CORTLAND — Jets coach Rex Ryan hopes rookie Quinton Coples can become another Jason Pierre-Paul.
Ryan said Coples, the team’s first-round pick, and Pierre-Paul, the Giants’ star defensive end, had similar characteristics when they came out of college.
“It’s funny, when you look at the numbers from when Pierre-Paul came out [in 2010] and when Quinton Coples (came out), the measurables are almost identical,” Ryan said, “except that Quinton is an inch taller and 20 pounds heavier [actually 14 pounds]. Then Pierre-Paul has those arms that reach for days.”
Both players ran a 4.71 in the 40-yard dash before their drafts and were similar in several other categories.
To be fair, Ryan did not compare Coples to Pierre-Paul on the field. He can only hope that Coples will play like Pierre-Paul, who had 16 1/2 sacks last season.
“These guys are unusual guys and hopefully Quinton can be the same kind of player Pierre-Paul ended up being,” Ryan said. “This guy can really hit it. He can play outside and inside.”
Coples, taken with the 16th overall pick, had a nice preseason debut on Friday against the Bengals. He had five tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a tackle for loss.
* The Jets’ passing attack had its best day of training camp. Quarterbacks Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow combined to complete their first 14 passes of the team’s 7-on-7 drill and completed 15 of 17 overall. Sanchez went 11-for-12 in the drill.
During team drills, Sanchez went 4-for-12 with an interception by Darrelle Revis and a pair of sacks. Tebow went 5-for-6 and was sacked twice in team drills.
* The Jets have no interest in wide receiver Chad Johnson, who was released by the Dolphins this week after getting arrested. The Jets seem to need a veteran receiver, but not one with that much baggage. … Left guard Matt Slauson refused to speak about his paycut. The Jets and Slauson renegotiated his deal this month to give him a $258,000 cut. … Ryan said wide receiver Santonio Holmes (ribs), safety Eric Smith (knee), nose tackle Sione Po’uha (back) and wide receiver Jeremy Kerley (hamstring) most likely won’t play Saturday against the Giants. Holmes participated in positional drills yesterday.