Aaron Glenn ‘not surprised’ by John Metchie III’s early success with Jets

John Metchie’s NFL carer has been a bit of a roller coaster.

The youngster was projected as a first-rounder during his senior season at Alabama, though he fell to the second after suffering a torn ACL in the SEC Championship.

He landed with the Texans but ended up sitting out his rookie campaign after being diagnosed with leukemia.

Metchie was cleared to return for the 2023 season but wasn’t quite able to carve out a role for himself in Houston before being traded to the Eagles this summer.

He again didn’t see much playing time in Philadelphia, then was shipped off to the Jets ahead of the trade deadline as part of the Michael Carter II deal.

Thus far in his brief time with Gang Green, the 25-year-old has settled in nicely.

Metchie has stepped up in a big way with top receiver Garrett Wilson remaining on IR, reaching the end zone in each of his first two games with the team.

He was also the Jets’ highest-graded offensive player (74.2) during Sunday’s loss to the Ravens, bringing in six of his career-high seven targets for a team-leading 65 yards.

Aaron Glenn certainly likes what he’s seen to this point, but he hasn’t been surprised.

“He comes from a program at Alabama that’s embedded in him how he has to work,” Glenn said. “There’s a lot that people really don’t see what he does behind closed doors -- he’s here every morning at 6 o’clock in our indoor facility catching 300 balls. If you put all of that together with a lot of other things he does, he’s going to be successful.

“And if you look at the things he’s overcome -- an ACL injury, he fought a battle with an illness, and he’s come back from all of those things so success is in his future no matter what he does. I’m not surprised at the success he’s having right now.”

If Metchie can keep this up, the impending RFA just might carve out a role for himself in New York next season.