The Jets lined up for the first game of team drills Wednesday with the offensive starting at their own 20. Breshad Perriman was pushed to the left by Sam Darnold and made a move past cornerback Arthur Maulet on a short post pattern. Darnold saw Perriman flash open and delivered the ball to Perriman, who did not break a striker, and ran all the way to the end zone for a wild touchdown.
It was one play in one rehearsal in mid-August. But if you’re looking for reasons to hope for the Jets, here’s one: Darnold and Perriman are already in sync. The two have teamed up several times early in training camp and the Jets hope it can transfer into the regular season.
“It looks like those two guys have good chemistry … very fast,” coach Adam Gase said.
The Jets need Perriman to be the threat of Darnold’s big play. With rookie Denzel Mims unable to practice yet, Perriman is the most explosive receiver of the Jets.
“He’s a super explosive, very explosive athlete, coming in and out of cuts,” Darnold said. “Big boy too. So, he’s all you want in a receiver, and again, we’re just looking forward to having him this year. “
The Jets signed Perriman to a one-year, $ 6.5 million deal in free agency after Robby Anderson was let go. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound receiver is trying to break through to a frustrating NFL career. A pick from the first round of 2015 by the Ravens, he had a career-high 36 catches for 645 yards and six touchdowns last season for the Buccaneers. Most of that production came in the last five games when he played more due to injuries at the top wideouts of Tampa Bay.
The Jets hope Perriman thrives with a chance at the no. 1 to be a recipient he has never been. They see him as more than just a deep threat.
“We told him when we were working on signing him that he will determine how much he will do in this crime,” Gase said. ‘So, we don’t set boundaries, in fact guys have to prove to me that they can’t do anything. If you go in here for a limited time, it can be a bit daunting, but with a veteran player like this, we’re able to do more and basically get to the point where he’s telling us, ‘ Hey, this is not my thing, let’s concentrate on this. ‘He makes it really easy, because everything we tried to do with him he could. ‘
Perriman said Darnold has made his transition to the Jets easier.
“I feel like Sam is great,” Perriman said. “His throwing ability is crazy. I love the way he throws the ball. The touch he has on the ball is unreal, as is so receptive. Just his personality and the way he has control over the room and the misunderstanding and the team is crazy. Him so reserved and that authority still to have when it’s time to go out and let the bullets fly.
“Him as a quarterback, man, it’s the dream of a receiver.”
Darnold who can bring a new receiver comes with the comfort he feels on the field in his second year in the Gase system. Gase said Darnold is doing everything faster on the field.
“I feel more comfortable,” Darnold said. ‘When I mention a play, I do [have seen] it all, that I’m worried about the defense, where I might have been worried at this point last year, ‘OK, in what way is the formation? Which way is the play? Where will I go? ‘That I feel like I’m more worried about the defense, more than I’m more about what we’re doing, because just when I say a play, I can already imagine it, even though I know what we’re doing. It’s a big difference from where I was at this point last year. ”
Darnold’s comfort distracts him from the field where he recently directed the team, which does not come naturally to him.
‘That’s absolutely not, you know, my style,’ said Darnold, ‘talk and I have a speech for the team, but, no, I feel really comfortable doing it and I had some things to say that I did. like was the right time for me to speak it up and say it. Yes, it was definitely something I keep getting better at, but yes, I just feel like the time was right and that I decided to talk to her. ”
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