Week 14 Jets Roster Power Rankings

The Jets beat the Chiefs this past Sunday to get to 5-7. So, after the win, who moves and who shakes on my weekly top ten list?

The rankings are meant to list the players in order of greatest net impact on the team over the course of the season. I take into account the season’s full body of work and contribution to wins and losses, not future potential or past reputation.

Check out last week’s rankings here!

10. Darron Lee, ILB (Last week: 6th)

A disciplinary issue forced Lee out of the lineup this week, a really poor setback for a young guy who was trending in the right direction. After an awful start to the year, Lee had become one of the more consistent and active players on the Jets defense. Hopefully this minor incident doesn’t stop the progression he had been making.

9. Jamal Adams, S (Last week: 8th)

Perceptions on Adams from the Chiefs game are all over the place. Pro Football Focus thought he was excellent, while many fans panned him. I sit somewhere in the middle. Adams didn’t draw many matchups against Travis Kelce until the very end, but did a solid job when he did, a positive sign. Adams was very quiet for much of the game, though he spent of much of it in coverage, so I thought that was also a positive for him. His missed tackle on Alex Smith’s 70-yard run was brutal, however. His attempt to force a fumble resulted in at least 30 more yards on the run. Overall, though, I think he played better than it seemed at first watch. This drop of one spot isn’t an indictment of a bad performance at all.

8. Jermaine Kearse, WR (Last week: 9th)

Kearse rose from the depths to reappear on the list last week, and with another outstanding performance takes yet another step up the ladder. Ideally, Kearse is not one of the Jets’ top two receivers going forward. He’s just not consistent enough, as evident by his mid-year disappearance. However, the full season efficiency for Kearse is worthy of a top ten spot. He’s caught over 67% of his targets for over 13 yards a reception, while Josh McCown has a quarterback rating of 106.1 targeting him. Don’t let those numbers fool you into thinking he’s been a superstar, but he’s absolutely been solid. He is capable of some amazing catches and underrated with the ball in his hands, making up for his inconsistencies with getting open.

7. Bilal Powell, RB (Last week: 7th)

Powell only collected 2.7 yards per carry and 2 yards on 2 receptions against the Chiefs. He made some impact plays, though, scoring the Jets’ first touchdown and setting the tone for the Jets’ second quarter touchdown drive with two first down runs.

He remains the team leader in rushing yards per attempt, rushing yards per game, rushing attempts, and second in scrimmage yards per game, and considering the offensive line’s inconsistencies has done a fine job.

6. Josh McCown, QB (Last week: Unranked. Last appearance: Week 11, 10th)

Die-hard fans of the roster rankings will remember how volatile I’ve been with my placement of McCown on here. This is his third appearance after being unranked the prior week (along with Week 10 and Week 4), which I think is representative of his volatility this year. McCown has posted many lines like the one he did against KC (26/36, 331 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 110 rating), but they often overrate him since they leave out his awful sacks, fumbles, or other ill-timed mistakes. I think they rated him properly this week. McCown was quick to throw the ball away when in danger and rarely made a risky throw. The Chiefs played soft and McCown took advantage, throwing accurately in the short ranges all day. Plus he added three huge sneaks in the run game. I think the Jet QB is deserving of this spot for now.

5. Morris Claiborne, CB (Last week: 4th)

The entire Jets secondary had a really bad performance against KC, arguably their first major meltdown of the year. Claiborne was a major part of it, struggling to hang with the speedy Tyreek Hill. Like the entire unit, it was his first considerably “bad” outing this year. If he can bounce back, he’ll remain in this top five and in serious consideration for a new contract. He’s showcased a high ceiling this year, but must finish strong to avoid earning the dreaded “inconsistent” label.

4. Demario Davis, ILB (Last week: 5th)

Davis had a decent day. The Chiefs gameplan (little run game and lots of downfield passing) kept him out of the mix more often than usual, but I didn’t see him make any major mistakes.

3. Leonard Williams, DL (Last week: 3rd)

Leo is inching closer to the top of this list. Yet again, the stat sheet is lying straight to your face if you trust it. Just 2 tackles, half a sack, and half a TFL. Good, not great. That’s wrong. Leo was dominant in this game, constantly winning his matchups and forcing Alex Smith out of the pocket. Smith had some success out there, but I thought a lot of that was because of an odd defensive game plan in which the Jets played a ton of man coverage against a fast, talented group of KC skill players. Nevertheless, Leonard Williams is a very disruptive force, but will seldom get the statistics to prove it without dominant edge play forcing quarterbacks to step up in the pocket. He did get credit for 4 QB hits in the box score, and 9 pressures by Pro Football Focus.

2. Marcus Maye, S (Last week: 2nd)

Ouch. For the first time this year, Maye was exposed. He was beaten cleanly by Travis Kelce on the tight end’s second touchdown of the first quarter. Maye also took poor position to stop Alex Smith’s long run. Later, he could not adjust to an underthrown ball to Tyreek Hill, setting up great field position for KC to potentially force overtime.

A poor game for Maye, but he probably had more major mistakes in this game than the rest of the year combined. It’s been a promising rookie season for him. As always, try not to get too concerned unless his struggles drag on.

1. Robby Anderson, WR (Last week: 1st)

Robby’s success over the past few weeks facilitated new opportunities in this game, and he was up to the challenge. Kansas City had absolutely zero interest in letting Anderson beat them over the top, so he feasted underneath. Though the cushions he was getting were huge, Anderson proved he is capable of winning in the open field and beating teams in the short game if they force him to do so, which is real progress for him. Though most of his 8 receptions were brought in short of the first down marker, 6 of them ended up past it, a new season high in first down conversions for him (beating the high he set last week of 5).

Dropped off list:

Steve McLendon, DT (was 10th): A run-light game plan took away the opportunity for McLendon to defend his spot on the list.

Knocking on the door:

Jordan Jenkins, OLB: Jenkins had what I thought was easily his best outing of the year. He’s always been seen as a sturdy, tough run defender, but has never been expected to become Von Miller, though that’s who he looked like against KC. Jenkins lived in the Chiefs backfield, racking up a sack, a TFL, a QB hit, and multiple key pressures.

What do you think of the list?