The introduction of Xavier Gipson doubled as a feel-good story.
He was the undrafted wideout, the one “Hard Knocks” tracked throughout training camp last year while he tried to crack the Jets 53-man roster as an undersized, speedy, 5-foot-9 rookie.
And that opportunity materialized when general manager Joe Douglas and head coach Robert Saleh called Gipson into an office and tricked him — with the tenor of their conversation suggesting he’d been cut — before revealing that there was, in fact, a spot for him.
This year, it’s different.
Gipson’s presence for Week 1 is all but guaranteed, even though his training camp was interrupted by a leg injury.
He’s listed as the Jets starting slot receiver on the unofficial depth chart with Randall Cobb gone, though rookie Malachi Corley could challenge for reps.
Saleh and the Jets have told players to make sure “everyone knows what your fastball is” when watching tape, and after Gipson’s role expanded down the stretch last year — with 14 of his 21 catches and 147 of his 229 yards occurring after the calendar flipped to December — Saleh wants to ensure Gipson “maxes out his speed, play in and play out” in 2024.
“A year ago, I don’t know if we were able to get all that speed out of him,” Saleh said Wednesday. “As a young rookie, you’re swimming. You’re not accessing all your athleticism. Where this year, the challenge for him is to throw that fastball every single play.”
There were times when that strength flashed in 2023.
Gipson scored off an end-around against the Texans in December.
Earlier that month, he collected a flea-flicker for a 36-yard gain.
And back in Week 1, the same night Rodgers made his four-snap cameo before his torn Achilles, Gipson won the game with a 65-yard punt return for a touchdown in overtime.
“To win in walk-off fashion as an undrafted rookie free agent, you’re just like, ‘Man, that is what they write movies about,’ ” Colby Carthel, who coached Gipson at Stephen F. Austin, told The Post.
The best part of #HardKnocks? Seeing guys like @nyjets rookie WR Xavier Gipson find out they made the team. 🥹 @Gipson22X
New #HardKnocks tonight at 10pm ET on @StreamOnMax pic.twitter.com/BsNpWFq4OE
— NFL (@NFL) September 5, 2023
Gradually, as the Jets season unraveled and questions about the future replaced glaring concerns about the present, Gipson became more than the punt returner and “Hard Knocks” character.
Cobb faded from the lineup and was a healthy scratch at times.
Gipson had always been defined by speed, dating back to when he was “lightning in a bottle” as a recruit out of Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas when Carthel flipped Gipson — originally committed to SMU as a defensive back — to his program and Stephen F. Austin constructed its offense around him.
He primarily operated out of the slot and collected 158 yards against Texas Tech in 2021, while topping 200 three times and finishing with 4,305 across four seasons.
“He could’ve been an All-American corner for us, I felt like, and that’s, I think, helped him and his game,” Carthel said. “… He’s not just a guy that runs fast and catches the ball. He’s a complete football player, and I think that gives him an edge at his position over other guys who are maybe just a receiving-type player.”
In an offense with Garrett Wilson, Breece Hall, Mike Williams and Allen Lazard, Gipson won’t be the focal point.
But that will open up one-on-one opportunities for Gipson in the slot, Carthel said, and could lead to a “breakout season” simply because of the talent surrounding him.
Rodgers maximized routes from players such as Jordy Nelson and Cobb in the slot with the Packers, too.
So Saturday’s preseason opener will provide the first glimpse of Gipson in Year 2.
The Jets will also get to watch Corley operate, observing if their third-round pick in April can translate his skill set rooted in physicality — and “violence” while running, Saleh said — into a game.
It took time for Gipson to demonstrate that he was more than a punt returner. Took time to even demonstrate that he should be a wideout in college.
And now, with a chance to demonstrate that he should be more than a Jets backup and with a threat to that looming, Gipson’s same speed remains at the center of everything.
“He still makes people look slow,” Carthel said, “and he makes people look silly. … He makes it look so easy, and when he’s playing for us, he’s a pro playing FCS football. He’s an NFL talent playing FCS football — you expect that.
“But when you see that against pros, you’re like, ‘My gosh, he is special.’ ”
