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Big Bite: How a Sandwich Helped the Jets Sign Wide Receiver

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Mike Williams and Keenan Allen

The phrase “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” has been uttered for generations. Countless parents have emphasized this to help their children. A good breakfast is needed to bring energy and provide fuel for your body to start the day off right. However, in the NFL, sometimes it can be used as a negotiation tactic. Just ask the New York Jets & their latest signing Mike Williams.

The Chargers cut the veteran wide receiver after tearing his ACL last season. Mike Williams had 2 other meetings with teams scheduled this week. Instead, he put pen to paper on Tuesday for a one-year deal. He then enjoyed a New Jersey delicacy; the pork roll, egg, & cheese. One fan ordered the sandwich on time for his meeting with the team. Since then, both Williams & the Sandwich have brought the fanbase together for this momentous occasion.

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Big Bite: How a Sandwich Helped the Jets Sign Wide Receiver

Pork Roll is a uniquely New Jersey meat product. Ground-up pork is mixed with sugar & spices and formed into a cylinder. It’s then sliced thin, grilled up, and served on a kaiser roll with cooked eggs & cheese. It’s a staple of New Jersey cuisine like a submarine sandwich or saltwater taffy. One Jets fan took it upon himself to extend an olive branch to Williams with this sandwich.

Known on social media as NYJMatt, Matt is the host of the “Broadway Jets” podcast with his co-host Mike. What was originally intended as a funny gesture the day before was a way to introduce Mike Williams to some of New Jersey’s culture. But, fans across social media became enamored with this sandwich story. The team’s social media managers photographed the sandwich and that’s when the story took off. Sauce Gardner and ESPN both spread the word of ‘sandwichgate’ all over. Even the New York Post shared a photo of the sandwich at the team facility. After putting pen to paper, Mike Williams finally got to enjoy his sandwich. So much buzz surrounded the event, the team advised fans to spread the word & donate to their partners at “nourish NJ”, an organization combating hunger and homelessness in Morris County, NJ.

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Mike Williams’ role in New York

Entering his eighth season in the league, Mike Williams was the seventh overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft. Williams captured a National Championship at Clemson before entering the league. At 6’4 and nearly 220 lbs, Williams has been one of the best downfield targets in the league. Williams has two 1,000-yard seasons playing with both Philip Rivers and Justin Herbert. Williams will be a great complimentary piece next to Garrett Wilson and give New York a safety net should Allen Lazard have another lackluster season. Injury concerns have been known. Along with his torn ACL last year, Williams also suffered a lower back fracture in week 17 of the 2022 season. The injury prevented Williams from playing in the Chargers wildcard game.

Alas, despite the injury concerns, Williams played in at least 10 games a season the first six seasons of his career. Playing next to a talent like Garrett Wilson can help Mike Williams take advantage of more one-on-one matchups in the secondary. His abilities as a jump ball receiver can shine if Aaron Rodgers has lost too much strength from his injury. While durability is a concern, the duo of Lazard and Williams gives two big-bodied targets along with Conklin and Ruckert help to make Garrett Wilson’s life easier.

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How does the Mike Williams signing affect the Jets’ Draft plans?

This offseason has been an early success for New York. Besides the Williams signing, New York added three new starting offensive linemen, retained Greg Zuerlein & Morstead for the special teams, and brought back Chuck Clark. The moves give Joe Douglas some breathing room to access the market. New York can have the chance to add a long-term offensive lineman like JC Lantham or Taliese Fuaga. A potential game-changing tight end/big wide receiver in Brock Bowers. Or, should Joe Douglas have the future in mind, potentially adding a developmental quarterback to learn behind Rodgers and Taylor? Ideally, the best course of action could be to trade down.

Outside the 10th overall pick, New York only has the 72nd overall pick within the top 100 picks. They lost their second-round pick thanks to the Aaron Rodgers trade. The team must continue gaining draft capital to address more depth on the roster. Ideally, securing a second-round pick while remaining in the top 20 picks in the first round would be optimal. It will lead to the offensive line and wide receiver being addressed. In addition, secure a high-upside quarterback like Spencer Rattler or Michael Pratt to be added with little risk.

Main Photo: [Kirby Lee] – USA Today Sports

The post Big Bite: How a Sandwich Helped the Jets Sign Wide Receiver appeared first on Last Word on Pro Football.