At a generously listed 5-foot-8, Leon Washington is the smallest player on the Jets roster.
Considering the multiple ways he can hurt the opposition, however, he might be the biggest player on the team.
Washington, in his third NFL season, is a dangerous kickoff returner, having averaged 27.5 yards per return last season and taking three back for TDs.
He, too, is a slippery and productive running back, rushing for 1,003 yards and a 4.5-yard average in the last two seasons.
Washington, who also has 61 receptions, returns punts for the Jets, averaging 7.9-yards per return.
Asked what pumps him up most among all the plays he makes, Washington was stumped for a moment.
“To be honest with you, I enjoy all of it,” he said. “As a youngster in high school, I never wanted to come off the field.”
Washington actually was a top-rated cornerback coming out of high school before he went to Florida State as a running back.
“I think the most exciting play is the kickoff return, because it usually comes after the other team scores, or it comes at beginning of the game or after the half – and it’s an instant momentum change,” he said.
Washington, a fourth-round draft pick in 2006, said he drew early comparisons with former Giants, Patriots and Jets all-purpose RB Dave Meggett.
The 5-foot-7, 190-pound Meggett, drafted in the fifth round by the Giants in 1989, was a better punt returner than Washington has been, averaging 10.6 yards in his career and returning seven TDs, and not as good a kickoff returner, averaging 22.1 yards on kickoffs with one TD.
Meggett rushed for 1,684 yards and a 4.2-yard average and caught 336 passes.
“Dave Meggett was a guy I was compared to before I came to the NFL – a guy [who] can do all sorts of things to help the team,” Washington said. “It’s a good comparison. [But] as a youth, I idolized Marshall Faulk. He was the type of guy I envisioned myself playing like. I modeled myself after him.”
Those are some pretty good models.
“He’s dangerous with the ball in his hands,” Eric Mangini said of Washington. “If [the QB doesn’t] want to throw it outside and doesn’t want to go to the slot, he can dump it in Leon’s hands and 5 yards can easily become 50. He’s an elusive guy and plays a lot bigger than he is.”
Mangini spoke about a screen pass to Washington at a recent practice as an example of the problems he causes to opposing defense.
“The offensive lineman is out front and he’s hiding behind the offensive lineman for about 5 yards until the defensive player commits, then he jets out,” Mangini said. “It’s that kind of patience and understanding, how he’s going to set up the block to open up space for himself [that sets him apart].”
His kick-returning ability also sets him apart.
“He’s kind of like a little mad scientist as a kick returner,” ex-Jet Matt Chatham said. “Leon sees a lot of things that helps us hit some of the [big] returns we have.”