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Jets Rookie Wide Receivers Are Producing

This group of Jets rookie wide receivers rank high both among 2016 NFL rookies and among all time Jets groups of rookie receivers.

Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

The 2016 New York Jets have been getting production from three rookie wide receivers, an unusual number of rookies to be contributing.  Among all NFL teams only the Jets have three rookie wide receivers in the top 15 rookie wide receivers in receiving yards.  Only the Jets, Saints and Browns have as many as two wide receivers among the top 15 rookies.  As a group the Jets rookie wide receivers have put together 28 receptions for 283 yards over the first seven games of the 2016 season.  Only the Saints (43), the Giants (33), and the Texans (29) have more rookie wide receiver receptions, and only the Saints (512), Texans (383), Giants (365) and Browns (357) have more yards.

Here are all rookie wide receivers with 30 or more receiving yards to date:

Player

Team

Draft Round

Receptions

Yards





.

Michael Thomas

NO

2

36

437

Will Fuller

HOU

1

24

349

Sterling Shepard

NYG

2

31

334

Tajae Sharpe

TEN

5

23

259

Tyler Boyd

CIN

2

20

245

Corey Coleman

CLE

1

7

173

Chester Rogers

IND

UDFA

11

156

Ricardo Louis

CLE

4

14

151

Tyreek Hill

KC

5

14

125

Robby Anderson

NYJ

UDFA

12

121

Charone Peake

NYJ

7

10

87

Malcom Mitchell

NE

4

6

82

Jalin Marshall

NYJ

UDFA

6

75

Tommylee Lewis

NO

UDFA

7

75

Tanner McEvoy

SEA

UDFA

3

69

Josh Doctson

WAS

1

2

66

Chris Moore

BAL

4

6

41

Braxton Miller

HOU

3

5

34

Rashard Higgins

CLE 5

3

33

Roger Lewis

NYG

UDFA

2

31






This Jets group of rookie wide receivers also ranks fairly high on the all time list of Jets rookie wide receivers.  Pro-rating the Jets 2016 rookies for a full 16 games of production, the current group, if they continue at their current rates of production, will end up 13th (Robby Anderson), 17th (Charone Peake) and 19th (Jalin Marshall) on the all time list of Jets rookie wide receivers in the post-merger era in terms of receiving yards.  It is worth noting that among all Jets wide receivers drafted or originally signed as UDFAs by the Jets who ever reached as much as 1000 career yards receiving, every one of them other than Santana Moss and Jerricho Cotchery show up on the top 20 of the list below of all Jets rookie wide receivers with 100 or more rookie receiving yards. Santana Moss was injured his entire rookie year, so only Cotchery failed to make 100 receiving yards with a healthy rookie year.

Player

Year

Draft Round

Receptions

Yards





.

Keyshawn Johnson

1996

1

63

844

Wesley Walker

1977

2

35

740

Wayne Chrebet

1995

UDFA

66

726

Rob Moore

1990

1

44

692

Derrick Gaffney

1978

8

38

691

Al Toon

1985

1

46

662

Lam Jones

1980

1

25

482

Richard Caster

1970

2

19

393

Laveranues Coles

2000

3

22

370

Chansi Stuckey

2008

7

32

359

Jeremy Kerley

2011

5

29

314

Jerome Barkum

1972

1

16

304

Robby Anderson*

2016

UDFA

27

277

Stephen Hill

2012

2

21

252

Terrance Mathis

1990

6

19

245

Dedric Ward

1997

3

18

212

Charone Peake*

2016

7

23

199

Jo Jo Townsell

1985

3

12

187

Jalin Marshall*

2016

UDFA

14

171

Windrell Hayes

2000

5

6

126

Alex Van Dyke

1996

2

17

118

Devin Smith

2015

2

9

115

Howard Satterwhite

1976

UDFA

7

110

If we pro-rate their production over a full 16 game season, this group will end up seventh on the list of all Jets rookie wide receiver groups in the post-merger era in terms of receiving yards.  It may be worth noting that of the top 10 groups, only the 1978, 1980 and 1995 groups failed to produce a Pro Bowl receiver, and the 1995 group produced Wayne Chrebet.

Year

Players

Receptions

Yards




.

1996

Keyshawn Johnson

Alex Van Dyke

80

962

1990

Rob Moore

Terrance Mathis

63

937

1985

Al Toon

Jo Jo Townsell

58

849

1977

Wesley Walker

35

740

1995

Wayne Chrebet

66

726

1978

Derrick Gaffney

Bobby Jones

39

709

2016*

Robby Anderson

Charone Peake

Jalin Marshall

64

647

2000

Laveranues Coles

Windrell Hayes

38

496

1980

Lam Jones

25

482

1970

Richard Caster

19

393

Finally it may be worth noting that the 2016 team is the first ever post-merger Jets team with three rookie wide receivers with 75 or more yards receiving.

The 2016 Jets rookie receivers thus far have produced modest receiving totals to date, but even these modest totals rank fairly high in the NFL and in Jets history.  A glance at past Jets history suggests the odds favor at least one of these three receivers going on to have a very nice career with the Jets.

The acid test for receivers usually comes in the second year.  Most receivers take their biggest leap in production in year 2.  If the current group develops accordingly, the Jets just might have one of the best and deepest receiving groups in the NFL as early as 2017, assuming Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker return in full health.