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Want to pick up on the subject from yesterday . . .
Talking about the idea that Sam Darnold needs more weapons than he has right now.
Rich Cimini, perhaps the Jets’ top beat-writer, who has been covering the team for a long time, wrote about how the Jets need another receiver.
Headline – “Jets QB Sam Darnold has weapons, but needs another outside receiver.”
Their top three wide receiver spots are set, barring injury, with Robby Anderson along with two guys who just got paid good money – Quincy Enunwa and Jamison Crowder.
So those are your top three receivers right there.
Then you have Adam Gase-favorite, Josh Bellamy, who signed this off-season. Gase and Bellamy formed a strong bond in Chicago.
Bellamy is a virtual lock to make the team. Bellamy signed a 2-year deal for $5 million with $2.75 million guaranteed. He’s not going anywhere. He’s a good reserve receiver and special team’s player.
The fifth receiver is likely Charone Peake, who has turned into an excellent gunner on kick/punt coverage guy. If the Jets attempted to move on from him, Brant Boyer might have an aneurysm.
Before I get to other receivers on the roster, I think I must make an important point about the composition of the Jets’ 2019 passing game.
Yes, receivers are important, but running back Le’Veon Bell is going to be an enormous part of the Jets’ passing offense. He might be the best receiving back in football, a running back with the route-running ability and hands of a top-shelf receiver. His last year with the Pittsburgh Steelers, in 2017, he had 85 receptions. He could very well end up being the Jets’ leading receiver in 2019.
And let’s not forget the Jets have an emerging star at tight end in Chris Herndon. Mr. Coffee knocked his 2018 fourth-round pick out of the park. This guy is really, really good, and Darnold loves throwing to him. They have terrific chemistry.
Okay, so you have Anderson, Enunwa, Crowder, Bell and Herndon as five weapons who are going to get the ball a lot. Along with Bellamy and Peake, who aren’t necessarily going to be big parts of the passing game, but aren’t going anywhere.
And I know it’s not cool to bring up these guys, but there are some other people in the receiving room with talent.
Deontay Burnett clearly has ability – we saw that specifically in the games at Chicago and in the season-finale in New England. And obviously he and Darnold have great chemistry, having played with each other at USC.
Stacy Coley and J.J. Jones have world-class speed. DeAngelo Yancey is a big physical receiver who is good at winning 50-50 balls.
Look, last year, the Jets played politics with a receiver named Charles Johnson, who had a good camp that was ignored. He went on to light up the short-lived Alliance of American Football and recently signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. They can’t do that again. Don’t have a Grey Poupon attitude toward second-tier candidates.
Will the Jets add another receiver moving forward. Perhaps.
But it’s not a huge need, and really, if all their current receiving weapons stay healthy, including Bell and Herndon, how is the fourth receiver really going to be a factor in their passing game?
May 9, 2019
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