New York Jets Give Behind-The-Scenes Look At Helmet Building Process

With the New York Jets hosting their rookie minicamp this week, assistant equipment manager Armando Taddei gave a behind-the-scenes look at their equipment room on social media on Saturday.

The video included a view of their helmet wall, which is organized by color, size and model or style of the shells and facemasks, as well as how he built a helmet for former Notre Dame defensive back Jordan Clark.

how does an NFL equipment team build a helmet?

listen up… school is in session 📚 pic.twitter.com/nJCqDtHkYp
— New York Jets (@nyjets) May 10, 2025

“A lot of guys don’t know the name of the helmet, but they know like the horseshoe on (the Riddell SpeedFlex),” Taddei said. “They can see the whole wall and they can depict what they’ve worn in the past.

“Usually, they stick with that, but if they choose to be in something different, we have plenty of options for them to choose something else.”

The video wraps up with a step-by-step look at the process, with Taddei knocking out the front and back bumpers before attaching the facemask, chinstrap and decals, as well as the tape with the player’s name.

“For rookie minicamp, we have names we put on the helmets just for distinction for the coaches,” Taddei said as he applied Clark’s name to the front and back. “This is the only time of year we do that.”

We would be remiss if we didn’t point out other memorabilia we spotted throughout the video, including helmets from every other NFL team, Hall of Fame center Kevin Mawae’s 2005 Pro Bowl jersey and former running back Curtis Martin’s road jersey.

There was also a display that featured the evolution of the Jets’ helmets, as well as a handful of college helmets, which could be from former players or previous stops for members of the equipment staff.