Did Zonovan Knight’s late-2022 performance earn him a prominent role in the New York Jets’ 2023 offense?
The New York Jets went into 2022 with high hopes at the running back position.
Michael Carter enjoyed an impressive rookie year in 2021 and was poised for even bigger things in 2022. But the Jets didn’t settle. They traded up to select Breece Hall in the second round of the 2022 draft, making him the first running back selected. Carter and Hall formed a promising duo going into 2022.
The full, member-only Zonovan Knight film breakdown (43:00 in length) can be found at the bottom of this article (must be a Jets X-Factor member and logged into the site).
Hall instantly took the league by storm and quickly surpassed Carter to overtake the Jets’ RB1 duties. He was on track for an Offensive Rookie of the Year season – until an ACL injury prematurely ended his season in Week 7. That left Carter with a chance to establish himself as the Jets’ RB1 to finish the year.
But Carter didn’t take advantage. The North Carolina product was nowhere near as effective as he was in his rookie year and could not replicate Hall’s impact.
After a few games of poor production from Carter, the Jets turned to the practice squad in search of a new spark at the running back position, calling up UDFA rookie Zonovan Knight.
Knight made his NFL debut in Week 12 and immediately became the Jets’ new RB1. Knight led the Jets with 14 carries in his very first game (eight more than Carter) and would finish his rookie season with a team-high 80 carries over the final seven games.
Knight started off hot. Over his first three games, he averaged 99.3 yards from scrimmage per game with 5.0 yards per carry. But he cooled off after that, as over the final four games, Knight averaged 25.5 yards from scrimmage per game with 1.8 yards per carry.
On the newest edition of Blewett’s Blitz, we dive into Knight’s rookie-year film to figure out where he should stand on the Jets’ RB depth chart going into training camp.
- What made Knight so impressive over his first three games?
- Did Knight or the OL deserve more blame for his decline?
- Should Knight be the Jets’ RB2?
YouTube clip
Full member-only Zonovan Knight film breakdown
To view the full subscriber-only breakdown, you must be a Jets X-Factor member and logged in.
Get Started with the button below to become a member:
Log In with the button below if you’re already a member:
Connect with the button below if you’d like to create a free account first:
