FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Andrew Beck strolled onto the field in Kansas City last Sunday, blasted the football as far as he could and had more than a few people — at the stadium and watching on TV — scratching their heads.
The 6-foot-3, 255-pound Beck is officially listed on the New York Jets ’ roster as a fullback. But the offense considers him a tight end. Now, he can add another position to his resume of football versatility: kickoff specialist.
“Just keeping you guys on your toes, man,” Beck said with a big laugh.
Same for opposing return units.
NFL teams typically use kickers or punters to handle kickoffs, but the Jets tried something different during their 35-12 loss to the Chiefs. They had Beck — instead of kicker Jason Sanders or punter Austin McNamara — kick off all five times in the game.
And it had nothing to do with New York not being satisfied with the kicking of Sanders or McNamara.
“Any time you have an opportunity to get an extra tackler on the field with a play like this, I think it’s a benefit,” special teams coordinator Chris Banjo said. "So, yes, we’ve definitely been working on it for a while. Always look for different ways, a way to get 1% better, continue to close the gap that we continue to talk about and stress.
“So, whenever we feel like and identify an area where it can help, we’re definitely going to try to maximize it.”
Beck's first kickoff went 59 yards, followed by kicks of 56, 59 and 61 yards. His one mistake came on the kickoff to open the second half when he sent it out of bounds, giving Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs the ball at their 40. And with a short field, Kansas City quickly turned a two-point game into a nine-point advantage — and cruised from there.
“Hats off to the coverage unit, man, because it worked out well for us last week, as long as I kept the ball in play,” Beck said. “So I think the goal for this week is to keep the ball in play, factor in the coverage and let those guys hunt.
"If it’s something that Banjo wants to do this week, awesome. If not, it’s something we’ve got in our repertoire moving forward.”
Special teams was a strength of the Jets last season, but the unit has struggled at times on kick coverage this year, in large part because of injuries to key contributors such as Marcelino McCrary-Ball, Kiko Mauigoa and Arian Smith. New York gave up a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to Las Vegas' Dylan Laube two weeks ago, so the Jets thought using Beck, a special teams regular who can tackle, would help.
“Those are things that I’m always going to look at, things sometimes are out-of-the-box thinking to where we can get good players on the field,” coach Aaron Glenn said.
The New Orleans Saints are the only other NFL team to use a player other than a kicker or a punter on a kickoff this season. Safety Justin Reid — who previously filled in as an emergency kicker for Kansas City — kicked off to start the second half against Las Vegas in Week 3.
“It gives other teams something to prepare for,” Saints special teams coordinator Phil Galiano said. “They may have a return called and now they see Justin standing back there and he's about to kick off and they're going to have to make an adjustment. It's one less double-team, per se, that they can have on somebody unless they're just willing to let him run free to the ball.”
There's one catch: By NFL rule, the kicker can't cross the 50-yard line until the ball hits the ground or a player in the landing zone — the area on the field between the receiving team’s goal line and 20-yard line — or goes into the end zone.
“I knew the rule a little bit before just because we had watched the clips of Justin Reid kicking off,” Beck said. “As soon as I saw him do it, I obviously went to coach and was like, yeah, we have to try this. So I think it took him a little to kind of decide to.”
That came last week, when Beck practiced his kickoffs and felt more comfortable with each practice.
“That’s something we’ve talked about over time and we just kind of allowed it to mature,” Banjo said. “And it ended up being a weapon for us.”
The 30-year-old Beck has some kicking in his background — mainly soccer, though, especially because his father Chris played for Army in college. The Tampa, Florida, native knew how to boot a soccer ball, but gravitated toward football as he got older, eventually playing at Texas.
“I would kick for teams, but it wasn't something I really messed with in college,” said Beck, who was signed as a fullback by New England as an undrafted free agent in 2019. “And then when I got to the NFL, they were all like, the more you can do, the more you can do, you know?”
So, during stints with Denver, Houston, Green Bay and now the Jets in his eight-year NFL career, Beck has become a versatile jack-of-all-trades.
“Guy's just a football player,” tight end Jeremy Ruckert said as he passed by Beck's locker.
“It’s fun and I just love football, man, and whatever I get to do on the field, it just gives me more opportunities to hang around a little bit,” Beck said. “And I really enjoy it. So I'm waiting to see what they want me to try next because I’ll just say I can do it and then figure it out later.”
Beck has lined up in the backfield as a lead blocker and carried the ball in short-yardage situations as a fullback. He has been part of the Jets' five-tight end sets and has four special teams tackles. And it's anyone's guess where else he might end up.
"I’m just our emergency specialist,” Beck said. “I emergency long snap, kick and punt.”
But can he kick a field goal?
“Yeah, in an emergency if I had to,” a smiling Beck said. “That’s obviously not something I want to do. Jason is really good at that, man, so let’s let him keep doing that.
"But if he breaks his shoelace, I got him.”
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