TE C.J. Uzomah pumped up after seeing moves made by Jets
Then-Bengals tight end C.J. Uzomah celebrates after catching a first-half touchdown pass against the Raiders during the AFC Wild Card playoff game at Paul Brown Stadium on Jan. 15 in Cincinnati. Credit: Getty Images/Andy Lyons
C.J. Uzomah watched the draft and got amped with each move that Jets general manager Joe Douglas made.
Uzomah said the Jets won the draft.
The Jets took Cincinnati cornerback Sauce Gardner with the No. 4 pick. Uzomah, the former Cincinnati Bengal, watched Gardner a lot when he was in college and called him “a monster.”
Garrett Wilson and edge rusher Jermaine Johnson were the Jets’ other first-round selections. They also took running back Breece Hall in the second round, tight end Jeremy Ruckert in the third and offensive lineman Max Mitchell and defensive end Micheal Clemons in the fourth.
“In my mind, I’m like, ‘We won. We won the draft,’ ” Uzomah said. “Then we just kept doing things, kept adding pieces and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ Now, our tight end room, scary. I’m like, ‘Let’s go.’ This is one of the better tight end rooms this league needs to look out for. I was watching the entire time elated.”
The Jets upgraded the tight end room this offseason, signing Uzomah and Tyler Conklin and drafting Ruckert, who starred at Lindenhurst High School.
Uzomah also is impressed with second-year quarterback Zach Wilson. Uzomah said Wilson is “talented as hell.”
“I’m expecting him to make huge strides this season,” Uzomah said.
The veteran tight end who helped the Bengals reach the Super Bowl last season spoke highly of other young returning Jets and how they’re carrying themselves. Uzomah said their work ethic reminds him of some veteran teammates he has played with. The Jets have missed the playoffs for 11 consecutive years.
“This team, they’re hungry,” Uzomah said. “The work ethic that they’re showing is something I saw when I was a rookie from veterans, like Andrew Whitworth. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh this guy is staying 2 ½ hours afterward to get in his work.’
“I’m seeing that from guys here that are young that are like, ‘Hey I don’t want last year to happen again, I don’t want a repeat of that.’ ”
Mosley likes moves
Linebacker C.J. Mosley is a big fan of everything the Jets did in free agency and in the draft. He said it’s a “move in the right direction” and the Jets got “guys that are really here to change the narrative.”
Another ex-Bengal?
Former Bengals defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi spent two days visiting with the Jets this week. Uzomah said he has spoken to his former teammate about joining the Jets. Ogunjobi, who had seven sacks last season, originally signed with the Bears, but the deal was nixed due to a failed physical.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
