Tight end Chris Herndon projected to be a boost to the New York Jets offense

A frustrating year that started with a suspension and ended on IR behind him, New York Jets tight end Chris Herndon now focused on making an impact in 2020.

When New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas addressed the offense this off-season in free agency and the NFL Draft, tight end was not a position he focused on. That’s likely because he was counting on the return of Chris Herndon to the lineup to complement Ryan Griffin.

Herndon had a breakout rookie season in 2018 where he and fellow rookie Sam Darnold connected for 39 receptions for 502 yards and four touchdowns. Then, 2019 was a lost campaign. First, he was suspended for the first four games for substance abuse. Then, a hamstring injury sent him to injured reserve. Now, he gets a chance to rekindle that 2018 magic.

“I felt like I was doing the right things to come back after the suspension ready and then had a little fluke accident,” Herndon told reporters in a conference call. “Then, the first game back getting injured. It was definitely tough at first, the first couple of weeks, accepting for me the season was done and I couldn’t be out there with my team.”

Herndon watched as Griffin, signed on the cusp of training camp last season, emerged. Now in 2020, Herndon feels good and close to getting back to that rookie year form. Griffin is also in the mix after a solid year where he had 34 catches last year for 502 yards. But he has his own injury issues with an ankle procedure that shelved him at the tail end of last year.

“It feels good,” Herndon said. “My body’s feeling good. I’m in a good space mentally. I’m just excited to be back with my team and putting in work with them again.”

Tight end may be a strength but Herndon acknowledged that a big part of his game will be to help run block with the intention of opening things up for running back Le’Veon Bell.

The Jets still have not held organized workouts with helmets and pads. This week they are doing strength and conditioning work. They will put helmets on next week to begin what head coach Adam Gase referred to as “light practices.” Then, the Jets will put on pads and start to see all the pieces they put together in some formation.

“A lot of people have been putting in a lot of work. I’m sure they want to put that out for display, for the world to see,” Herndon said. “I feel like as long as we’re all doing what we have to do around the whole league, then this can be successful. There’s a lot of unknowns with all that’s going on right now. We just got to play it day by day.”