Can Mason Taylor be the NY Jets Best Tight End Since Dustin Keller?

In the 2025 NFL Draft, the New York Jets seemingly found their tight end of the future, Mason Taylor, in the second round. The tight end position has been one that the Jets have struggled with for quite some time. The hype behind Taylor is massive, and fans have a lot to be excited about. While we haven’t seen him truly play in a real, regular-season game, the Jets may have found their best tight end since Dustin Keller.

Keller played for the Jets from 2008 through 2012. Keller finished his career playing in five seasons before suffering a brutal injury with the Miami Dolphins, after which he never played a game for. Keller tore his ACL, MCL, and PCL, which ultimately ended his career. However, before his injury, Keller picked up 2,876 yards and 17 touchdowns in his time with the Jets.

From 2008-2011, Keller finished on average 10th in the NFL among tight ends in yards over those four seasons. His best season came in 2011 when the former first-round pick hauled in 65 receptions for 815 yards and five touchdowns, which were all career highs. If Taylor can live up to the hype, he can, without a doubt, be the Jets’ best tight end since Keller.

Does Mason Taylor have what it takes to be the best NY Jets TE since Dustin Keller?

For Taylor, football runs in his blood. He is the son of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Jason Taylor. Jason played for the NY Jets in 2010 in the second-to-last NFL season he played in before he hung up his cleats. He excelled at defensive end wherever he played. Now, Jets fans are hoping his son excels just as much on the opposite side of the ball.

It has been a very long time since Jets fans could say they had a “great” tight end. The last consistently productive tight end the Jets had was Keller. Despite having two good years in 2022 and 2023, Tyler Conklin even took a big step back last year. Conklin finished 27th among tight ends in the NFL in yards. Simply put, he just wasn’t good. Now, Conklin is looking to get back into the swing of things with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Other tight ends that the Jets have seen come and go after Keller come in the likes of Ryan Griffin, Chris Herndon, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Jeff Cumberland, Jace Amaro, and others. Do you remember anything positive about any of the names I listed above? No? Me neither. The last truly reliable tight end the Jets had was Keller. He left the team in 2012, so that’s quite some time to be without a consistently good playmaker at tight end.

Ever since Keller left, it’s all been downhill for the Jets at the position. Since 2012, the Jets tight end has finished on average 32nd among tight ends in yards. In layman’s terms, this means that out of all 32 starting tight ends, for every year since 2012, the Jets finish very near, or even at the bottom of the entire NFL.

For the new head coach and new general manager, Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey, the hope surrounding Taylor is that he is a long-term solution for a position where the Jets have been desperately looking for answers. Taylor’s ceiling is quite unknown. However, he enters the NFL with a very high floor, which was on full display in his time at LSU.

During his three seasons with the Tigers, Taylor proved himself as a reliable and consistent receiver, and even showcased his ability to be a good in-line blocker. It remains to be seen how that translates at the NFL level, but he has sky-high potential.

Mason Taylor vs. Abdul Carter. Gets across the face and seals the lane for a 3rd & 1 conversion. #Jets pic.twitter.com/1YmfrCgfp0

— Michael Nania (@Michael_Nania) August 18, 2025

The 21-year-old ended his LSU career as the most productive, and some may even say the best, tight end in the program’s history. He finished all-time in receptions with 129 and yards with 1,308. Taylor’s steady hands and ability to find pockets and read defenses also showed as he caught a pass in all but one career game he played at LSU. He finished his career with a 28-game pass-catching streak.

It remains to be seen how productive Taylor will be right off the bat. The tight end position makes Jets fans, myself included, a little weary to think about. However, there is a very real chance he finishes within the top three leading pass catchers on the team behind the likes of Garrett Wilson and potentially Breece Hall.

So, what would a good first year for Taylor look like? Well, seeing him bring in 50-60 passes for 500-600 yards and roughly five touchdowns would be a very good first step. The next step for Mason Taylor on his way to being the Jets’ next great tight end would be for him to hit the 700-800+ yard mark, which, with continued development, is possible for him to turn into that type of weapon.

Not only on the surface does it seem that the new offensive coordinator, Tanner Engstrand, has a plan for the second-round pick, but Justin Fields has also heavily relied on tight ends and has found success while doing it. Keller is a big name to draw a comparison too. However, Taylor has more than the potential and ability to become the Jets’ best tight end since Keller. Is the Jets tight end nightmare finally over? Time will tell.

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