{"id":97508,"date":"2025-06-02T07:18:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T07:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/97508\/"},"modified":"2025-06-02T07:18:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T07:18:11","slug":"an-underrated-ny-jets-udfa-is-doing-a-phenomenal-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/97508\/","title":{"rendered":"An underrated NY Jets UDFA is doing a &#8216;phenomenal job&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The New York Jets may have uncovered a hidden gem at the kick returner position in undrafted free agency.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorkjets.com\/video\/steve-wilks-jets-ota-media-availabilty-05-29-2025\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Speaking<\/a> with reporters at OTAs (per Jets X-Factor\u2019s Robby Sabo), Jets special teams coordinator Chris Banjo commended undrafted free agent Jamaal Pritchett.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe brought in a young guy in Pritchett, he has been doing a phenomenal job back there [returning kicks] for us,\u201d said Banjo.<\/p>\n<p>Pritchett, a native of Alabama, played three seasons at South Alabama. He finished his college career with 150 catches for 2,034 yards and 17 touchdowns in 33 games.<\/p>\n<p>The wideout delivered a standout season in 2024, leading the Sun Belt in receiving yards (1,127) while hauling in 91 passes and nine touchdowns. His performance ultimately earned him first-team all-conference honors.<\/p>\n<p>Pritchett also brings special teams upside, averaging 15.3 yards on 12 punt returns. <\/p>\n<p>Banjo also said he wants his unit to be \u201ccompetitive as hell,\u201d and Pritchett will need to embody that mindset throughout training camp to earn a roster spot.<\/p>\n<p>The Alabama native will have a chance to <a href=\"https:\/\/jetsxfactor.com\/2025\/05\/02\/did-the-ny-jets-just-sign-xavier-gipsons-replacement\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">challenge<\/a> Xavier Gipson for the Jets\u2019 starting kick returner job this summer.<\/p>\n<p>Gipson averaged 8.1 yards per punt return on 33 attempts last season and received a 47.3 grade from Pro Football Focus. By comparison, Pritchett earned a 78.8 grade from PFF, returning 12 punts for 183 yards and a touchdown in limited action.<\/p>\n<p>With the Jets seeking versatile playmakers, Pritchett\u2019s skill set could help him secure a role that extends beyond special teams.<\/p>\n<p>An impressive summer could make Jamaal Pritchett a surprise name on the <a href=\"https:\/\/jetsxfactor.com\/info\/roster\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">New York Jets\u2019 53-man roster<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The New York Jets may have uncovered a hidden gem at the kick returner position in undrafted free&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":97509,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2051],"tags":[7,226,1917,255,2321,2097,6,4098],"class_list":{"0":"post-97508","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-jets","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-jets","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-jets","12":"tag-newyork","13":"tag-newyorkjets","14":"tag-nfl","15":"tag-ny-jets"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114612555509708268","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97508"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97508\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}