Over the next few months, we’ll be breaking down all of the rookies added by the Jets during the draft and as undrafted free agents. However, we’ll break from that today to look at a veteran signing that was made after rookie mini-camp; offensive tackle Landon Young.
The 28-year old Young is listed at 6’7” and 321 pounds and was a sixth round pick out of Kentucky in 2021. He has started 12 games in his NFL career so far, all with the New Orleans Saints.
Background
Young was a five-star high school recruit
who opted to stay close to home and accepted a scholarship at Kentucky.
He started three games in 2016 and six in 2017, but missed the entire 2018 season due to injury. However, he returned from the injury to start 24 games a row at left tackle over the next two seasons.
Having considered entering the NFL draft after the 2019 season, Young returned for 2020 and earned all-SEC first team honors.
After he was invited to the combine, Young was ranked as a probable late round pick and ultimately selected by the Saints in the sixth round.
In his rookie season, Young was a backup that was used sparingly but got a chance for his first start in November. Unfortunately, he got hurt and missed the rest of the year.
He remained in the same role but got more and more opportunities to contribute as he started twice in 2022, four times in 2023 and five times in 2024, then signed a one-year extension. However, he missed all of last year due to a season-ending injury in preseason.
Young was invited to attend the recent Jets rookie mini-camp on a tryout basis and impressed enough to earn a contract.
Let’s move onto some more in-depth analysis of what Young brings to the table, based on in-depth research and film study.
Measurables/Athleticism
Young has bulked up by over 50 pounds since he was a high school recruit, although he was still only 310 when he did his combine weigh-in. He now has good size at 321 and adequate length.
His workout numbers are excellent, even though his reported 40-yard dash time of 4.91 from his pro day was unofficial and the real time was 5.18.
Young’s explosiveness numbers are solid and he posted a good three-cone drill despite a poor short shuttle. He also racked up 34 bench press reps.
Usage
Other than a handful of plays where he kicked inside due to injury, Young played his entire college career at left tackle. However, he has showcased terrific versatility at the pro level.
Young has started regular season games at both guard positions and both tackle positions, playing over 100 total snaps in each role during regular season action. He also has plenty of experience in jumbo packages but has never played center at any level.
Pass Blocking
Young gave up eight sacks during his college career but only two of these were in his last two seasons when he was a full-time starter.
His pass protection numbers in his first year as a starter were outstanding as he only gave up five total pressures. However, his pressure rate was slightly higher in his final year. At the time, though, Kentucky didn’t really throw the ball very often as they passed for less than 1,500 yards in each of his two years as a starter and, when they did, he rarely had any true pass sets.
At the NFL level, he’s predictably had some struggles in pass protection. Although his pressure rate has not been bad, he has given up eight sacks in less than 900 snaps in his career.
In addition to struggling to stay in front of rushers off the edge, Young has also been susceptible to bull rushes at times.
Run Blocking
Young was a big part of the Wildcats’ running attack in college, racking up a lot of knockdowns. However, he’s had mixed results at the NFL level, although he’s shown signs of the power and dominance he displayed at times.
He works well with his linemates in terms of combo blocks, from which he can climb to the second level or gain control of his man to seal him off.
He’s less effective on the move, as his athletic numbers don’t necessarily translate to an ability to pull, make reach blocks or get downfield effectively.
Short Yardage
In the first of Young’s five starts in 2024, the Saints scored on a two-yard and a one-yard touchdown run, including this play where he blocked his man to the ground.
However, they didn’t have any other touchdowns of less than four yards in his four other starts.
He can be useful as a jumbo package tight end in short yardage situations as he can generate some good power at the point of attack and is the kind of player you can run behind inside.
Screen Blocking
The Saints didn’t have much success on screen passes with Young in the line-up, other than on plays where he stayed in to block with other players leaking downfield.
Here’s a play where he didn’t manage to get out in time to make a downfield block so he tried to seal off the player behind him instead.
Footwork/Technique
Young was a wrestler and participated in the hammer throw and discus in high school, all of which translate into his ability to win leverage battles and his punch power. However, he can struggle to recover when losing a leverage advantage.
He has one or two technical flaws that can hopefully be cleaned up. Primarily, he will bend at the waist which can lead to a narrowing of his base and a tendency to lunge into and fall off blocks in space.
Young has previously had some issues with maintaining and sustaining blocks as he doesn’t always manage to reposition himself to reset angles and keep his feet under him, but seems to be getting better at this.
Penalties
Penalties have never been a massive issue for Young, who had 13 in his college career but never more than five in any season. At the NFL level, he’s been called three times for holding and twice for a false start.
Special Teams
Both at the NFL level and in college, the only role Young has had on special teams has been blocking on the placekicking unit. He has had no significant mistakes and no penalties within that role.
Instincts/Intelligence
Young’s football IQ has enabled him to play multiple positions at the NFL level and, according to Kentucky’s own internal charting, he only had one missed assignment in his two seasons as a full time starter.
He was good academically too, graduating in 2019 and then taking on a second degree. He was also on the 2019 SEC fall academic honor roll, as well as receiving first year honors in 2016 and 2017.
There have occasionally been situations where Young has looked uncertain about which assignment to pick up or who to help, though.
Attitude
Young, who was married in 2020, grew up on a farm, which instilled in him a work ethic that has been described as second-to-none. He was a team captain in high school and in his senior year at Kentucky.
He regularly displays on-field toughness and aggression in terms of playing to the whistle.
Off the field, Young has received a ton of recognition for his work in the community. He was named the captain of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team and was twice on the Wuerffel Trophy watch list. He was also on the 2019 SEC community service team.
Injuries
Young has had some bad injury luck over the course of his career, including last season where his preseason ankle injury required surgery so he was on injured reserve all season.
He also missed the entire 2018 season in college due to a meniscus injury and ended up on injured reserve with a foot injury in his rookie season.
Scheme Fit
Young’s ability to play multiple positions makes him a useful camp addition and gives him a strong chance of being retained for emergencies once he’s comfortable with the system.
He has been a teammate of current Jets players Demario Davis, David Onyemata, Kene Nwangwu, Jack Heflin and Cade York while with the Saints.
Conclusions
Generally speaking, you wouldn’t ordinarily give a veteran who was on the street and had to try out at rookie camp much chance of being a meaningful contributor in the year ahead.
However, Young had a viable record as a rotational player with the Saints who has filled in at times, so he could be the kind of player the Jets retain as cover.
He’s not a player with a high ceiling and has generally been overmatched when relied upon to fill in as a starter, but the versatility and intangibles make him a solid option to bring along to camp to fill out the offensive line room with some of the less-experienced options.
