Jeremy Ruckert's bulldozing blocking ability aligns with philosophy of Jets coach Aaron Glenn
New York Jets tight end Jeremy Ruckert against the Philadelphia Eagles in a preseason game on Aug. 22, 2025. Credit: AP/Frank Franklin
For most of his career, Jeremy Ruckert has been a player who tantalized coaches with what he might be able to do, sometimes to the point of overlooking the things he actually did do.
They tried to turn the 6-5, 250-pound tight end with long arms and good hands into a weapon in the passing game. Ruckert obliged, of course, and has contributed as much as possible in that area throughout his time as a Jet. In three seasons as a backup, he has caught 35 passes for 264 yards.
His true strength all along, though, has been his ability to block. That was what made him a success at Ohio State, what made him a draft pick of the previous Jets regime, and now, at the end of his fourth preseason with the team he grew up rooting for, what he believes endears him to his new head coach, Aaron Glenn.
This staff wants to be physical and violent and run the ball with regularity and ferocity.
Those just happen to be Ruckert’s strengths. So he’s settling in as the sixth offensive lineman with a group that figures to be doing quite a bit of straight-ahead bulldozing now that the regular season is approaching.
“It’s no secret that in order to win in this league, you have to be able to run the football,” Ruckert told Newsday after Friday night’s preseason finale against the Eagles. “My role specifically is to win that C gap and play every down and feel comfortable out there doing whatever they ask . . . I feel good about it, feel good about the direction we’re going with these running backs and Justin [Fields at quarterback]. I’m excited about it.”
The C gap, by the way, is the space just beyond the offensive tackle. That’s now Ruckert’s office. See gap, clear gap.
The Jets have other players in the tight end room who can handle the pass-catching. They drafted Mason Taylor for that role. Taylor likely will be listed as the starting tight end when the 53-man depth chart is published later this week, but Ruckert’s role could be more important.
“The one thing I like more than anything, he’s a true Y tight end, meaning he’s a guy who can get in line and move people off the ball,” Glenn said earlier this month in camp. “He’s shown that in practice. To be able to have a 6-technique standing in front of you — a man that’s 280 pounds — and being able to block that man, it’s hard to do for a tight end, and he’s been doing a pretty good job at that. There’s more for him to improve on, but I like where he’s going.”
“I feel like I had a good camp,” Ruckert said. “There were a lot of things I wanted to work on, be more consistent, being a dominant blocker, and to keep building that mindset, keep growing. I feel like I did a good job of that. They’re pretty clear in what they expect out of us and our unit, so I feel good about how I progressed and excited to keep this rolling.”
That said, this is always a tenuous time of year for players . . . particularly one in the last year of his rookie contract such as Ruckert. There has been some speculation — mostly fan-generated but some from closer observers — that Ruckert’s days with the Jets could be coming to an end with roster cuts looming on Tuesday. The fact that he played in Friday’s preseason game against the Eagles when many of the other starters and veterans did not added to the uncertainty.
Ruckert knows nothing is guaranteed.
“You never know, but I feel good about it,” he said of his chances of sticking around. “I feel good about the way I prepared and the way I carried myself to work every day. My relationship with the guys, with the staff, I feel good about that.”
He’s spent the summer in a very crowded and diverse tight ends room that, besides Taylor, also included Stone Smartt, who made some standout plays in practices and preseason games (he's the one who knocked Giants first-round pick Abdul Carter off his feet with a chip block), as well as fullback Andrew Beck. The Jets may be looking for an upgrade at the position, too, so making it through Tuesday’s initial cutdown for any of those players won’t necessarily mean a secure spot on the team after waiver claims are made.
Ruckert has something else going for him that none of the others have, however, and that is experience with the Jets. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing in the eyes of this new front office remains to be seen. Either way, he has emerged as a young leader in a position room in which he suddenly finds himself the longest-tenured player on the team.
“Vocal,” Smartt said of Ruckert. “Very vocal. He’s a New York kid through and through. For me, coming out here from California, he’s shown me the ropes both on and off the field. Been very helpful. Having guys like that in the room that you are able to feed off of both energy and scheme-wise has been beneficial. He’s a real big asset.”
So the kid who grew up in Lindenhurst dreaming of playing for the Jets isn’t allowing himself to even consider that his career soon might take him elsewhere.
“I don’t even think about that,” he said. “I’m just where my feet are at.”
For now, they remain in Florham Park doing — perhaps finally focusing on — what he does best.
“I think we’re going to have a strong room this year,” he said of the tight ends, “a group to be able to lean on, and keep this train that A.G. is trying to build rolling.”
Jets deal Nnadi
Days after acquiring two defensive tackles in trades, the Jets shipped one away. They sent Derrick Nnadi along with a conditional seventh-round pick in 2027 to Kansas City for a conditional sixth-rounder in 2027, a source confirmed. Nnadi, 29, was a starter for Kansas City during its two Super Bowl-winning seasons, came off the bench last year and came to the Jets in March on a one-year, $1.4 million deal. The Jets acquired Harrison Phillips from the Vikings and Jowon Briggs from the Browns in separate trades last week with the expectation that they will bolster the position beside Pro Bowler Quinnen Williams this season.
Team cuts seven players
The Jets announced they released LB Jamin Davis and waived QB Adrian Martinez, DE Michael Fletcher, T Liam Forandel, TE Zach Kuntz, DB Tanner McCalister and RB Lawrance Toafili.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
