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Let’s take a stab at ranking the top ten best Jets as the team enters the bye week at 3-7.
Previous rankings: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10
10. Quincy Enunwa, WR (Last appearance: Week 7)
After a three week hiatus, Enunwa returns! I was skeptical to place him on the list over the team’s scrimmage yards leader, Isaiah Crowell, but I think Crowell wore out his welcome with poor pass blocking, little receiving contribution, and bad rushing efficiency outside of one game.
Enunwa is cold. He picked up only 18 yards on 8 targets against Buffalo. He hasn’t hit the 50-yard mark in a game since doing it in each of the first four weeks of the season.
Still, he did throw the key block on Crowell’s touchdown, the Jets’ only one of the game against Buffalo. I still think Enunwa’s early-season highs are enough to warrant him a top-ten spot.
9. Henry Anderson, DL (Last week: 6th)
It wasn’t a good game for anybody up front as the Jets were mauled in the trenches defensively. Anderson was quiet.
8. Marcus Maye, S (Debut)
Maye had a rocky start after returning from injury but has settled in nicely. Sometimes, I forget he’s even there, which is usually a tremendous compliment to a player in his role.
I tagged Maye as responsible for an 8-yard touchdown to Courtland Sutton against Denver back in Week 5, but outside of that play, I haven’t tagged Maye as responsible for a single first down allowed in coverage over his 393 defensive snaps.
7. Chris Herndon, TE (Last week: 8th)
Herndon maintains very clean pass protection numbers on the year (1 pressure over 22 snaps) and remains one of the most productive receiving tight ends in the league over the past five weeks.
6. Brandon Shell, RT (Last week: 7th)
I tagged Shell with one pressure allowed against the Bills. It was his fourth game with one or zero pressures allowed by my charting.
5. Leonard Williams, DL (Last week: 5th)
As mentioned, the Jets were owned up front defensively. Williams was a part of it. He did collect a stuff and a quarterback hit, though. As we always say when discussing Williams, it’s fair to expect a lot more than that, especially against a lethargic Bills offensive front.
4. Morris Claiborne, CB (Last week: 4th)
Up and down game for Claiborne. He got toasted by practice squad call-up Robert Foster, but broke up each of the other four targets in his direction. He leads the NFL in passes defended with 13.
3. Darron Lee, ILB (Last week: 3rd)
I thought Lee was quietly decent in this one. He definitely was in on a few blown plays in run defense and in coverage, but he made a lot of plays short of the sticks. He had four run stuffs and two more were wiped out by penalties.
2. Avery Williamson, ILB (Last week: 2nd)
In debacles like this one, there are a few players who always stand out as giving a superior effort. Williamson was one of them. Neither he or his fellow inside ‘backer Lee were targeted in coverage in this game. He had three stuffs in the run game and another was wiped by a penalty. He also made a clutch play forcing fumble at the goal line - but as you would expect with the way things were going in this game, it ended up in the hands of a Bill for six points.
1. Jamal Adams, S (Last week: 1st)
It wasn’t a perfect game for Adams. He missed on a few opportunities in the backfield to cover for mistakes by his teammates. Still, like Williamson, he was one of the few guys on the field who, if you focused solely on their body language without looking at the score, you wouldn’t be able to tell who was winning or by how much.
Adams is that kind of guy, just you like you knew he was when the Jets drafted him a year and a half ago. Lots of players come in with “intangibles,” “leadership,” and “alpha” as key words in their scouting reports. Not all of them actually translate it in a visible way. Adams does.
While those things don’t necessarily contribute to winning, it’s still nice to have players like that on your team. Both on and off the field, Adams is going to be a very positive presence for the Jets for a long time.
Dropped off list:
Darryl Roberts, CB (was 10th)
With Trumaine Johnson back, Roberts took a seat on the bench and didn’t play a single snap.
In turn, the Jets allowed 41 points and a 117 passer rating to a quarterback who had never won a road game in over a half-decade as a professional football player.
Isaiah Crowell, RB (was 9th)
I finally caved! I actually had Crowell on the list at #10 when I first published this post, but I can’t take waiting anymore. That spot belongs to our beloved Quincy Enunwa, scrimmage yards be damned!
Crowell has gained exactly as many first downs on 64 touches over his last five games (10) as Elijah McGuire has on 19 touches over his last two.
Crowell continues to look decent overall on the statsheet because of his early-season high points. If you subtract his record-setting game against Denver, he’s averaged 3.4 yards per carry this season. Since Week 6, he’s averaged 32.4 yards per game on 2.8 yards per carry. His teammates have consistently outplayed him. Trenton Cannon has averaged 3.7 yards per carry in that span, Bilal Powell averaged 3.8, and Elijah McGuire has averaged 4.6.
Crowell also is basically a lock to give up a pressure in pass protection at least once per game, and produces very little as a receiver. His 8.5 yards per reception is the lowest of the Jets’ four running backs this season, as each of the other three currently own an average of 10.0 or higher.
While Crowell still leads the Jets in scrimmage yards by a wide margin with 663, he’s brought more negative than positive for the majority of the year. I’ve decided to take him off one week early instead of one week too late. Enjoy your spot on the list, Quincy!
Knocking on the door:
Elijah McGuire, RB: It’s quite the feat to legitimately be on the brink of becoming one of your team’s top ten contributors on the season when you have only played two games. Of course, at the same time, it’s a pretty bad indictment on the state of this roster.
McGuire deserves a lot of credit. He’s come in looking as fresh as you would hope in his first game action of the season. As previously mentioned, he is severely outproducing Isaiah Crowell right now. The Jets have given McGuire 13 more snaps than Crowell in each of the past two games and McGuire has produced some incredible efficiency with those opportunities. One more game from McGuire like his previous two, and you can fully expect to see him on the list.
Jason Myers, K: I hope things don’t get so bad to the point where a kicker earns a top ten spot in the second half of the season, but I just wanted to give a shoutout to the Marist man. He’s making 2.1 field goals per game at a 91% clip, with his attempts coming from an average of 41.0 yards. Only one kicker has ever had a season like that in the history of the league: Justin Tucker back in 2016.
Poll
Which player currently on the list is ranked too high / is least deserving of a spot?
This poll is closed
-
21%
Enunwa
-
12%
H. Anderson
-
5%
Maye
-
3%
Herndon
-
6%
Shell
-
17%
Williams
-
14%
Claiborne
-
16%
Lee
-
0%
Williamson
-
1%
Adams
Poll
Who has had a better net impact on the Jets this season?
This poll is closed
-
30%
Isaiah Crowell
-
69%
Quincy Enunwa
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