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They have this now . . .
As they say, “You can’t double everybody.”
The Jets’ offense has so many weapons now at wide receiver, that it’s going to be very hard on opposing defensive coordinators to decide which WR to double.
“When you’ve got three guys that can win against man-to-man coverage, it’s like having three scorers in basketball,” said former NFL GM Mike Lombardi on VSIN. “Who is the [defense] going to tilt the field to?”
The Jets have three guys like that – Elijah Moore, Garrett Wilson and Braxton Berrios.
I know some might be a little surprised that I left some other players off this list, but let me explain.
I’m talking about guys who have amazing short-area quickness to cut away from man-to-man coverage fast.
That doesn’t mean I have Berrios ranked ahead of Corey Davis as a wide receiver. Davis is very good, but he’s a long-legged receiver who can get open, but not in the way that Moore, Wilson and Berrios cut on a dime to get away from man-to-man coverage.
Denzel Mims is another talented receiver, who is coming off a Murphy’s Law kind of year, but can help the Jets a great deal.
But Mims is like Davis, in that he is better climbing the ladder beating defensive backs on jump balls, or running go-routes down the sideline, than cutting away from them quickly.
Berrios will play some on offense, but not full-time since he also returns kicks and punts. We have all seen what Berrios and Moore can do winning quickly against man-to-man coverage, so let’s focus on the new guy Wilson.
Jets new cornerback D.J. Reed got to cover Wilson a lot in the spring, and the veteran cover guy described him as “slippery.”
“Just guarding him he’s one of those receivers that feels slippery like (Minnesota’s) Justin Jefferson, really good route-runner, explosive,” Reed said. “He does a good job beating press. Wilson, I like that draft pick a lot. He’s going to be a problem in man-to-man. He can get open easily.”
We saw Reed get beat on a quick out this spring to Moore. The point of bringing this up isn’t to critique Reed, but to point out the short-area quickness of Moore to cut away from defensive backs.
“Moore is the real deal,” Reed said.
Guys like Wilson and Moore can really help a young QB like Zach Wilson a great deal with quick wins against man-to-man coverage, uncovering quickly, if you will.
Another guy who has the talent to get quick wins is speedster Jeff Smith.
So the point here is – “Who are you gonna double?
The Jets now have enough talent in their receiver room where that is a legitimate question.
And if they can consistently run the ball effectively with their talented running back stable which includes Michael Carter, Breece Hall, Tevin Coleman and Ty Johnson, look out.
Because offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur will call a ton of bootlegs, and other teams will be more apt to bite on the play-fakes, and these quick-win receivers, will be even more open for the QB.
July 1, 2022
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