Speaker 1: Welcome to another episode of the Official Jets Podcast, powered
Speaker 1: by Amazon Web Services. This time, Chris Hernon joins e
Speaker 1: A and myself, And of course, I think a lot
Speaker 1: of Jets fans are excited about the return of Chris
Speaker 1: Hernon after a very promising rookie season in two thousand
Speaker 1: and eighteen and then kind of a lost sophomore year
Speaker 1: that started with suspension and then ended with injury and
Speaker 1: never really saw the field outside of ten snaps against
Speaker 1: the Giants. Yeah, you felt bad for Chris Hernon last
Speaker 1: year because remember back in February two thousand nineteen, Adam Gaze,
Speaker 1: who was the new Jets head coach at the time,
Speaker 1: called him a unicorn type player, a guy could do everything.
Speaker 1: And Green's this is a guy who can get down
Speaker 1: the field in a hurry. He's got rare athleticism for
Speaker 1: somebody who plays the tight end position, and I think
Speaker 1: he can open up a lot of field for people.
Speaker 1: And most importantly, Sam Darn had a great connection with
Speaker 1: him when both of those guys were rookies. Herndon his
Speaker 1: rookie season second on the Jets and reception yards and
Speaker 1: touchdowns and was really one of the bright spots for
Speaker 1: that two thousand and eighteen team and without further ado, like,
Speaker 1: let's hear the interview with Chris Herndon. Chris, I know
Speaker 1: I was thinking about this. If there's a handful of guys,
Speaker 1: you're definitely on the short list that I would imagine
Speaker 1: are super excited to be back considering your season last
Speaker 1: year starting with suspension, ending with injury. Just how excited
Speaker 1: are you in your own words to finally be around
Speaker 1: your teammates at the facility once again. I feel great.
Speaker 1: I have just a bunch of energy, you know, really
Speaker 1: sitting out that that much last year, just you know,
Speaker 1: I gained a new appreciation and really just had to
Speaker 1: opportunity just watched from the outside and now off for
Speaker 1: like a kid again being out there and my friends
Speaker 1: is having fune. What is this offseason been like for you, Chris,
Speaker 1: Because as typically you'd be at the complex going through
Speaker 1: spring drills, uh focusing on passing predominantly, and then O
Speaker 1: t A is canceled. We're in the middle of a
Speaker 1: pandemic with COVID nineteen, and of course training camp is starting.
Speaker 1: But it's far different than your rookie year because you
Speaker 1: guys are an acclamation period right now. Oh yeah, it's
Speaker 1: been very abnormal. But um, I feel like a lot
Speaker 1: of the guys took a lot of you know, time
Speaker 1: to just enjoy family right now. Really it's kind of
Speaker 1: something that was out of our control. But I feel
Speaker 1: like a lot of us just found a lot of
Speaker 1: positivity and all of this and you know, being able
Speaker 1: to be around our families longer, help around the house
Speaker 1: and kind of just you know, do this train as
Speaker 1: much as possible. I'm sure everybody had nothing but time
Speaker 1: to work out and just hang around. Speaking of working out,
Speaker 1: Chris as a Georgia kid I saw and coach Case
Speaker 1: was talking about that. You trained with Steve mcclennan a
Speaker 1: little bit at his new gym in the off season.
Speaker 1: What is a tight end doing with the defensive lineman
Speaker 1: in the gym? And just what's it like working out
Speaker 1: with Big Steve at his new gym. Uh? Yeah, we
Speaker 1: had we had a few of us training there, Me him,
Speaker 1: Jordan Jenkins, Henry Anderson, Tarrell, Tarrell bash him here and there.
Speaker 1: You know, he had another gym he trained that as well,
Speaker 1: but he came by and got some working with us.
Speaker 1: But I mean, I have fun, really, I don't lift
Speaker 1: as much as Steve and all those other guys, but
Speaker 1: I definitely definitely pushed myself every day. We all pushed
Speaker 1: each other. I feel like we definitely, you know, got
Speaker 1: you know, even closer as teammates and you know, you know,
Speaker 1: most importantly a brotherhead and I just feel like this
Speaker 1: this definitely these last few months, we all got really
Speaker 1: really cool with each other, uh training and you know,
Speaker 1: just pushing another on the field and in the weight room.
Speaker 1: So we all had a lot of fun. How much
Speaker 1: is big Steve Squatton and do you jump on there
Speaker 1: on the bar? I'm not certain as Max, but I
Speaker 1: know one day he had probably six places on east
Speaker 1: side and it was I'm sure if he could have
Speaker 1: fit more weight, he could have, but that's all that fit.
Speaker 1: So I was just standing back there like that looks
Speaker 1: like a her back for me. But I applaud him.
Speaker 1: He went hard this offseason, you know, Chris, I feel like,
Speaker 1: just talking about Steve for a minute, a lot of
Speaker 1: defensive players gravitate towards him. I mean, speaking of Fronzo
Speaker 1: Fukasi two seasons ago, he followed in Steve's footsteps like
Speaker 1: every day. I'm just curious even though you don't play
Speaker 1: on the same side of the ball, Like, why do
Speaker 1: you gravitate towards Steve as somebody that was an undrafted
Speaker 1: free agent and been in this league for over ten years. Well,
Speaker 1: I mean, like you just said, even though he was undrafted, Um,
Speaker 1: he's earned his stripes in this league. He's definitely a
Speaker 1: well and highly respected player in the league. And like
Speaker 1: you said, he's been going on his twelfth year and
Speaker 1: you know, watching him trains season, he said, he he feels,
Speaker 1: you know, really good. And that's just somebody you want
Speaker 1: to be around to push you. You know, he's very wise.
Speaker 1: He always has, you know, a bunch of things and
Speaker 1: he just he motivates it. He brings out the best
Speaker 1: of you, even you know, as being as young as
Speaker 1: we are. He could you know, being in the league
Speaker 1: for twelve years, he sees stuff that we can't always see.
Speaker 1: So it's just it's always good to have someone like
Speaker 1: that in your corner. All right, Let's flip to the
Speaker 1: offensive side of the ball. Though. Those are the guys
Speaker 1: putting the points on the board. Your rookie season, thirty
Speaker 1: nine catches over five hundred yards, receiving you the four touchdowns.
Speaker 1: What are you going to add to this offense? Uh?
Speaker 1: I mean I don't wanna, you know, look too far ahead,
Speaker 1: but as far as I believe I could do, I
Speaker 1: would just you know, add another reliable playmaker to the field. UM,
Speaker 1: a hard working person, someone that leads by example and
Speaker 1: you know, willing to you know, on the line for
Speaker 1: the team. So I mean, I just I just want
Speaker 1: to continue to work each and every day, you know,
Speaker 1: take each opportunity to give me, and you know, kind
Speaker 1: of take a day by day specifically, i'd ask, what
Speaker 1: can you stretch the field, especially down the seam? Uh
Speaker 1: do not just for your quarterback because we're gonna talk
Speaker 1: about Sam Donald, but the other guys on the field.
Speaker 1: And how much do you take pride in that not
Speaker 1: only catching the football, but having the opportunity to spring
Speaker 1: up or free some room up for some of your
Speaker 1: fellow playmakers. Oh that's that's just you know, part of
Speaker 1: the fun that comes with this game when you can
Speaker 1: obviously get your own opportunities, but knowing at you know,
Speaker 1: you could open it up for the rest of the
Speaker 1: offense and everybody else could get their opportunities and fair
Speaker 1: share as well. Because I mean we we are a team,
Speaker 1: so you know one person won't be able to do it,
Speaker 1: but Levin men on the field total of twenty two,
Speaker 1: so you know it's it's it's always fun watching everybody
Speaker 1: else on your team eat as well. Chris, you said
Speaker 1: last season was a learning year from you. Obviously because
Speaker 1: of your suspension and injury. You have to do a
Speaker 1: lot of the your football playing just by watching right
Speaker 1: and learning this offense. How much more effective do you
Speaker 1: think you can be now that you feel like you've
Speaker 1: immersed yourself in this playbook this coming season? Oh? Like
Speaker 1: I said, I just you know, I just want to
Speaker 1: take it day by day. I've definitely been in the
Speaker 1: playbook and going on year two and this system, you know,
Speaker 1: feeling more confident was just gonna allow me to play faster,
Speaker 1: think less and just kind of let it flow out there.
Speaker 1: And you know that's obviously exciting to think about. And uh,
Speaker 1: when those times homes is just you know, it's just
Speaker 1: gonna be really fun. I feel like, let's jump into
Speaker 1: that tight end room. What do you think about Ryan
Speaker 1: Griffin last year and how are you guys going to
Speaker 1: compliment each other? Thirty four receptions last year for big
Speaker 1: griff even but he got in the end zone five
Speaker 1: times as well, and he does a lot of things
Speaker 1: for this offense. Ryan was a beast last season. I
Speaker 1: you know, I made sure to text him before and
Speaker 1: after games, you know, encouraging him, letting him know how
Speaker 1: well he did. And you know, he's a very wise
Speaker 1: person as well. He's going on year nine and he
Speaker 1: has a lot of you know, savvy, you know, moves
Speaker 1: that are in his game that you know you could
Speaker 1: always learn from. He he makes sure if you need
Speaker 1: help or have questions to help you as well. And
Speaker 1: that's you know, part of being a vet to you know,
Speaker 1: making sure the younger guys have what they need to
Speaker 1: be successful. He's, uh, he's definitely really good with that.
Speaker 1: So I feel like having him in the room definitely
Speaker 1: is a huge help for all of us, all of
Speaker 1: us younger. Chris Sam Donald is somebody that's cool, calm
Speaker 1: and collected. At least that's what a lot of your
Speaker 1: teammates and coach Cases said. But I'm curious because Coach
Speaker 1: Gay said he kind of censors. There's a different way
Speaker 1: that Sam is going about himself. Do you get that
Speaker 1: sense that maybe he has a little more confidence now
Speaker 1: that he's in his second year in cases system. I mean,
Speaker 1: that's is definitely what comes with it, you know, second
Speaker 1: year in the system, continuing to get reps on the field,
Speaker 1: getting mental reps in the film room, studying more, and
Speaker 1: allowing himself to be on the field think less, be
Speaker 1: able to you know, make better decisions, you know, quicker,
Speaker 1: and also just you know, having fun with it because once,
Speaker 1: once all that starts to come into play, it's just
Speaker 1: football all over again, like you know, the kid game
Speaker 1: that we've been playing for a long time. Specifically, what
Speaker 1: do you like about Sam's personality, because yes, you had
Speaker 1: an on the field connection, but it seemed like you
Speaker 1: guys community a gated very well together back in two
Speaker 1: thousand and eighteen. Now we're looking ahead of two thousand
Speaker 1: and twenty, Like, can you talk about that a little bit?
Speaker 1: And also what do you enjoy about his physical skill
Speaker 1: set when you're out there? Uh? Well, I could definitely
Speaker 1: say he's a humble guy. He doesn't you know, he
Speaker 1: doesn't boost himself too much, but he's definitely confident in
Speaker 1: who he is and his ability. So I feel like
Speaker 1: he just he jels wealth everybody. He's not someone that's
Speaker 1: too loud, but he says enough to where you know
Speaker 1: his his words are felt. So I feel like everybody
Speaker 1: kind of in the whole locker room just enjoys having
Speaker 1: him around. And as far as you know, physicality, he
Speaker 1: he takes the weight room serious. He takes taking care
Speaker 1: of his body series and I mean it shows on
Speaker 1: the field and you know he's slinging the ball down
Speaker 1: the build without hardly any effort and also able to
Speaker 1: scramble get out of you know, trouble in the back fields.
Speaker 1: So he definitely, he definitely brings a lot to this team. Chris,
Speaker 1: I don't know how many fans know this, but you
Speaker 1: actually have a friendship with Lawrence Cager, who signed with
Speaker 1: the Jets as an undrafted free agent. Both of you
Speaker 1: of course went to Miami. What can Jets fans expect
Speaker 1: out of Lawrence Cajre and training camp? And do you
Speaker 1: have any good Lawrence Cagre stories that you can share
Speaker 1: with us? Um Well, definitely for him from you know,
Speaker 1: just going to school with him for a few years.
Speaker 1: He's definitely a hard working person. He's definitely determined, He's
Speaker 1: very confident in himself stabilities. He's also you know, just
Speaker 1: a team guy. But uh, definitely one of the one
Speaker 1: good experiences. I mean it's a football experience, but uh,
Speaker 1: his freshman year he had a one handed catch, I
Speaker 1: believe against Nebraska, and him being a freshman, he's just
Speaker 1: kind of Washington, you know, step on the scene and
Speaker 1: embrace that, embrace that moment, and when it happened, you know,
Speaker 1: you didn't believe it because it's like he's so young,
Speaker 1: but he kind of took off from there, and I
Speaker 1: mean that's an experience that I was happy to be
Speaker 1: on the field with him and watch him. You don't
Speaker 1: have that success, Chris. I just want to jump in
Speaker 1: and ask you about another former Hurricane, Braxton Burrios. Did
Speaker 1: Burrios live in the gym this offseason? I've seen a
Speaker 1: couple of photos and Burrios looks like he put on
Speaker 1: a couple of pounds. He's looking pretty shredded these days. Yeah, Braxton,
Speaker 1: He's always been. He's always been in a way since
Speaker 1: I've known him. He's taking him obviously, taking care of
Speaker 1: his body as well so that he could performed as
Speaker 1: good as he does. But yeah, I mean a lot
Speaker 1: of people around the facility are definitely seeing Braxton and
Speaker 1: asking him what he did this offseason, because he definitely
Speaker 1: he definitely came in looking very different. We're talking receivers here,
Speaker 1: so let's stick with that topic. What do you think
Speaker 1: about a couple of newcomers on the Jets that you
Speaker 1: receiver Rashad Perry in and also rookie denzel Man's Both
Speaker 1: guys have good size speed combination sub four four speed.
Speaker 1: Have you been able to see them a little bit
Speaker 1: in action yet? Yeah, so both guys, like you said,
Speaker 1: obviously get down the field, you know, effortless. They have
Speaker 1: a tremendous amount of speed, but also their ability to
Speaker 1: run good routes, catch the ball and do something when
Speaker 1: they have the ball in their hands. And I kind
Speaker 1: of got a chance to see that in Miami. You know,
Speaker 1: you know, it's just on air, but we all got
Speaker 1: a chance to see each other throwing each other down there,
Speaker 1: and now that we're up here getting some more working,
Speaker 1: you continue to see those things. Chris, I'm glad you
Speaker 1: mentioned that little trip in Miami. Can you tell us
Speaker 1: what that was about and what that was like meeting
Speaker 1: a lot of your new teammates for the first time,
Speaker 1: and what kind of work you guys put in down there.
Speaker 1: Uh yeah, it was kind of just a way for
Speaker 1: all of us to kind of get familiar with one another. Um.
Speaker 1: I feel like it was a great, very short bonding experience.
Speaker 1: You know. We just we threw every day for about
Speaker 1: two hours, um and just kind of you know, talked
Speaker 1: it up afterwards for a little bit. And then definitely
Speaker 1: those those couple of days, I feel like we kind
Speaker 1: of gained a little rapport. But now definitely being up
Speaker 1: here as you know, continue to to gel together as well.
Speaker 1: I want you to get back on the field with
Speaker 1: the helmet on. I think it's gonna start next week
Speaker 1: non paddited practices and then you have a few of
Speaker 1: those obviously before you guys followed up and get some
Speaker 1: padditive work before the regular season. But what's it gonna
Speaker 1: mean to you to get back on the field in
Speaker 1: that kind of capacity of practice capacity. It's gonna mean
Speaker 1: a lot, you know obviously, like I said, how last
Speaker 1: year went, Kin, you know, took this off season to
Speaker 1: definitely heal my body and whenever I was clear to go,
Speaker 1: just taking advantage of getting in the weight room, constantly,
Speaker 1: getting in work, you know, body maintenance and now that
Speaker 1: we're finally here, even though it's still under circumstances that
Speaker 1: nobody would have expected. Uh. I mean, I'm just you know,
Speaker 1: gonna enjoy the opportunity that you got out there, just
Speaker 1: not just for myself but with my team. I gotta
Speaker 1: ask you, have you been getting in Adam Gates's here
Speaker 1: and saying, hey, yeah, you got some skilled position talent
Speaker 1: and the outside, but this tight end room, we got
Speaker 1: a lot of depth. Hey how about some twelve personnel
Speaker 1: sets thirteen personnel sets next season? Because we talked about
Speaker 1: Griff before tray Von Westcoe, he came on as a
Speaker 1: rookie and he really had showed some blocking prowess. And
Speaker 1: then you have Daniel Brown, who's uh kind of a
Speaker 1: jack of all trades for this team and especially considering
Speaker 1: his special team's ability. Yeah, I mean we don't really
Speaker 1: talk a lot in our room. We're kind of just
Speaker 1: you know, the put our head down every day and
Speaker 1: just you know, get get get working. But I mean
Speaker 1: the work will definitely show. So I mean I'll just
Speaker 1: come with opportunities and you know, proving our team we
Speaker 1: can handle that that type of load. Chris is the
Speaker 1: last question for me. I just want to know what
Speaker 1: are your first reaction or your first impression of mackay Beckton.
Speaker 1: Have you ever seen a tackle that big before? So
Speaker 1: we had a guy, my the biggest guy I've seen
Speaker 1: since him. We had a guy come in at Miami,
Speaker 1: Von Donaldson, And when I saw him, I was like, godly,
Speaker 1: but Hi, he's even bigger than him, Taller, bigger, I mean,
Speaker 1: stronger for sure, But I mean, yeah, McCay, he's definitely
Speaker 1: he's huge. I kind of walked in the facility kind
Speaker 1: of got mad that he was that close to me
Speaker 1: being that big, like, give me a few steps. We
Speaker 1: of course talked about Sam donald before and you just
Speaker 1: mentioned McKay beck then came in, uh Mammoth person Adam
Speaker 1: said that Levian Bell has come to camp in phenomenal
Speaker 1: shape and he looks extremely motivated. What do you think
Speaker 1: about Levan in year two? And also for you having
Speaker 1: that opportunity to play alongside him for more extended time
Speaker 1: because of what happened last season, Because I know Bell
Speaker 1: is a guy you can help blocking, also freeing up
Speaker 1: some space for him down the field, but he can
Speaker 1: help you out as well. Yeah, he definitely came in
Speaker 1: great shape. He's been, you know, showing that he's getting
Speaker 1: into work and you know, obviously motivating others as well,
Speaker 1: coming in more. Uh asserted this year also, we've been
Speaker 1: we've had a few workouts, tight ends and running backs
Speaker 1: together at the facility, and he's being more vocal, holding
Speaker 1: people accountable. And you can just tell us a different
Speaker 1: a different type of personality. He's going on a year
Speaker 1: two and like you said, he's just he's ready to
Speaker 1: get out there and you know, put it on display. Awesome, Chris.
Speaker 1: We appreciate the time here on the Official Jets Podcast
Speaker 1: powered by Amazon Web Services, and we're looking forward to
Speaker 1: seeing you on the field, no problem. Thank you guys
Speaker 1: for having me. He ate Chris Herndon being hurt last
Speaker 1: season and now returning. I think it's to your point,
Speaker 1: it's an overlooked storyline because field yates we spoke to
Speaker 1: him earlier this offseason. He said that Chris Herndon, after
Speaker 1: his rookie season, was on track to be the next
Speaker 1: big thing in the a f C East because he
Speaker 1: is a unicorn type of player in a three down
Speaker 1: tight end. So I think that Chris Herndon's presence and
Speaker 1: then his expected play could really open things up for
Speaker 1: this Jets offense, not only in the passing game, but
Speaker 1: in the running game as well. Now I completely agree, uh.
Speaker 1: I think when we think of the Jets offense, we
Speaker 1: think about an offensive line that's gonna feature five new
Speaker 1: starters compared to opening day two thousand nineteen, and then
Speaker 1: the changes in the outside with Breshad Perriman and Denzel Mims.
Speaker 1: But when we watched the Jets last year, they went
Speaker 1: six and two down the stretch and Sam Donald at
Speaker 1: thirteen touchdown passes and four interceptions leading away, and he
Speaker 1: did not have the use of Herndon and Sam Donald
Speaker 1: when he was at USC. He loved throwing to the
Speaker 1: tight ends. And we saw the success that Ryan Griffin
Speaker 1: had last year. And now Adam Gatee is going to
Speaker 1: have more options. The Jets primary personnel package last year
Speaker 1: was a loving personnel one running back, one tight end,
Speaker 1: three wide receivers. Now I think it's gonna be interesting
Speaker 1: to see if you see a lot more too tight
Speaker 1: on packages and that way you can continue to dictate
Speaker 1: things on your terms to imposing defenses. Listen, bottom line,
Speaker 1: Chris Herndon is a night is a matchup problem for
Speaker 1: opponents because he is that a lytticism to get down
Speaker 1: the field, the strength to help you out as an
Speaker 1: inside blocker, and all these things that we've talked about
Speaker 1: in the off season, I think are gonna lead to
Speaker 1: a more productive not only Sam Donald, but Levy on button. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I agree on all fronts. And that was another episode
Speaker 1: of the Official Jet Podcast powered by Amazon Web Services.
Speaker 1: He and I will continue to come to the podcast
Speaker 1: with players, with different analysts, maybe sometimes just just breaking
Speaker 1: down different things. And but we got you covered throughout
Speaker 1: training camp leading up to the two thousand twenty regular
Speaker 1: season