Former Marist tight end Connor Hulstein accepted a rookie minicamp invite with the New York Jets.
The 6-foot-5 target caught seven touchdowns on just 42 receptions this season and was one of the most complete tight ends in all of FCS football. His eagerness to block in the run game while maintaining his physicality as a receiver had teams intrigued, and the Jets were the team to jump at the opportunity.
Hulstein, a former Princeton Tiger, traveled to Poughkeepsie with head coach Mike Willis, who coached at Princeton before his position with the Red Foxes.
When the Texas native took the field for Marist, he posed as an elite red zone threat from the jump. His four touchdowns in the Red Foxes’ first four games helped Marist overtake their win total (one) from the year prior in less than five contests. He finished the year with 599 receiving yards, 78 of which came from a deep, down-the-seam route that energized the Red Foxes in their come-from-behind win at home against Stetson.
Hulstein offers a ton of size, which proved to be a problem for defenders – linebackers in particular. He is a savvy route runner and is uber-aggressive at the catch point, something general managers and NFL coaches have coveted for years.
The New York Jets drafted Kenyon Sadiq from Oregon with the 16th overall pick, and still have last year’s second-rounder, Mason Taylor, at the tight end spot, but a plethora of NFL rosters have three to four TEs on the team.
This news comes after Hulstein dominated at his pro-day, posting a 36-inch vertical and 21 reps on the bench press at 225 pounds – this would have put him in the top half of every tight end that attended the NFL Combine back in February of this year.
Edited by Ben Leeds
Photo from Jaylen Rizzo
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