The New York Jets are getting ready to play their second preseason game on Friday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. The Jets' first-team offense and defense played well last week in their 24-16 loss to the Buccaneers, but it was the backups who struggled, especially at quarterback.
This will be a bigger test as the Steelers are expected to play their starters for at least the first quarter, aside from quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
As for the Jets, the starters will play except for running back Breece Hall, who suffered a groin strain in and will miss 2-3 weeks. The good news is that Hall should be ready for the season opener against the Tennessee Titans. The Jets got even more good news when defensive tackle T'vondre Sweat
and OLB/DE Joseph Ossai were activated from the Non-Football injury list and have begun practicing with the team.
Considering the preseason cirumstances, here are Jets Wire's three players to watch in the second week of the preseason:
Cade Klubnik
Klubnik performed better than expected in his debut last week against the Buccaneers. He led the Jets offense on two scoring drives in the first quarter. He played with plenty of confidence, looked very comfortable running the offense with the starters and had a nice rapport with Garrett Wilson. It’s unknown if Geno Smith will play on Friday as he's still dealing with foot soreness that kept him out of last week’s game. If Geno doesn’t play, Klubnik should receive plenty of work once again with the first team offense.
Klubnik will be tested by Pittsburgh’s starting defense and expect defensive coordinator Patrick Graham to throw some different looks at the rookie, hoping to force him into mistakes. Make no mistake, Klubnik’s not a threat to Smith to be the starting quarterback. Friday's game is nothing more than another step in the rookie's development and if he can show the same confidence and poise he had against the Buccaneers, Klubnik could have the backup quarterback spot locked up before the end of the preseason.
Arian Smith
Smith has been a bit of an enigma since being drafted by the Jets in the fourth round last year. He has plenty of speed and he makes plenty of plays in practice. But, it doesn't translate on the field during games and he still has issues with drops. Last week, he had a chance to make a play on a high throw from backup quarterback Bailey Zappe, but it went off his hands and was intercepted. It may be a nit picky, but if he wants to stick around, Smith has to make those catches.
The Jets are loaded with receivers this year, which could make Smith's chances of making the team extremely difficult. Besides Garrett Wilson and Adonai Mitchell, the Jets added veteran Tim Patrick and drafted Omar Cooper Jr. with one of their three first round picks. Add in tight ends Mason Taylor and rookie Kenyon Sadiq and there are only so many targets to go around. If Smith has any chance of making the roster, he has to start making plays on the field instead of at practice.
Braelon Allen
The Jets had a bit of an injury scare this week when Aaron Glenn announced that Breece Hall suffered a groin strain in practice and is expected to miss the rest of the preseason. The good news is that Hall is not expected to miss the season opener against the Tennessee Titans on September 13.
Hall was probably not going to play much for the rest of the preseason anyway, so this may be a blessing in disguise. Isaiah Davis is also dealing with an injury and is also not expected to play on Friday. That leaves the bulk of the reps to go to Allen, who looked sharp in his first game back since suffering a season ending MCL injury in a Week 4 loss to the Miami Dolphins last year. Allen scored the lone touchdown for the Jets, running off tackle for 31 yards. He finished with 44 yards on four carries.
For now, Allen will be the primary running back with Kene Nwangwu and UDFA Chip Trayanum the only other backs on the roster. Aaron Glenn could elect to be cautious with Allen's usage to avoid the risk of another injury to an already thin running back room. He's off to a great start after his first game and if he can continue to run the ball effectively in the preseason, he could make an already strong Jets rushing attack dangerous.
This article originally appeared on Jets Wire: Jets at Steelers: 3 players to watch for in Week 2 of the preseason
