It felt like a matter of time.
Tyler Conklin is a pass-catching tight end who has been one of the Jets’ most reliable and productive pass catchers over the past two seasons.
A healthy Aaron Rodgers throwing the ball to him this year should drive those numbers even higher.
And yet, Conklin entered the Jets’ first home game against the Patriots at MetLife Stadium on Thursday night with two pass catches for 16 yards, having caught one pass in each of the first two games.
Game 3 of the Jets’ season proved that two games are too small a sample size to determine where Conklin’s season is going.
He caught five passes for 93 yards and was an integral part of the Jets’ 24-3 victory over the Patriots.
Conklin’s lack of involvement in the passing game was odd after he had been such a consistent pass catcher the previous two seasons, catching 61 passes for 621 yards last season and 58 for 552 yards and four touchdowns in 2022.
“I’m not worried about that,” Conklin told the Post before the game about his poor performance so far. “That’s something that’s coming. I’m not worried about who gets the ball.”
So Conklin said after the game: “What did I tell you the other day? That they would come at some point. Today they just happened to fly a little bit in my direction.”
Conklin was Rodgers’ best friend that night.
He was Rodgers’ way out on several classic improvisational plays where he rolled out of the pocket and simply found the open man.
He caught a 22-yard pass on second-and-17 on the second scoring drive and another 22-yard pass on third-and-9 near the end of the first half.
And then on the Jets’ first touchdown drive of the third quarter, he kept the drive alive with an 18-yard catch on third-and-three.
On the 18-yard gain, Conklin glanced at the end zone and it looked like a big, inviting green pasture.
He didn’t score a touchdown last season and hasn’t had one since 2022.
“I’m still in the hunt,” Conklin said with a smile as he ended his scoring drought. “That was a tough target to catch. I thought I had a chance, but I felt a couple of guys around me, so more than anything I wanted to make sure I got the ball safely.”
“There were a couple of good opportunities where Aaron came out of the pocket,” Conklin continued. “I did my best to make myself available to him and he made it pretty easy for me to catch the ball.”
“I try to be an all-around tight end and play well in the run game, which I think I’ve done. But it’s definitely really nice to go out there and feel the ball, get some touches in the passing game and kind of get some rhythm and momentum going into the rest of the season.”
