Over the next few months, we’ll be breaking down all undrafted free agents signed by the Jets. However, today we break down a recent signing who was actually an undrafted rookie last season; former Ohio State wide receiver Gee Scott Jr.
The 25-year old Scott is listed at 6’3” and 238 pounds and is yet to make his NFL regular season debut. He spent most of his five years at Ohio State as a tight end, where he caught 47 passes, 27 of which were in his final season.
Background
Scott was a four-star high
school recruit and ended up committing to Ohio State where he didn’t generate any statistics in three games in his first season.
He caught five passes for 42 yards in 2021 and then caught five passes for 28 yards in 2022, including his first career touchdown.
In 2023, his role continued to increase and he exactly replicated his production from his first three seasons with 10 catches for 70 yards and a touchdown.
He had a much bigger role in 2024, though, playing over 500 snaps as Ohio State won the national title. He set career marks with 27 catches, 253 yards and two scores.
Scott was undrafted last April, but got picked up by the New England Patriots for whom he made three preseason appearances before getting released in final cuts.
He also had a brief stint on Washington’s practice squad and with the UFL’s Columbus Aviators, but did not make an appearance with either.
The Jets signed Scott to a contract earlier this month having recently brought him in for a tryout.
Let’s move onto some more in-depth analysis of what Scott brings to the table, based on in-depth research and film study.
Measurables/Athleticism
Scott is a bit of a tweener, who has either been a large wide receiver or an undersized tight end during his career.
He was a 210-pound receiver when he arrived at Ohio State, and bulked up to 220 when he converted to tight end the following season. By 2022, he was reportedly 241 and his listed weight got as high as 245. The Jets list him at 238 – his pro day weight – but he reportedly lost weight as he opted to convert back to wide receiver.
His athletic numbers are also poor for a receiver but excellent for a tight end. He ran 4.63 in the 40-yard dash at his pro day with a 35-inch vertical and modest agility numbers.
His strength is good, with 25 bench press reps to his name at his pro day. That is good for a tight end or a receiver.
Usage
As alluded to above, Scott came in as a wide receiver for the Buckeyes but played most of his career as a tight end. Even so, he played less than half of his snaps in-line as he spent over 40 percent of the time in the slot and some time out wide and in the backfield.
When he was with New England in preseason, he was still a tight end, albeit that he still played a significant proportion of the time in the slot. However, he has joined the Jets with a view to trying to compete for a spot at wide receiver.
Deep threat
Entering his final season, Scott had only really been targeted on short passes, but he did have a couple of big downfield catches in 2024.
As a wide receiver with 4.6 speed, he probably won’t be much of a downfield threat at the NFL level, unless it’s on jump balls or back shoulder throws.
Hands
Scott had an 80 percent catch rate in college, with only two drops, although that should be tempered by that the majority of his targets came on short passes. He did juggle or bobble some catches at times.
There weren’t many highlight reel catches in his highlight reel but he showed good hand strength and concentration to hang onto this one.
Routes
As a high school recruit, the book on Scott was that he was one of the most technically sound receiver prospects in that year’s class, so hopefully we shouldn’t be as raw in terms of his route-running as your typical tight end convert would be.
Red zone
While Scott only had four touchdowns in his Buckeyes career, all four came from inside the red zone, including a few on fourth down.
After the catch
Scott’s numbers after the catch are underwhelming, as he didn’t break many tackles or get many chances to turn a short pass into a big play. However, he has shown some flashes of these abilities.
His size will make him tough for defensive backs to bring down and he battles for hard yardage, including on this postseason play which set up a key touchdown.
Scott was statistically ineffective on screen passes. He was thrown the ball behind the line of scrimmage nine times in his career and these plays netted just nine yards.
He had no fumbles during his college career.
Run Blocking
Scott had to work hard to contribute as a blocker following his move to tight end. His grades on analysis sites such as Pro Football Focus were poor, although he showed a marked improvement in his final season.
This experience should serve him well now he’s back at the receiver position and won’t be tasked with blocking defensive ends at the point of attack any more.
He had mixed results in his limited preseason action with the Patriots, making a good lead block on this play.
However, he had a few others where his man got off his block or he whiffed altogether.
Pass Blocking
Now that he is back at the wide receiver position, Scott is unlikely to contribute in pass protection, although he could be an asset in the screen game.
On his only pass blocking snap in NFL preseason action he just about managed to stay on his man.
Physicality
Scott’s size should be an asset now he is at wide receiver, and playing at tight end will probably have helped him to play with a more aggressive mindset.
However, he only had a couple of contested catches in his career.
Now that he is back at wide receiver, he could develop in this area and as a blocker and ball carrier.
Special Teams
Scott had plenty of special teams experience in college, where he served as a blocker on the kickoff return unit and in punt protection. He also rushed punts and had one tackle in punt coverage.
He was called for three special teams penalties during his college career.
He also saw brief action in multiple roles with New England, with limited success.
Instincts and Intelligence
Scott graduated from Ohio State in just over three years before working on a second degree. He is also considered to have a high football IQ, which he showed in getting open and being aware of where the marker was on this fourth down play.
He did have a couple of false starts during his career, though, and it took him a while to get to grips with the mental side of blocking assignments at his new position when he moved to tight end.
Attitude
Scott wasn’t a team captain at OSU but was described as one of their spiritual and emotional leaders. That is perhaps not surprising, given the fact that his father is a prominent Seattle-based radio personality and leadership coach.
Having suffered the loss of his mother in 2021, Scott – who is a Christian – dealt well with the adversity.
His on-field discipline has typically been good with four of his eight career penalties in 2024. However, he had one out-of-character moment where he aggressively headbutted an opposing player at a key moment in a big loss to the rival Michigan Wolverines.
Injuries
Scott has avoided any serious injuries during his college career, which saw him make 52 appearances.
However, he missed one college playoff game after a freak injury that saw him twist his foot while he was running off the field.
He also had an undisclosed injury issue while on the Commanders’ practice squad at the end of last season.
Scheme Fit
Scott is definitely joining the Jets as a wide receiver despite his experience at tight end, so he’ll be in the mix with the likes of Tim Patrick and Malik McClain to bring some size to the rotation.
In college, he was a teammate of current Jets Josh Myers, Garrett Wilson and Jeremy Ruckert. In the case of Ruckert, Scott has specifically credited him with helping in terms of the transition to tight end.
Conclusions
Scott has managed to pass the first test, which required him to remain on the team through the offseason program. This should mean he will attend camp where he will get a chance to play on the third unit and could see plenty of playing time in preseason.
His main goals will be show that he can get separation against NFL defensive backs, or make contested catches when tightly covered, but he should at the very least bring a positive locker room presence.
If Scott can make an impression, he could have a shot at a practice squad spot, but he’s probably too much of a long-term project to realistically be a candidate to make the 53-man roster.
