ TE2 sooner rather than later.