Jets DL Takk McKinley Personifies HC Robert Saleh’s Tough Personnel Decisions Ahead

The Jets’ preseason is over, and with virtually no starters playing in any of the three summer games, the numbers that the Green & White’s twos and threes compiled weren’t of lasting significance.

But some numbers and performances provide more than the usual summer sports talk show fodder. Such as what veteran defensive lineman Takk McKinley has done with his second opportunity in the NFL.

“If I’m honest with you, it’s probably my fifth opportunity,” McKinley said following his 2.5 sacks that had a lot to do with the Jets securing their 10-6 win over the Giants and their unbeaten summer. “Being out of football for a year and a half, there was a lot of regrets, I wish I did this different, that different.”

“Obviously, Takk’s got the pedigree,” head coach Robert Saleh said of McKinley’s status as Atlanta’s first-round pick way back in 2017. “You think about these young men, they get drafted, whether it’s first, seventh round, whatever it is, and within a year, people want to throw guys away. You get the opportunity and it’s gone in a flash.

“Sometimes they just take a little longer. And to his credit, he stayed in shape, he got the opportunity in minicamp, was really impressive, we brought him in and he attacked it from there. So credit to hm. He’s always had the physical tools and it was always just a matter of him getting to the right place mentally.”