The New York Jets open up mandatory minicamp this week and they have a lot of questions on their roster. New head coach Aaron Glenn will need to use this time to make a lot of important decisions about his team going into the season.

With that in mind, here are the three biggest position battles for the Jets on offense as they start mandatory minicamp.

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Center: Joe Tippmann vs. Josh Myers

For some reason, the new regime wanted to make a statement at the center position with Joe Tippmann by signing former Green Bay Packers center Josh Myers to a one-year, $3.5 million deal. Tippmann, entering his third season in the NFL, played well in his first two-years, but new GM Darren Mougey brought in Myers to “to compete to push Tippmann."

Like most of Mougey’s signings this offseason, Myers is a young starter coming off a down year. Myers was Justin Fields’ center at Ohio State, so there’s familiarity there and Myers has significantly more experience than Tippmann, getting 56 starts over four seasons with the Packers.

The idea of replacing Tippmann with Myers seems so short-sighted to me that I can’t imagine them actually doing it. Tippmann has been good and is supposed to be Jets starting center for the next decade. Putting him on the bench for a one-year band-aid would do far more harm than good to the Jets.

Myers is a fantastic insurance policy and adds great depth along the interior of the o-line. I can see Myers playing center if one of the guards got hurt, because Tippmann is capable of sliding to the guard position, but other than that, I believe it is Tippmann’s job.

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Wide receivers 2-4: Josh Reynolds, Allen Lazard, Malachi Corley, Xavier Gipson, Tyler Johnson, Arian Smith

Just writing that list of receivers made me want to throw up in my mouth a little bit, but here they are. This is the saddest group of pass catchers the Jets have had since 2020 when the Jets were rolling out the likes of Breshad Perriman, Jamison Crowder, Braxton Berrios and Denzel Mims. But I digress.

If Allen Lazard is still on the team, I imagine he will see some significant playing time, either as the Jets number two or three receiver. Josh Reynolds will also likely fill the spot that Lazard doesn’t. Neither player is a fantastic option, but they both have the highest floor of the names listed.

After those two, it is really a crap shoot. The fact is that one fantastic month of practice could mean the difference between significant playing time, the bench, the practice squad and a pink slip. Gipson and Corley have seen all of their hype and potential vanish with regime change. Neither can count on their past success or their draft slot to save them if they don’t perform.

Tyler Johnson was signed over from the Los Angeles Rams this offseason and is the most experienced (76 career catches in 49 games) and thrives on contested catches. Arian Smith is a burner the Jets drafted in the fourth-round this year from the University of Georgia who has some drops issues.

I think we are going to see the end of either Xavier Gipson or Malachi Corley’s tenure with the Jets when the dust settles, but this week will be critical for them to secure a roster spot.

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Tight End: Jeremy Ruckert vs. Mason Taylor vs. Stone Smartt

The last time I saw so much universal praise for a Jets draft pick outside of the first round it was for Malachi Corley, and that isn’t shaping up too well. Still, the Jets have exceedingly high expectations for Mason Taylor, but that doesn’t mean the Jets are going to hand him the starting job. Especially because Ruckert has that Ohio State history with Justin Fields. The two are close friends and have been since their OSU days.

Smartt signed over from the Los Angeles Chargers and is a real wild card in the mix, because he is an incredible athlete and can be utilized a lot in the passing game.

I imagine the Jets will give Taylor every opportunity to win the job, but we will see all three players used in the Jets offense.

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