For the first time since 2015, the New York Jets offense has plenty of players relevant for fantasy football
If you’re like me (or any other player), you’ve probably avoided the New York Jets offense like the plague in your fantasy football league. To be honest, who could blame you?
The Jets have only had fringe fantasy football assets on their team in recent years. They haven’t had an offense where rostering more than one player was worth it since 2015; when Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker were catching passes from the recently retired Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Since then, it’s been nothing but disappointment if you’re a Jets fan and fantasy football player. In a way, it’s eerily similar to the success of the team itself; which, for fantasy football purposes, isn’t the correlating factor one would tend to believe.
There are plenty of bad teams with successful fantasy football players. And then there’s the Jets.
The same Jets who saw the faceplant of Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Jets offense in 2016 after their record-setting 2015 season. The same Jets that saw Le’Veon Bell’s immediate decline after his incredible 2017 season.
For a decade now, the New York Jets have been a destination where players go to kill their (fantasy football) career. But looking at the 2022 season, that narrative may be on its way out the door.
For the first time in a long time, the Jets have multiple players who are relevant for fantasy football. These aren’t veterans looking for their last productive year, either. They are young, hungry players who hold value in redraft and dynasty league formats.
We’re going to take a look at each player relevant for fantasy football on the Jets offense, where they stand going into this season, and their dynasty outlook going forward. In this first piece, we’ll take a look at Zach Wilson, the running backs, and their rookie WR.
*All redraft ADP will be based on FantasyPros data.
Zach Wilson, Quarterback
Last season, Zach Wilson was unplayable in fantasy football leagues. He was the QB30 in both FPPG and overall scoring (min. 10 games played), playing in 13 games.
To put in perspective how bad that was, only three quarterbacks who played in 10 or more games had worse FPPG than Wilson last season. Mike White, who only played in four games, also had a higher FPPG than Wilson. In short, if you were playing Zach Wilson in your fantasy football league, you probably lost a lot of games.
While the consensus isn’t ‘in’ on Wilson, I am. At the moment, Wilson is going off the board as the QB24. This is his floor, in terms of potential.
In fact, if he played the full 17 games he would have averaged around 200 total fantasy football points. That would have placed him 25th, one spot behind Jared Goff.
The optimism for Wilson is obvious – the players that have been brought in around him should bolster his potential. On top of that, another year in Mike LaFleur‘s scheme should provide easier opportunities and growth for the young signal-caller.
In terms of fantasy football dynasty leagues, Wilson is easily a top-20 target at the quarterback position. His ability to throw off-platform, create with his arms and legs, and intelligence should allow him to carve out a consistent role as a QB2 for the short-term with QB1 upside if he’s able to put it all together.
At cost, I’m buying Wilson everywhere I can; something I’ve never said about a Jets quarterback.
Breece Hall, Running Back
Taken 36th overall in the 2022 NFL draft, Breece Hall is a dynamic playmaker that instantly upgraded the Jets’ running back room. Hall led the NCAAF in rushing yards in 2020, and should be the 1A in the Jets’ one-two punch going into this season and beyond.
At the moment, Hall’s ADP has him as the RB25 in redraft leagues. While that isn’t too disrespectful, there’s good reason to believe that he should finish higher than that this season.
Mike LaFleur’s scheme is about establishing the run to set up the passing attack. Last season, the Jets were last in the league in rushing attempts. You can expect that to change dramatically with a player of Hall’s caliber on the field.
While it’s unlikely for Hall to reach top-end RB1 numbers, there’s a world where he’s able to crack the top-12 RBs in fantasy football this season. More realistically, however, Hall should be a solid RB2 for 2022.
In dynasty leagues, Hall is an elite option; going as the 1.01 in nearly every fantasy football dynasty rookie draft. For the first time in a long time, being on the Jets hasn’t hindered a player’s value in terms of fantasy.
Michael Carter, Running Back
Coming out of UNC, Michael Carter was the “sleeper” pick that all Jets fans dreamed of. And as a UNC fan, I was ecstatic when the team selected him in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL draft.
In Carter’s rookie season, he nearly eclipsed 1,000 scrimmage yards while scoring four times. Carter finished as the RB29 on the year in fantasy football and surprised many who weren’t familiar with his talent.
This season, Carter is going as the RB33 in terms of ADP. To me, I think that is justified. He will lose touches to the aforementioned Hall, but should see enough to make him a solid Flex option in most fantasy leagues.
In dynasty, Carter’s value has taken a much greater – and unnecessary – hit. If you’re worried about Carter’s long-term value with Hall on the team, you shouldn’t be.
At UNC, Carter put up incredible numbers at UNC working as the 1B with now Denver Broncos RB, Javonte Williams. In his last two seasons at North Carolina, Carter surpassed 1,000 scrimmage yards. His final year was absurd, posting over 1,500 scrimmage yards and 11 total touchdowns.
While he may not be able to hit those numbers, he should provide excellent value and production in a similar role with the Jets.
The drop in his fantasy football value has made Carter a great ‘buy’ option at cost. If you can get him for cheap, I recommend doing so.
Garrett Wilson, Wide Receiver
Garrett Wilson was taken with premium capital in this year’s draft, going 10th overall. The talent is unquestioned, and he should find himself making an impact immediately on the Jets.
It’s likely Wilson finds himself handling most of the snaps in his rookie year in the slot. That could provide great dividends for fantasy football managers who have him on their team, as Wilson has shown great success playing out of that spot on the field.
In redraft leagues, Wilson’s ADP is the WR45. That’s behind fellow rookies Treylon Burks and Drake London, but ahead of Chris Olave. That isn’t too surprising, given that most drafters aren’t completely sold on Zach Wilson’s Year 2 improvement.
In dynasty leagues, Garrett Wilson finds himself at a much greater value. He’s consistently going inside the top-10 in rookie drafts. In startups, he’s going quite high as well. With Ohio State being viewed as the ‘new WR U’, the hype is swelling.
For once, Jets fans are seeing multiple players being taken early in both redraft and dynasty fantasy football leagues. If the hype is real, Wilson should be an excellent fantasy football contributor for years to come.
