“Moving without the ball” is a time-honored and valuable trait in the NBA, but the phrase works for such NFL notables as general managers, and in particular Darren Mougey, the Jets’ first-year GM. The man they call “Mouge” has been hard at work behind the scenes this summer.
Mougey spoke publicly Thursday for the first time in a while about how his and his personnel team coordinated operations during his first training camp and first final-cuts process as the man in charge of a pro football front office. The short answer: He feels “blessed” about where the Jets sit Thursday with the new season just over the horizon.
“It was a great month of training camp, a great process here at the end,” Mougey said. “I feel really good about the guys we were able to keep. And the process doesn’t end today. The roster is fluid. … So we’ll continue to work upstairs to see if we can add players that we think will help our team and add competition to every position room.”
One room that underwent significant developments this summer and will directly impact QB Justin Fields is the wide receivers room. WR1 Garrett Wilson signed an extension in July, all the receivers jockeyed for position for the past month, and three young wideouts — Jamaal Pritchett, Quentin Skinner and Brandon Smith — plus one veteran — Tyler Johnson — were final cuts, yet all have returned to the Jets as members of the practice squad.
“I like the room as a whole,” Mougey said. “Obviously it starts with Garrett, and I look forward to seeing him this year. We’ll move him around. He can do it all.
“Then I think we’ve got pieces that complement each other there. We have three guys in Josh Reynolds, [Allen] Lazard, Tyler Johnson, they’ve all played in the league and had success. Then you’ve got the speed piece with Arian [Smith]. And Gip [Xavier Gipson] has got speed, he can play inside — we’ll find ways to get him some touches as well.”