The new-look New York Jets have proven to be popular on social media, as their young centerpieces are among the rising stars of the internet.
New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson finds himself in a familiar spot on one of the NFL Players Association’s social media rankings. The second overall pick of April’s draft is one of three Jets who appear on the NFLPA’s Influencer Hot List, which is described as “a look at current NFL players in Top Engagements, Growth Rate, and Consistent Activity across social media over last season”.
Wilson is one of two New York rookies that appeared on the top-10 list accounting for “Growth Rate”, reflecting players with the most rapidly growing follower bases. His accounts have grown at the second-best rate in the league since January 1, behind only No. 3 pick and fellow rookie quarterback Trey Lance of San Francisco. Eight spots behind Wilson sit the accounts of Elijah Moore, who landed in the No. 10 spot. Chosen 34th overall in April, Moore is the only second-round pick to appear on the list.
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A minimum of 100,000 followers was required to make the Growth Rate list, which mostly consists of rookies (including another AFC East representative, Mac Jones of New England, in sixth). Two postseason heroes (Taylor Heinicke of Washington and Scotty Miller of Tampa Bay in third and seventh respectively) join the freshmen.
The Jets’ representation didn’t end with their rookies, as Mekhi Becton comes home seventh amongst the top ten “Most Consistently Active”. That list is described by the NFLPA as “a leading indicator for marketability on social” and rewards the players that best engage with their audience “while providing marketers with actionable, predictable data with which to build effective campaigns”. The final ranking is determined by the “active players who also met audience (top 50%) and engagement (+0.5%) thresholds”.
Atlanta Falcons running back Mike Davis tops the list ahead of Baltimore teammates Marlon Humphrey and Patrick Queen.
Quarterbacks rule the top ten players in the league as ranked by engagements on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The last two Super Bowl MVPs (Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes) lead the way, followed in third by Russell Wilson. Newly minted Arizona Cardinal J.J. Watt is the top non-quarterback ahead of Brady’s Tampa Bay teammate Rob Gronkowski, who rounded out the top five.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
