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Wide receiver was a major concern for the New York Jets entering this season, and but it has been better than expected throughout their 2-8 campaign. Eric Decker has gotten healthy, Jeremy Kerley was re-signed to a long term contract, and of course, Percy Harvin was added via trade. With all those things in place, the Jets’ receiving corps has started to play better and looks pretty solid long term. It is hard to tell exactly what they’re capable of since they’ve been held back by the quarterbacks, but the receivers have certainly done a solid job overall this season.
Decker was the team’s marquee free agent signing, but hamstring problems limited his availability and production early in the season. However, Decker has been solid when he is on the field, catching 43 balls for 450 yards and 4 TDs in essentially eight games (he barely played against the Chicago Bears in Week 3). Decker leads the team in targets, receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, which is exactly what he was brought in to do.
The Jets have made a strong effort to get Harvin involved since they acquired him, and he has 17 catches for 174 yards and 11 rushes for 69 yards in three games with the team. The Jets are still trying to figure out how to best utilize him and maximize his big play potential, but it certainly looks like Harvin will be worth the low price they paid to get him.
In the slot, Kerley has predictably seen his usage drop with the acquisition of Harvin and the emergence of tight end Jace Amaro. On the year Kerley, has 26 receptions for 247 yards and 1 touchdown, but he has only 9 targets and 4 receptions since Harvin’s been on the team. Kerley remains a useful receiver with a knack for picking up first downs, and even though he won’t play a huge role, the Jets could do a whole lot worse.
Greg Salas and David Nelson are the other two receivers who have made minor contributions, as each has 8 receptions on the year. Nelson was released after the Harvin trade, while Salas has been reduced to nearly exclusively a special teams player. The Jets have also gone through a host of other receivers at the bottom of the depth chart, most notably fourth round pick Jalen Saunders. None of those players had a big enough role in the offense to be worth grading.
Overall, the receivers have been solid, and one can certainly imagine them putting up much better numbers with better quarterback play and a more pass oriented offense. That being said, the Jets have to be relatively pleased thus far, and the grades reflect that.
Final Grades:
Eric Decker: B+
Percy Harvin: B
Jeremy Kerley: B-
Greg Sulik is a New York Jets writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @GregSulik or add him to your network on Google
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