The Jets’ first personnel move of training camp was to sign wide receiver Quincy Skinner to replace the injured Jalen Walthall. Today, we break Skinner down in detail.
The 23-year old Skinner is listed at 6’2” and 205 pounds and caught 66 passes for 809 yards and eight touchdowns in four seasons at Vanderbilt. He spent time with the Falcons as an undrafted rookie last year.
Background
Skinner – who is not to be confused with Quentin Skinner, another wide receiver who until last month was with the Jets
but is now in Buffalo – was a three-star high school recruit.
He headed to Vanderbilt, where he made eight appearances in his freshman season but only played two offensive snaps.
His second season, in 2022, saw him start contributing as a rotational receiver. He had 17 catches for 238 yards and two scores.
His role continued to increase in 2023 and he caught 20 passes for 204 yards and three scores.
2024 saw him start 12 of 13 games and post career-best numbers with 29 receptions and 367 yards. He added another three touchdowns.
The Falcons picked Skinner up as an undrafted free agent after the 2025 draft and he caught three passes for 29 yards in preseason but did not make the team.
Skinner was signed by the Jets on the second day of training camp, following an injury to Walthall.
Let’s move onto some more in-depth analysis of what Skinner brings to the table, based on in-depth research and film study.
Measurables/Athleticism
Skinner’s workout numbers at his pro day were disappointing. He ran just 4.59 in the 40-yard dash, and posted a poor vertical and disappointing agility numbers.
His broad jump (123 inches) and bench press (17 reps) were solid, though.
Usage
Skinner has primarily played on the outside both at Vanderbilt and in his preseason action with the Falcons. He played in the slot about 10 percent of the time in college, but it was less than that in his final year.
He carried once in his college career, gaining 22 yards on an end around.
Deep threat
Skinner only had two plays of longer than 40 yards during his college career, but did make several downfield catches as he showed a good ability to track and locate the ball.
He was targeted down the field more often in his final season but his success rate on such throws was lower.
Hands
Skinner caught 71 percent of his targets in 2022 but his catch rate dropped to 64 percent in 2023 and 60 in 2024. To some extent the 2024 drop can be explained by the fact he was targeted downfield more often than in 2022 but that wasn’t the case in 2023 when he was targeted on more shorter routes.
His drop rate was solid in his first two seasons, as he had just one drop in each season. However, he had five in 2024.
Skinner has a big catch radius and can use this to go up and get high throws and has shown a good ability to lay out for diving catches, and concentration on low throws.
Routes
Skinner shows some decent raw route running skills, as he looks smooth on his release and shows good deception and change of direction abilities.
As alluded to earlier, he had more of a possession role in 2023 but was targeted more on downfield throws in 2024. His success rate doing the latter was not that high, but some of this was down to the quarterback play as he did show the ability to get open.
Red zone
Although he only had eight touchdown catches in his college career, Skinner did make a few nice plays in the red zone and has shown that he can be someone you can throw it up to (even though he will have to adjust to getting two feet down under the NFL’s rules).
In addition to those eight touchdowns, he also scored on two two-point conversions.
After the catch
Skinner’s numbers after the catch are nothing special and he doesn’t break many tackles. However, he does have a few highlights of this nature.
He wasn’t particularly successful on screen passes during his college career, averaging less than four yards per play when targeted behind the line.
Skinner had one fumble during his college career.
Run Blocking
Skinner’s performance grades as a run blocker on sites such as Pro Football Focus were generally pretty good and the film backs this up as he is an effective contributor who gives a good effort, uses his size well and gets after it.
He was called for offensive holding downfield on a quarterback scramble in his final season of college.
Physicality
Skinner had mixed results on contested catches during his career, with his success rate dropping off in his final season but did make some good plays when tightly covered.
He had a 79-yard touchdown catch in college that was called back because he was flagged for offensive pass interference.
Special Teams
Skinner saw some action in his freshman year as a blocker on the kick return unit and in kick coverage, but didn’t generate any production and then barely played on special teams after that during his college career.
With Atlanta, he blocked on the kick return unit and played as a vice and rusher on the punt return unit. He had one play where the gunner beat him cleanly on a punt return (although he missed the tackle), but impressed with his physicality on the kickoff return unit here.
Instincts and Intelligence
Skinner displays the ability to read coverages and time his route to find the soft spot in the zone. He also typically executed his blocking assignments well. In addition, it is also impressive how early he tracks and locates the ball when it is in the air.
He was flagged for two pre-snap penalties in 2024, though.
Attitude
Skinner was someone whose coaching staff at Vanderbilt praised him for growing into a role as a vocal leader in the wide receiver room over the course of his career.
His on-field discipline was solid as he had just five penalties in his career, although four were in 2024.
Injuries
Skinner played in 41 games in college and doesn’t seem to have had any issues with missing time for injury related reasons.
Scheme Fit
Skinner will look to get in the mix on the outside and should see time there in preseason, if he lasts that long.
During his time with the Falcons, Skinner was a teammate of current Jets defensive lineman David Onyemata.
Conclusions
Skinner will be a long-shot to make the Jets’ roster, of course. However, he’s a player they worked out a while back and obviously kept on their watchlist so they will be keen to get a longer look.
If he can impress in preseason, Skinner might have a shot at sticking around so he can try to compete for a role next season. His measurables, production and lack of any elite traits would tend to suggest this is unlikely, but there were a few impressive moments on film that show he might be capable of making some things happen.
