Here is what three key members of the New York Jets wide receiver group need to accomplish in 2020 to do their part in making the offense successful.
Breshad Perriman: Establish consistency
After getting a bottom-five level of performance from their wide receivers in 2019, the Jets shook things up at the position. The primary change was allowing Robby Anderson to walk and replacing him with Breshad Perriman as the team’s presumed top option on the outside.
Perriman showcased an incredible ceiling this past December. Here are some of his numbers and rankings among wide receivers over five games from Weeks 13-17 of 2019.
- 5 receiving touchdowns (1st)
- 506 receiving yards (2nd)
- 20.2 yards per reception (2nd)
- 13.7 yards per target (2nd)
- 101.6 yards per game (3rd)
- 25 receptions (11th)
- 10 deep receptions (20+ yards downfield) (T-1st)
- 291 deep receiving yards (2nd)
- 0 drops (4th-most receptions without a drop)
The problem is, that run was Perriman’s first-ever extended stretch of starter-caliber production in his five-year career.
Perriman missed his entire 2015 rookie season in Baltimore with a sprained PCL. Over his next 59 possible regular season games from Week 1 of 2016 through Week 12 of 2019, Perriman missed 13 games, and throughout his 46 appearances, never caught more than four passes in a game.
All-in-all, through Week 12 of 2019, Perriman owned career averages of 22.9 receiving yards per game and 12.5 yards per possible game (which includes his 29 games missed). His absolute best stretch was a four-game run with the Browns to close 2018, in which he caught eight passes (2.0 per game) for 233 yards (58.3 per game) and two touchdowns.
So, Perriman’s final run in 2019 was dominant, for sure. But let’s slice up the entire pie.
Out of 80 possible regular season games in his career, Perriman has missed 29 games (36.3%), had 46 consecutive games with fewer than five receptions (57.5%), and was dominant over his last five games (6.3%).
That’s… not the best distribution for a team’s top outside receiver.
It is paramount for Perriman to become a consistent target for Sam Darnold. That does not mean he has to carry his 100+ yards per game from December over a whole season. All it means is that he needs to prove he can provide enough production on a weekly basis to be counted upon as a starter over the entire season.
The Jets don’t need Perriman to hog too many targets with Jamison Crowder, Le’Veon Bell, and Chris Herndon around. Perriman will probably see a similar amount of throws as Robby Anderson did last year (6.0 per game). What the Jets do need is for Perriman to maintain his explosiveness while handling that mid-tier target volume.
At the same volume of routes and targets that Anderson had in 2019, Perriman can soundly beat out Anderson’s overall 2019 production simply by extrapolating his 2019 efficiency with the Buccaneers, as showcased by the chart below.
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Overly optimistic on Smith’s prospects. Vyncent has excellent length, and underrated quickness. His development from little Limestone College, has been through the Practice Squads of Houston and the Jets, his progress is normal, he is now ready.
2021 54 catches 786 yards, rushes for an additional 84 yards.