The Jets on Tuesday quietly signed a young offensive lineman who happens to be the son of an NBA legend.
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who → sign → legend
The signing of Nick Dawkins, a 6-4, 305-pound undrafted guard and center, went somewhat unnoticed because he was essentially brought to the practice squad to add depth to a line that lost starting left guard Dylan Parham to a knee injury Sunday.
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tRY IT
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he → go → field
-year-old Dawkins is the son of longtime NBA favorite Darryl Dawkins, who played for the 76ers, Nets, Jazz and Pistons and died of a heart attack in 2015 when Nick was 13.
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Nick → play → 2015
Nick Dawkins wears No. 53 in honor of one of his father’s NBA uniform numbers.
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Dawkins → wear → numbers
Asked if he’s any good at basketball, Dawkins told The Post: “No, that’s why I’m here.
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I → ask → Post
I can get a lot of rebounds, block a lot of shots and foul, but I can’t really put the ball in the hoop.’’
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I → get → hoop
Dawkins said his dad is always in his thoughts.
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dad → say → thoughts
“I think about him every single day — more so because I miss him, and I wish he’d been able to see the things I’ve been able to do and how I try to represent our last name,’’ Dawkins said.
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Dawkins → think → name
“I think about legacy, but honestly I’m just trying to carve my own path.
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I → think → path
I guess doing that is subconsciously still thinking about him, but I’m really just trying to make my own name, make my own bones.’’
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I → guess → bones
Dawkins, who is cousins with Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns, who is Darryl Dawkins’ godson, was signed first by the Ravens as an undrafted free agent after the NFL Draft in April and was waived Sept. 3.
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who → sign → April
“This is the first place that was going to give me a fair shake,’’ he said of the Jets signing him.
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Jets → go → him
I came in for a workout, and I’m appreciative of it.’’
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I → come → it
He has a familiar face in the locker room in Jets left tackle Olu Fashanu, with whom he played at Penn State.
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he → have → State
Fashanu’s face lit up when Dawkins’ signing was brought up to him on Thursday.
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signing → light → Thursday
“I think of Nick like a brother, so to have him in the locker room, another familiar face from Penn State, that’s cool,’’ he told The Post.
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he → think → Post
“Growing up, I played basketball, so I knew about Darryl Dawkins and everything.
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I → grow → Dawkins
Once we introduced ourselves at Penn State, I connected the last name.
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I → introduce → name
Eventually, we got to talking about it, and he told us a lot of stories about his dad that were pretty entertaining.
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that → get → dad
The Jets players who didn’t practice Wednesday — RB Breece Hall (quad), WR Adonai Mitchell (finger), TE Mason Taylor (thumb), G Dylan Parham (knee) and LB Kiko Mauigoa (quad) — also didn’t practice Thursday and are highly likely to sit out Sunday’s game at the Bears.
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who → practice → Bears
Edge rusher Kingsley Enegbare, however, was addition to the report on Thursday with a knee ailment and didn’t practice.
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Enegbare → practice → ailment
This is a concern for the Jets, particularly against a stout Chicago rushing attack if he cannot play.
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he → play → attack
TEs Kenyon Sadiq (back) and Jeremy Ruckert (knee) were limited in practice but are expected to play.
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Sadiq → limit → practice
Starting safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who was lost to a groin injury early in the season opener and hasn’t played since, practiced fully Thursday after being limited Wednesday and will play Sunday.
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who → start → opener
“We’re certainly excited about [Fitzpatrick] coming back,’’ defensive coordinator Brian Duker said Thursday.
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Duker → ’re → ?
“He’ll show who he is as a player, like he has throughout his career.’’
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he → show → career
Despite the fact that DE Will McDonald has been quiet for the past two games and played only a limited number of snaps Sunday in Detroit, Duker praised him Thursday, saying he’s “very happy with Will,’’ and adding, “He’s gone out there and done a nice job — obviously the big sack against Tennessee comes to mind.’’
Duker said he has no idea which QB the Bears will play Sunday, Case Keenum or Tyson Bagent.
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Bears → play → Keenum
Keenum started Monday night and was 24 of 34 for 247 yards, two TDs and no INTs in the Bears’ 27-7 rout of the Eagles.
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Keenum → start → Eagles
Starter Caleb Williams remains out with a hamstring injury suffered two games ago.
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Williams → remain → injury
Jets head coach Aaron Glenn and Duker both coached in Detroit when Bears head coach Ben Johnson was the offensive coordinator.
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Johnson → coach → Detroit
Asked on Thursday if there is any advantage to knowing Johnson’s tendencies, Duker said: “I’d actually think a lot of times that cancels itself out because he knows some of our tendencies too.
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he → ask → tendencies
It ends up being a little bit of cat and mouse at that point.’’
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It → end → point
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