New wave thinking – if you’ve never heard of a player, he stinks

Cortland – A common way for talking heads to analyze players in this day and age is, if they aren’t familiar with the player, that means the player is no good.

“Does it matter who the quarterback is, if they don’t have anyone to throw it to,” said NFL Network analyst Andrew Siliciano.

“If you were an NFL quarterback right now, the Jets’ wide receiving corps is the last group of wide receivers you would select if you were playing a backyard football game,” said NFL Network analyst Shaun O’Hara. “They aren’t striking fear in defensive coordinators. (They have) an anemic passing offense.”

I’ve been at every minute of every practice since Jets training camp started, and I can tell you, there is some good young talent here at wide receiver.

First off all, let’s start with the understanding that Braylon Edwards, Stephen Hill and Jeremy Kerley are three locks for wide receiver spots on the Jets’ roster.

Here you have a big, physical receiver (Edwards) who is a savvy pro; Hill, who is 6-4 and has 4.3 speed, and has looked pretty good this summer, and Kerley, a super-quick, super-tough, slot receiver.

So with those guys locks, the Jets probably only have to fill two more spots.

And remember Santonio Holmes could come back at some point, so one of those two spot-fillers might be temporary.

Clyde Gates, who has world class speed, will likely fill Holmes role until he returns.

So you are basically looking for one guy.

Lehigh rookie Ryan Spadola has had a terrific camp, running good routes and catching everything in sight. Another guy looking really good is Weber State’s Joe Collins. I like what I’ve seen from Bethune Cookman’s A.J, Stroud, Cincinnati’s Vidal Hazelton and Tennessee’s Zach Rogers.

There is definitely one player from that group that can grab the fifth spot.

But here is how it works – if an analyst sitting in a studio miles away from a team, has never heard of players like Spadola, Collins or Rogers, that means they are no good.

I guess we better get used to that sort of analysis.

I think it’s here to stay.

Dan Leberfeld
Dan Leberfeldhttps://www.jetsconfidential.com
Publisher of Jets Confidential Magazine. Call 1-800-932-4557 (M-F, 12-4) to subscribe. Co-host of Press Coverage every Saturday on SiriusXM NFL Radio from 11-2.

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