With the Jets reporting to training camp Thursday, here’s a primer of the biggest issues:
Biggest comeback
The Jets were excited about wide receiver Quincy Enunwa taking a big step last season, but his season ended before it started. A neck injury suffered in training camp led to surgery, which cost him the year. Enunwa had a breakout season in 2016, catching 58 passes for 857 yards and four touchdowns. It looked like he would be the team’s No. 1 receiver before the injury. Now he returns to a crowded receivers room. It will be interesting to see how the Jets use Enunwa with the other receivers they have.
Biggest position battle
It would be easy to go quarterback here and that will be the dominant storyline of training camp, but we’ll get to that later. Outside of quarterback, finding a pass rusher is the biggest position that needs an answer at this point. The Jets have not had a true edge rusher in more than a decade. It seems unlikely that one will emerge from the current group, but Lorenzo Mauldin, Josh Martin, Dylan Donahue and others will try. If a pass rusher from another team is available in a trade, Mike Maccagnan should pounce.
Most fascinating newcomer
We said we would get to the quarterbacks and here we go. Rookie quarterback Sam Darnold is the future of the franchise. The only question now is how long before that future gets here. The Jets are going to give Darnold a great chance to win the starting job out of training camp. Is the 21-year-old up to the challenge? He will be under the microscope, but that is nothing new for him. He was the most scrutinized college player in the country last year at USC.
Josh McCownBill KostrounCoach’s toughest challenge
More quarterbacks here. Todd Bowles must manage a three-way quarterback competition in training camp, something that is very hard to do. There simply are not enough practice reps to spread around three players. Who will be the odd man out when it comes to reps? It probably will be Josh McCown. The Jets know what they have in McCown. Teddy Bridgewater and Darnold are bigger unknowns who need more practice. That may not make McCown very happy, especially if it means less time late in the preseason to click with the offense.
Most intriguing rookie
Another category where it would be easy to go with Darnold, but we’ll pick defensive end Nathan Shepherd. The third-round pick could be the man to replace Muhammad Wilkerson along the defensive line. He is out of tiny Fort Hays State in Kansas, so the jump to the NFL could be a daunting one. Shepherd split first-team reps in the spring with Henry Anderson, so the Jets are clearly going to give him a chance.
Most notable absence
It may seem a little odd to pick a player who never played a snap in the regular season, but Christian Hackenberg was a huge story with this team in the past two years. Now, he’s out of the NFL. We spent the past two training camps watching Hackenberg’s every move, so it will be strange not to have him around. In terms of on-field impact, the loss of tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins in free agency could have major repercussions for the Jets offense. Seferian-Jenkins was their top tight end and his potential replacements are unproven.


