Saleh, Hackett Give Bizarre Rationale for Not Using Two Particular Playmakers

Jets giving minimal in-game reps to free-agent receiver and second-year tight end

The New York Jets invested a $4 million contract in Mecole Hardman and a third-round draft pick in Jeremy Ruckert.

Yet, neither player has had much of a role on the team's struggling offense through the season's first three weeks. 

After signing a one-year deal in March, Hardman has seen only 16 of a possible 164 snaps on offense. The slot receiver, who won two Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs, logged only two plays in Sunday's loss to New England. 

Ruckert, who was hampered by plantar fasciitis throughout the 2022 campaign, appeared ready to earn more responsibility as a sophomore. Instead, the Long Island-born tight end has watched his reps dwindle over the past month. After participating in 18 plays during the season opener against Buffalo, Ruckert saw only five snaps at Dallas followed by one in Week 3.

According to offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, Hardman and Ruckert have been victims of game flow gone awry. 

"We haven’t had a lot of plays. Then, all of a sudden, we get into a two-minute situation. So, it’s been what’s been going on and how the games have progressed," said Hackett on Thursday in Florham Park. "There’s a lot of things we want to get to, a lot of players we want to get on the field, but we have to do better as a group, and it starts with me."

The Jets have averaged 55 offensive snaps per game. That seems like ample opportunity to deploy a variety of personnel groupings. Even when they've failed to control game tempo, they've still found time to use three-receiver and two-tight end formations sans Hardman and Ruckert. 

Hackett's response ignores the fact that Randall Cobb and C.J. Uzomah have received plenty of reps thus far. Cobb, who could be used interchangeably with Hardman, was on the field 73 percent of the time in Week 3 while Uzomah saw nearly 50 percent reps as the TE2.

When specifically asked about Hardman, Hackett bizarrely re-focused the topic onto third-down efficiency.

"When you’re not converting on third down, you’re not going to be able to get a lot of people involved. That’s that whole rhythm, getting different people out there, doing all the things that we want to get to," said Hackett.

Head coach Robert Saleh provided a similarly strange rationale when answering a question about Hardman's low usage. 

"You would love to find ways to utilize his speed, but at the same time, there’s a lot of guys we’re trying to get on the field," said Saleh on Wednesday. "We tried to get him out there early against New England, but it didn’t go the way we wanted to, and the game kind of goes in a different direction."

As multiple social media critics have pointed out, maybe using Hardman, and his 4.31 speed, more often on first and second down will result in more manageable third-down situations. 

With the offense stuck in a rut, it couldn't hurt to split the available snaps between the Cobb/Uzomah and Hardman/Ruckert duos. 

Hardman, who hinted at frustration when he posted about his injury status earlier this week on the social media site formerly known as Twitter, responded diplomatically when asked about his lack of playing time.

"We’re just trying to figure everything out as a team, as a unit," said Hardman after Thursday's practice. "I don’t hold nothing against them [the coaching staff]. We definitively had conversations about getting out there and involving me more."

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