Jets QB Sam Darnold has weapons,but needs another outside WR

[joewilly12]

Jets QB Sam Darnold has weapons, but needs another outside receiver

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People around the New York Jets say the frustration was palpable in the wide receiver room last season. Robby Anderson was unhappy because he wanted more targets. Quincy Enunwa was chafed because he felt stereotyped as Mr. Bubble Screen. Jermaine Kearse was befuddled by his lack of involvement, convinced that offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates had it in for him. Not surprisingly, all three players had a down season.

Instead of starting over at the position, which they could have easily done, the Jets swapped out Kearse for free-agent addition Jamison Crowder and changed the high command on offense. Out went Bates, whose locker room popularity rivaled that of a wet towel, and in came coach Adam Gase. Part of his job is to make the receivers happy and productive. The organization believes the talent is there and that all it needs is to be coached up -- a view shared by a former great.

 

 

"I didn't understand why they didn't get Robby the ball more -- and it's not up to [Sam] Darnold," said ex-receiver Wesley Walker, who is a member of the Jets' Ring of Honor. "They have to have the offense, the coaching, the coordinator. No matter what the talent level is, you have to be able to develop that talent within your offense and figure it out. They haven't been able to do that, so that's going to be interesting this year. I think they do have the talent."

 

During the 2018 season, Jets QB Sam Darnold ranked 28th in completion percentage outside the numbers, while throwing seven interceptions on those attempts (second most in the NFL), according to ESPN Stats & Information. Raj Mehta/USA TODAY Sports

Yes, they have talent, but they're still one move away from being an exceptional group. Critics will say the Jets still lack a No. 1 receiver, but that's a vague term. What they really need, to go along with Anderson's deep speed and the inside prowess of Enunwa and Crowder, is another outside receiver who can win consistently in the short and intermediate zones. Darnold ranked 28th in completion percentage outside the numbers, while throwing seven interceptions on those attempts (second most in the NFL), according to ESPN Stats & Information.

The Jets didn't draft a receiver with any of their six selections, the free-agent class (not great to begin with) is pretty much wiped out, and the team doesn't have a pipeline of young players because of poor drafting in recent years. (ArDarius Stewart, anyone?) The good news is the 2020 draft is supposedly loaded with receiving talent, but that won't do them any good this season. It's Anderson, Crowder and Enunwa ... and pray for no injuries.

Gase, who cut his teeth in the league as a receivers coach, sees potential in this group. He believes Anderson can be more than a deep threat. (Anderson agrees.) He believes Enunwa can excel outside the slot and be more than a short-area target. (Enunwa agrees.) Gase hasn't coached them yet in a real practice, so we're talking some projection here. They're relying on Gase's offensive acumen to scheme up ways to overcome the deficiencies.

"It's early, but we're seeing what guys are capable of in just a few [non-contact) practices," Enunwa said. "As camp comes, that's where I really think it's going to show. That's when guys will open up and see how they do within the offense, and how we do against a defense."

Enunwa, Anderson and Crowder have played a total of 10 seasons. If you take their career highs to comprise a "best" stat line, kind of like an SAT superscore, it would read like this: 67 receptions (Crowder), 941 yards (Anderson) and seven touchdowns (Anderson and Crowder, tie). Those aren't awe-inspiring numbers. In fact, the Jets are one of only seven teams without a 1,000-yard wide receiver.

Still, Crowder landed a three-year, $28.5 million contract in free agency, making him one of the highest-paid slot receivers. Enunwa reupped for a nice sum -- four years, $33.4 million -- even though injuries have limited him to only one full season. Anderson will make $3.1 million in his final year before unrestricted free agency (assuming he gets around to signing his restricted tender; he belongs to a small minority of RFAs who haven't.)

 

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"It's really up to me," said Enunwa, discussing his ceiling. "Last year, I could be as frustrated as I want to be about what happened, but injuries slowed me down -- injuries in camp, injuries during the season and recovering from [my 2017] injury (neck surgery that wiped out his entire season)."

With a pass-catching tight end in Chris Herndon and a running back in Le'Veon Bell who can split out as a receiver, Gase will have different ways to scheme up a passing attack. He could bunch the wideouts on one side and line up Bell or Herndon on the opposite side, creating a favorable matchup. One thing seems certain: With Herndon, Crowder and Enunwa, there will be no shortage of targets who can work the middle. Outside might be an issue, though.

The wide receiver position is among the remaining post-draft questions for the Jets. The others:

 

• Is the starting center on the roster? After striking out in free agency and failing to draft one, the Jets are going with Jonotthan Harrison. So they say. Gase said he would be comfortable with Harrison (28 career starts at center) because his athleticism makes him a fit in the Jets' zone-blocking scheme. While that might be true, it won't stop them from looking at other options.

• Do they have enough at cornerback? The answer is no, and it wouldn't be a surprise if they re-sign Morris Claiborne. His market could heat up now that May 7 has passed, the deadline in which free agents no longer count toward the compensation-pick formula. The Jets have three seasoned corners -- Trumaine Johnson, Darryl Roberts and Brian Poole, an Atlanta Falcons castoff. They need another.

• Did they adequately address the edge-rushing issue?Probably not, but that could change if rookie Jachai Polite(third-round pick) can contribute in some fashion. He recorded 11 sacks for Florida last season as an undersized defensive end (about 230 pounds), but he will have to add weight in the NFL. That could be tricky. He added weight for the NFL scouting combine (258) and ran poorly, complaining of a hamstring issue.

• Who will replace Andre Roberts as the return specialist? Not re-signing Roberts, who made All-Pro, could come back to bite the Jets. Right now, the top candidates are Trenton Cannon, who battled the dropsies, and New York Giants castoff Quadree Henderson. Diminutive rookie Greg Dortch(5-foot-7), a prolific returner at Wake Forest, could get a shot.

[RutgersJetFan]

Everything they poured into getting Darnold last year, all the resources they had for this offseason, and the quarterback doesn't have a #1 or a center. Oy.

[thebuzzardman]

Bell will lining up outside at times. Sure, it'll only be like 2% of all plays, but every little bit helps!

[NYJ1]

The above is exactly why this team is still very much rebuilding.

[MDL_JET]

I'm fine with what they have this year.  There's plenty to work with. Then they can hopefully grab a top WR in the draft next year. 

[New York Mick]

WRs shouldn’t be in issue if the oline does its job. 

[T0mShane]

25 minutes ago, joewilly12 said:

If you take their career highs to comprise a "best" stat line, kind of like an SAT superscore, it would read like this: 67 receptions (Crowder), 941 yards (Anderson) and seven touchdowns (Anderson and Crowder, tie).

This is interesting because it feels like a better group of receivers than it probably is. If their plan is to rely on Robbie Anderson to carry the load, that’s probably not ideal. 

[Lith]

Wonder if they foresee Ty Montgomery (WR in college and his first year with GB) more as WR than RB.  Could give them a bit more depth.

[joewilly12]

5 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

If their plan is to rely on Robbie Anderson

[14 in Green]

C'mon, now. The Jets have enough at WR right now, and Bell Is like having another really good one also. Wesco might develop into another nice piece at TE to go with Herndon (who looks really good). So lets stop the nonsense about needing another WR. Please, that's not a priority for this team.

We need to understand that under a salary cap, there is no team in the NFL without "needs" somewhere, Here are our areas of need: Center, another viable option at Cornerback, and OL help. Everywhere else, this team looks good on paper.

The Jets still have the time and money to find help at those positions between now and the final camp cut date. If not, who knows, Harrison might be a capable starter, and the Jets could be right about the young CBs we already have.

Finally, if our highly regarded OL coach can work his magic with the OL, this has a chance to be a pretty good team come September. 

[rangerous]

imo this is a little overblown.  darnold will have 300 or so completions.  which receiver, including bell and herndon, has caught more than 75 balls in a season?  bell caught as many as 85. anderson caught as many as 63. crowder caught as many as 66. enunwa as many as 58. herndon had 39.  that's a total of 311 between those guys.  this also ignores the 24 completions to burnett and leggett and the 18 caught by mcguire.  it all depends on how much gase wants to stretch the field.

[Darnold Schwarzenegger]

8 minutes ago, 14 in Green said:

C'mon, now. The Jets have enough at WR right now, and Bell Is like having another really good one also. Wesco might develop into another nice piece at TE to go with Herndon (who looks really good). So lets stop the nonsense about needing another WR. Please, that's not a priority for this team.

We need to understand that under a salary cap, there is no team in the NFL without "needs" somewhere, Here are our areas of need: Center, another viable option at Cornerback, and OL help. Everywhere else, this team looks good on paper.

The Jets still have the time and money to find help at those positions between now and the final camp cut date. If not, who knows, Harrison might be a capable starter, and the Jets could be right about the young CBs we already have.

Finally, if our highly regarded OL coach can work his magic with the OL, this has a chance to be a pretty good team come September. 

Respectfully disagree with the notion that we don't need another Wr. The jets are 1 of 7 teams without a 1000 yard wideout.

If an injury occurs I think we are pretty screwed. Like Cimini points out we have no young depth waiting in the wings. We have some decent players in Enunwa, Robby and Crowder, but the problem is that none of them are game changers. There all JAG.  

We don't have a top 40 Wr. And when you consider you can play 2-5 wrs on any given play that's a bit concerning.

I mean  Jordan Reed, Chester Rodgers, and James Conner each had more receptions than Robby Anderson (50). Enunwa had 38 receptions btw.  Robby was 39th in yardage with 752 yards just beating out James white and Eric ebron.

Let's not act like Sam is throwing to some legendary receivers out there. We need more talent in the wide receiver room. 

[Warfish]

1 hour ago, NYJ1 said:

The above is exactly why this team is still very much rebuilding.

And here we have the "Rebuild never ends" mentality.

We could have #1 picks at every position but one, and someone would post this exact sentiment.....

[Beerfish]

We have some okay Wr's but at this point no one that can make the QB look good.  Especially on 50/50 balls.

A key for this team is Herndon.

[14 in Green]

23 minutes ago, Darnold Schwarzenegger said:

Respectfully disagree with the notion that we don't need another Wr. The jets are 1 of 7 teams without a 1000 yard wideout.

If an injury occurs I think we are pretty screwed. Like Cimini points out we have no young depth waiting in the wings. We have some decent players in Enunwa, Robby and Crowder, but the problem is that none of them are game changers. There all JAG.  

We don't have a top 40 Wr. And when you consider you can play 2-5 wrs on any given play that's a bit concerning.

I mean  Jordan Reed, Chester Rodgers, and James Conner each had more receptions than Robby Anderson (50). Enunwa had 38 receptions btw.  Robby was 39th in yardage with 752 yards just beating out James white and Eric ebron.

Let's not act like Sam is throwing to some legendary receivers out there. We need more talent in the wide receiver room. 

Fair enough, You made some reasonable points. I can't fault anything you said, but let me try to put a more optimistic spin on it for you...

I look at it like this. We have an offensive minded coach now, and a QB who's now going into his second year. I'm thinking the competence level will go up big time in both those areas. If it doesn't the WR group really doesn't matter, does it? You might be pretty happy at the end of the season with some of the stats the WRs and TEs put up this year, along with Bell's numbers both running and receiving if I'm right.

In fact, I'm worried the production might be so good, my "adopted Jet" from last season, Deontay Burnett, might get lost in the shuffle.

If you're still not buying what I'm selling, why not just go with "its only May, look at the bright side". We usually have plenty of time after the season starts to get discouraged about s**t. LOL

[Darnold Schwarzenegger]

5 minutes ago, 14 in Green said:

Fair enough, You made some reasonable points. I can't fault anything you said, but let me try to put a more optimistic spin on it for you...

I look at it like this. We have an offensive minded coach now, and a QB who's now going into his second year.  I think you might be pretty happy at the end of the season with some of the stats the WRs and TEs put up this year, along with Bell's numbers both running and receiving.

In fact, I'm worried the production might be so good, my "adopted Jet" from last season, Deontay Burnett, might get lost in the shuffle.

I agree with you. Sam taking the next step should help a lot. I can see them all hovering around 1000 yards if they can stay healthy. But Enunwa always seems banged up and Robby Anderson's legs look like pencils that could snap in half at any given moment.  I think they are good players but I think we need some more bodies in the room. 

Imagine adding an aj green into this offense. We would all be screaming playoffs

[Larz]

The nfl is a short passing game 

Bell is the #1 whatever you want to label it as

stupid troll job 

[T0mShane]

15 minutes ago, Beerfish said:

We have some okay Wr's but at this point no one that can make the QB look good.  Especially on 50/50 balls.

A key for this team is Herndon.

Hakeem Butler would have been ideal

[Larz]

If we look only at completed passes, we see similar patterns. Long “bomb” completions are rare and a vast majority of NFL completions occur within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. In fact, only about 31 percent of all passes are thrown beyond 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. We hear a lot that the NFL is a passing league, but it’s more accurate to say that it’s a short-passing league.

[Larz]

The Super Bowl was won with option routes over the middle from the slot 

ignore the trolls

 

[T0mShane]

[CanadienJetsFan]

Everything will fall squarely on Sam’s shoulders. A great QB elevates everyone’s play. Even a guy like Charron Peake can contribute to the cause.

Let’s hope Sam can become “the guy”

[RobR]

5 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

More Larz logic.....lets keep every pass under 10 yards, well because.

[T0mShane]

Just now, RobR said:

More Larz logic.....lets keep every pass under 10 yards, well because.

Seemed to be en vogue in 2012 so

[RobR]

2 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

Seemed to be en vogue in 2012 so

Never mind stretching the field every now and then so that those passes can actually work. 

[T0mShane]

6 minutes ago, CanadienJetsFan said:

Everything will fall squarely on Sam’s shoulders. A great QB elevates everyone’s play. Even a guy like Charron Peake can contribute to the cause.

Let’s hope Sam can become “the guy”

IIRC, Sam finished last in completion percentage on passes between 0-10 yards, and Cimini wrote that he was bottom third throwing outside the numbers, both of which are obviously terrible things. As much as we love Enunwa, he consistently puts up an abysmal catch rate, and he’s supposed to be the safety valve guy. All young QBs need a receiver they can just throw the ball *at* and let them come down with it.  Who is that guy for Darnold? Herndon? 

[Matt39]

Good thing we were aggressive at receiver in the draft.

[T0mShane]

12 minutes ago, RobR said:

Never mind stretching the field every now and then so that those passes can actually work. 

No one will ever replicate that Pats offense. It’s entirely non-transferable and even Josh McDaniels can’t export it. It’s silly for anyone to model their personnel around that sh*t, imo 

[shuler82]

Here’s a crazy idea - coach up the talent you do have and put them in a position to succeed. We haven’t seen that happen in this organization for a solid decade.. special teams aside.

[Integrity28]

While I do agree, it would be nice to have another outside WR, I think it's quite obvious they're building this offense to attack from the middle out. Herndon, Leveon, Crowder, Wesco... they want to exploit the middle of the field, where safeties and LBers are usually matched up with far more athletic receiving threats. At least that's the way I see it.

That said, we've managed to avoid coaches that exploit mismatches on offense for decades... so I'll remain skeptical until I see it.

[RobR]

17 minutes ago, shuler82 said:

Here’s a crazy idea - coach up the talent you do have and put them in a position to succeed. We haven’t seen that happen in this organization for a solid decade.. special teams aside.

I understand your premise but there has to be some talent in these players in the first place.  The fact that Mac took receivers in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th round and they are all out of the league proves that the underlying talent must be there. The fact that no team could make anything out of those players illustrates what crap our coaches have had to work with for the WR position.

[Augustiniak]

34 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

IIRC, Sam finished last in completion percentage on passes between 0-10 yards, and Cimini wrote that he was bottom third throwing outside the numbers, both of which are obviously terrible things. As much as we love Enunwa, he consistently puts up an abysmal catch rate, and he’s supposed to be the safety valve guy. All young QBs need a receiver they can just throw the ball *at* and let them come down with it.  Who is that guy for Darnold? Herndon? 

And bell and now crowder.  

[SR24]

Crabtree? I know he’s kind of a bum but could be a low risk/decent reward?  Atleast a big body RZ target? Idk I guess I’d just want as much talent for 14 as we could get. 

[joenamathwouldn'tcry]

Barring injury, the Jets have plenty of people to catch the ball this year.  All of those bemoaning the wide receiver group fail to recognize the number of catches that LeVeon Bell is going to need.  Based on the needs of this group, there may not be enough balls to go around.    

The following is a list of the top receivers in the NFL 2018.  The majority are perceived #1 Wide Receivers.  Let's examine how many of them played on winning football teams in the year 2018.  The truth of the matter is that of the 12 listed here, only five played on teams that made it to the playoffs last season.

Out of the top twenty receivers in the league, a total of 9, less than half, made the playoffs.  Many of these 9 played for the same team.  In essence, the presence of a de facto #1 wide receiver on an offense is over rated.  More credence is to be paid to the system, and it's successes or failures. That's the important thing, the system, and not some  "shiny new penny".

 PASSING RUSHING RECEIVING KICKING PUNTING RETURNING DEFENSE SCORING YARDAGEOFFENSIVE LINE

RECEIVING	GP	REC	YDS	AVG	YDS/G	YAC	TD	LNG	BIG	100+	TGT	DROP	PCT	FUM	FUML	1ST	PCT
1 Jones, Julio ATL	16	113	1677	14.8	104.8	448	8	58	0	0	170	9	-	0	0	0	-
2 Hopkins, DeAndre HOU	16	115	1572	13.7	98.3	387	11	49	0	0	163	2	-	0	0	0	-
3 Evans, Mike TB	16	86	1524	17.7	95.3	282	8	72	0	0	138	7	-	0	0	0	-
4 Hill, Tyreek KC	16	87	1479	17.0	92.4	573	12	75	0	0	137	6	-	0	0	0	-
5 Smith-Schuster, JuJu PIT	16	111	1426	12.8	89.1	648	7	97	0	0	166	6	-	0	0	0	-
6 Thomas, Michael NO	16	125	1405	11.2	87.8	514	9	72	0	0	147	3	-	0	0	0	-
7 Adams, Davante GB	15	111	1386	12.5	92.4	475	13	57	0	0	169	5	-	0	0	0	-
8 Kittle, George SF	16	88	1377	15.6	86.1	870	5	85	0	0	136	5	-	0	0	0	-
9 Thielen, Adam MIN	16	113	1373	12.2	85.8	416	9	68	0	0	153	3	-	0	0	0	-
10 Kelce, Travis KC	16	103	1336	13.0	83.5	569	10	43	0	0	150	7	-	0	0	0	-
11 Brown, Antonio OAK	15	104	1297	12.5	86.5	485	15	78	0	0	168	3	-	0	0	0	-
12 Hilton, T.Y. IND	14	76	1270	16.7	90.7	467	6	68	0	0	120	4	-	0	0	0	-

 

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[Philc1]

3 hours ago, New York Mick said:

WRs shouldn’t be in issue if the oline does its job. 

It’s actually the other way around