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A fantasy football mindset has taken over NFL media coverage, and this has led to an obsession with weapons.
Look at the coverage with so many teams around the league, and you see people pounding the drum saying, “They need more weapons.”
You are hearing this narrative a lot around the Jets: “They need more weapons for Justin Fields.”
Maybe, but we constantly heard the same thing with Sam Darnold and Zach Wilson, and when they added more weapons, did you see a big difference in the offense?
They added weapons in Chicago for Fields during his three years there, and how much of a difference did it make in the won-loss record?
You see, the problem that Darnold, Wilson and Fields have had in the past, though Darnold seemed to improve a little in Minnesota, is they get fixated on their first read, so you could have a loaded receiver room, but it’s not going to make a big difference.
So with Garrett Wilson, he has that first read.
While elitists will be quick to say they don’t have anybody other than Wilson at receiver, and that is nonsense.
Sometimes, it’s just a matter of ignoring the fantasy football lobby that is always looking for big names and giving lower-profile guys a chance.
Brandon Smith shined last summer but was buried on the practice squad last year. He’s a big, physical receiver who attacks the ball in the air with strong hands and long arms (34 1/4), high-pointing the ball and plucking it out of the air.
Special team phenom Irv Charles, coming off a knee injury, is a big physical receiver good on jump balls.
Malachi Corley catches it in stride and immediately turns into a running back sifting through traffic and creating after the catch.
Also in the mix is slot receiver Xavier Gipson.
Not saying that the Jets shouldn’t draft a receiver, or sign another one like they did today in veteran Josh Reynolds. Of course, they should draft another one, but unless Fields improves at going through progressions under the guidance of QB coach Charles London and passing game coordinator Scott Turner, which he very well could, having a receiver room loaded with big names might not make a big difference.
I will give you an example of what I’m talking about.
Allen Lazard became a war criminal in 2023, his first year with the Jets, because he supposedly had a bad season.
Do you know why he had a bad season? He wasn’t the first read with a bunch of one-read quarterbacks. He had a few drops, but all receivers do, including Garrett Wilson. When Lazard did get the ball thrown to him, it was often thrown late and not always accurately.
Last year, with a full field reader, Aaron Rodgers under center, Lazard had a good season before he got hurt, even though people with an agenda will tell you he didn’t.
So spare me with the weapons nonsense.
As some wise NFL coaches have said, “Quarterbacks make receivers; receivers don’t make quarterbacks.”
It’s fool’s gold when reporters and fans think that a mainly one-read quarterback needs a ton of weapons.
Why would you need a ton of weapons if you rarely come off your first read?
Look, if the Jets picked Penn State tight end Tyler Warren at 7, that would make perfect sense. Fields could use a big target that is easy to see in the short-to-intermediate passing game, like he had in Chicago with Cole Kmet.
But people who think stocking up on weapons is the panacea for a QB with limited field vision, just don’t get football.
If Fields expands his field vision and stops fixating on his first read, which he might do this year – maybe the lightbulb comes on – then that is a different story.
We shall see.
However, this constant obsession about weapons in NFL coverage is getting tedious.
How many great weapons did Tom Brady have in New England at wide receiver?
“Quarterbacks make receivers, receivers don’t make quarterbacks.”
March 27, 2025
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