The New York Jets may have found an undrafted free agent gem in former Ohio State h-back Jalin Marshall. Can he crack the roster?
The New York Jets have an interesting situation at wide receiver, and former Ohio State jack-of-all-trades Jalin Marshall hopes he’s part of the final 53-man roster.
Marshall left college after just his sophomore season, part of a mass exodus that saw seemingly every player on the Ohio State roster drafted except for him. On a team as talented as Ohio State, why was Marshall not drafted? Well, in addition to being without a true position, Marshall is smaller and ran a poor 4.60 40-yard dash at the Scouting Combine.
The odds are stacked against him, but Marshall has the playmaking ability to crack the Jets’ roster. He needs to have a big preseason and make an impact as a special teams player to get noticed by the coaches and other scouts around the NFL.
Coming out of high school, Marshall was a running quarterback that made a quick transition to receiver and played a little h-back for the Buckeyes, lining up in different stacked sets and out of the slot. His route running skills need refinement, but this is a guy that you want with the ball in his hands.
He’s not a burner, but he can make you miss in the open field and has good short-area bust and quickness.
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He’s obviously a raw prospect, but he’s also really young and has a ton of upside. The Jets gave Marshall a $12,500 signing bonus, which is really high for an undrafted player, so they clearly think pretty highly of him.
Because of how raw he is, the Jets capitalized on an opportunity to get a talented player who can make an impact as a returner while he hones his skills as an offensive player as well. They aren’t terribly deep at receiver, but there’s enough talent that it’ll be tough for Marshall to get on the field as a receiver in year one.
He’ll be an impact player at the punt return position, and will have to prove himself in the preseason in that role. If he is able to excel on special teams right away, the Jets might be seeing some major benefits to this investment down the road.