Azareye’h Thomas saw limited snaps while starting the preseason opener.
But Aaron Glenn saw far more from the second-year Jets cornerback than a boxscore could convey.
“I was very encouraged by the way that he played in the game,” the Jets head coach said following Monday’s practice. “Listen, he’s a [6-foot-1], 200-pound man with long arms. And the one thing I wanted to see him do is really disrupt the routes, and he did a really good job of that in man coverage. We had a very limited menu and he went out there and executed exactly as I thought he should.
“Now, is he where he needs to be? Not at all. But man, that improvement speaks a ton about how he’s gone about training camp.”
Thomas entered training camp in a battle with Nahshon Wright — who led the NFL with eight individual takeaways last season — for the starting cornerback spot across from Brandon Stephens.
But with Wright sidelined by a hip injury, Thomas has taken advantage of another opportunity.
As a rookie, Thomas showed flashes of his potential following the trade of Sauce Gardner.
In his final six games, the third-round pick out of Florida State recorded six pass breakups and 21 tackles before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury, which forced him to undergo surgery for the first time.
“It was tough, but I wouldn’t take it back because I learned so much about myself, about this game and just how fragile this game truly is,” said Thomas, who broke up a pass in eight snaps against the Buccaneers last week. “It’s a revolving door. You just never know what happens, so you all got to stay ready. And so it was definitely challenging, but I’m thankful and I’m blessed for it. The No. 1 thing I learned is just to respond.”
When the Jets line up for their second preseason game Friday in Pittsburgh, Thomas — who changed from No. 23 to Gardner’s old No. 1 this season — is expected to take the field with the starters again.
Another opportunity awaits.
“When the coaches trust you, you’re gonna play even harder for them,” Thomas said.
