Week 4 Jets Roster Power Rankings: More Offense in the Top Ten?

Prior to the Jets’ 20-6 win over the Dolphins, I took a shot at ranking the top ten best players on the team throughout the first two weeks. With another game complete, it’s time to give that list an update.

You can check out my rankings from last week here.

10. James Carpenter, LG (Last week: 4th)

It was a pretty rough game for Carpenter. He got called for a couple of penalties and didn’t really do a great job containing the Dolphins defensive line in the run or pass game. He still has been mostly solid overall, and deserves to be on the list for now, but a relatively poor performance has him on the edge.

9. Josh Martin, OLB/ST (Last week: 6th)

Martin drops three spots, but that’s mostly since he didn’t get much time in this game before leaving due to injury. He entered Week 3 tied for the league lead in tackles for a loss and special team tackles.

8. Robby Anderson, WR (Last week: Unranked)

Anderson had a rough start to the year, failing to make much of his short touches and posting some really inefficient numbers. However, he hasn’t lost his incredible speed. Going back to last year, Anderson has been open deep quite a bit but is missed consistently. He finally broke open on Sunday, leading the team with 95 yards through the air, 69 of them coming on a deep touchdown that put the Jets in control. The results have been mixed, but Anderson is showcasing a bit more versatility in the short to intermediate game in his expanded role. This game was some really encouraging progress.

7. Jordan Jenkins, OLB (Last week: 9th)

Jenkins didn’t even register a tackle against the Dolphins, but I feel like he continued to do his job the right way. He sets the edge well and makes others’ jobs easier.

6. Kony Ealy, DL/Edge (Last week: 8th)

Ealy also had a quiet day on the stat sheet, but I saw him create some significant pressure at least a few times.

5. Josh McCown, QB (Last week: Unranked)

At this point, whether it bodes well for the future or not, McCown deserves credit. His stats through the first two weeks might have overrated him even if they were still subpar overall, but his performance against the Dolphins was really good. He was on time and accurate throughout most of the game and rarely put the football in danger. There was one sequence in the second quarter where he used the hard count to draw two penalties in a row (though he did get called for a false start on the next play). McCown still hasn’t been “good” overall, as the team is averaging just 17.3 points, but he’s certainly been decent and has done his job well with a patchwork supporting cast. He has a 91.3 quarterback rating right now, and that’s a level of efficiency almost any team will take out of their quarterback over a three game stretch.

4. Leonard Williams, DL (Last week: 7th)

With the play around him much better than last week, Williams looked more like himself. He didn’t light up the stat sheet but he was winning consistently inside. Williams did get two stuffs in the run game on Jay Ajayi. It’s also clear that offensive lines are paying a lot of attention to him, and it seemed to open things up for the rest of the defense in this game.

3. Marcus Maye, S (Last week: 3rd)

I’m not sure Maye’s name was mentioned during the broadcast, and for a safety that’s often a good thing. Like his rookie counterpart, Maye is in the right position at an extremely solid rate. The Dolphins could not get anything going downfield, and Maye was likely a big part of that.

2. Jermaine Kearse, WR (Last week: 2nd)

Kearse was less involved in the passing game with the ball being spread out a lot more than the first two weeks, but he continues to be a model of efficiency. Kearse caught all 3 of his targets for 42 yards, further moving him up the list of the league’s most fruitful targets.

1. Jamal Adams, S (Last week: 1st)

My oh my. The face of New Jack City continues to live up to and even surpass the hype. Sacks. Deflections. Stuffs. All of it. Adams was out there making plays on every part of the field against Miami. Over the first two weeks, though he was still playing monster football, he didn’t really have any standout plays on the ball that made you say “WOW” as soon as you saw it. This week, he got those plays. Adams picked up a sack on a blitz, showed off some serious range as he deflected a deep pass to bail out a beaten teammate, and had a hand in quite a few stuffs in the run game.

PSA: #33 on the Jets is good. Really good.

Dropped off list:

Mike Pennel (was 10th): Pennel didn’t get much action against Miami.

Brandon Shell (was 5th): I raved about Shell after a strong two week start but he was owned by the Dolphins defensive line. Cameron Wake smoked him for a sack early and would beat him again later to create a sack that a teammate would pick up. Shell was beaten consistently at the point of attack in this game, a poor enough performance to knock him off the list. If he can regain his Week 1-2 performance, he can easily hop back on.

Knocking on the door:

Demario Davis: Davis was absolutely brutal over the first two weeks, arguably the team’s worst player. However, he was so good against Miami that he is nearing the top ten despite his early struggles. He was a playmaking machine in the run and pass game. Still, though his Miami performance was one of the best by individual Jet this year, it doesn’t make up for his two duds.

Terrence Brooks: Brooks had two picks against the Dolphins, including one on a fake punt, adding a few nice tackles. He rarely played in Weeks 1-2, but more performances like the one he put out in Week 3 and he’ll easily slot in as the third safety in the top ten.

David Bass: Who? Don’t feel bad if you squinted a bit at this one. Bass was signed mere days before the home opener, but flashed a ton in his debut. He made two tackles way behind the line and added a sack.

Do you agree with the rankings?