#Jets rookies, newcomers will be hurt by no preseason games

The Jets have had some important preseason moments over the past decade.

Damon Harrison secured his roster spot in 2012 with a strong performance in the preseason finale in Philadelphia.

Robby Anderson opened eyes in Washington in 2016.

Greg McElroy connected with Terrance Ganaway for the team’s lone offensive touchdown in Philadelphia in 2012.

OK, so maybe that last one was not so important.

But this year there will be no moments like these. The preseason is not going to happen, and there won’t be many fans weeping over the loss of these exhibition games, but the Jets are one of the teams that are going to feel the loss of the preseason the most.

It is not just losing out on undrafted free agents like Harrison and Anderson winning jobs in the games. The Jets are a team with a lot of new faces, particularly on offense, and now they will have no game snaps together before the regular season.

The Jets have 74.1 percent of their snaps played returning this year, per Over The Cap. That is 18th in the NFL. So, they are in the middle of the pack. But consider their Week 1 opponent the Bills has 88 percent of their snaps played coming back this year, the most in the league.

I believe the lack of preseason games will have a great effect on the Jets early in the season. They look like they will have eight different starters on offense from Week 1 last year and six on defense. Some of those are players returning from injury, like Chris Herndon, but many of them are new to the team.

It gets particularly challenging along the offensive line. They could have five new starters there from the beginning of last year if Brian Winters does not win the right guard job. Those starters will include rookie Mekhi Becton, who has yet to even practice as an NFL player.

“It’s going to be a challenge,” offensive line coach Frank Pollack said last month. “It’s the same challenge everyone’s got, though, around the league. We’re on equal footing from that regard. If we have to do stuff from an extra standpoint whether it’s before practice, after practice, whether it’s walk-throughs, meetings, that’s what we’re going to have to do.”

Pollack is not right when he says every team is going through the same challenge. The Jets first two opponents — the Bills and 49ers — have players who have worked together last year. Many of the Jets are going to be introducing themselves to each other next week when they report for training camp.

Pollack has his linemen spend some of their virtual offseason meetings doing things to get to know each other and not just talking football. The offensive line chemistry was a huge issue last year. The starting line did not get any snaps together in the preseason, and it showed early in the year. There was a disconnect among the linemen, and it took until about midseason to find the right combination of guys on the line.

The Jets are also figuring on two rookies to be major contributors right away with Becton and wide receiver Denzel Mims. Rookies always have bumps. This year those bumps may be bigger than usual.

Eliminating the preseason in this unusual season makes perfect sense for the players. But the effects of it will be felt early in the season, and it will be felt by some teams more than others. The Jets could be one of the teams who feel it the most.