It’s been over a decade since the New York Jets have played meaningful football in January. In 2010, the Jets made it to the AFC Championship game but haven’t even sniffed a playoff spot since then. The Jets have had turnover on the sidelines and also on the field with new players and new coaches hoping to break this streak of missing the postseason.
Head coach Robert Saleh is the right guy to lead the team but as he heads into his second season with New York, he needs to show signs of improvement, or the seat he’s sitting in will slowly get hotter as the season moves along.
There are a lot of young and talented players on both sides of the ball and the hope is that more reps together can lead to better production. Quarterback Zach Wilson is given lots of support in this offense and hopefully can prove he was worth the second overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
There are a lot of things to be concerned about with the Jets offense when it comes to fantasy football, but that doesn’t mean this offense is an abyss of non-factor players. This offense has some great potential players and you just need to read on to get the real scoop on the outlook for the 2022 New York Jets when it comes to fantasy football.
Leave Your Fantasy Football Draft With This Player
Michael Carter, RB
As the 2021 season came to a close, Carter seemed to become a starting caliber running back for the Jets offense. Carter ended up finishing his rookie season in the NFL with 964 scrimmage yards (led the team) and four total touchdowns (tied for second on the team). He also started 11 games out of the 14 games he played in and just overall looked like a really good find after being drafted in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
With all that said, this didn’t prevent the New York Jets from selecting Breece Hall in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft to add to the running back room and cast a shadow on the fantasy outlook for Carter.
Carter averaged 4.3 rushing yards per attempt which led all Jets running backs and he was also a useful piece in the passing offense as he was fourth on the team in receptions. Now you look at this Jets team last season and they were ranked dead last in rushing attempts and fifth worst in rushing yards. The addition of Hall to this roster is not a slight at Carter but more of hope that this running game can improve from being one of the worst in the league. Some can argue that Hall may become the future starter on the Jets but that means nothing for the upcoming season. Carter has shown he can be productive and has one year under his belt being in this offense.
Both running backs have fantasy value but one thing that could be frustrating is who has the hot hand in a given week. So while both can be good running backs, both will also cannibalize each other. With that said, Carter is a guy that you still want to have on your fantasy roster. Hall is going to be a part of the Jets offense but Carter is not a forgotten piece by any means.
The dual attack of Carter and Hall is going to be an effective part of the offense to get quarterback Zach Wilson in a rhythm through the game and not feel so much pressure. So Carter is going to stay on the draft board for a good portion of your fantasy draft but he can be a solid addition to your bench in the double-digit rounds.
While monitoring the Jets running back situation may be a pain at times in the season, Carter should be a guy drafted on your fantasy roster because he may end up being the better running back for the New York offense.
Rookie Fantasy Football Difference Maker
Garrett Wilson, WR
The Jets ranked 13th in total passing attempts last season but they only had one receiver cross the 50 reception mark for them. That receiver was Jamison Crowder and he’s now suiting up for the AFC East rival Buffalo Bills.
One of the big things that the Jets front office is hoping to remedy from their time with Sam Darnold under center is making sure young quarterback Zach Wilson has more than enough weapons on offense to succeed. In addition to Hall in the backfield, New York thought it would be wise to add to the passing game with the selection of Wilson at the number 10 spot of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Wilson comes from Ohio State University and will be an immediate difference maker in the passing game. If you look at the Jets player with the highest yard per game average last season, that would be 54.7 yards per game by Corey Davis.
During his final year in college, Wilson averaged 96.2 receiving yards per game. He’s going to bring an extra dimension to this offense and another receiving threat that opposing defenses will need to plan for. Consider the fact that Garrett Wilson is a great deep threat as he averaged 15.1 receiving yards per reception during his final year in college.
Zach Wilson is good at throwing the deep ball as well but has been limited by the Jets offense so far because in his final year at BYU he was averaging nearly 15 yards per completion. If the New York offense can give Zach Wilson enough time in the pocket, he could find Garrett Wilson deep for some big-yard plays that can get this Jets offense into many scoring opportunities.
Switching things to the fantasy front, Garrett Wilson is probably not a wise investment for your fantasy roster through the draft. It’s not that Wilson lacks the talent, it’s just that the Jets offense may not be reliable enough to get the ball to Wilson, yet. Wilson is capable of running more of a route tree compared to just a go route, but this offensive line is going to be worrisome.
Also, Wilson is not the main option in this passing attack as Braxton Berrios has built a rapport with Zach Wilson and Corey Davis is hoping to get more comfortable in year two in the Jets offense, as well.
Garrett Wilson does hold some value, but you should not be targeting him until the double-digit rounds of your fantasy draft. He can be a one or two-week wonder for you, but his consistency is not there in a shaky Jets offense. Feel free to take a flier on him for your bench, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him go undrafted and possibly become a streaming option through the season.
Breece Hall, RB
Hall is one of the newest additions to the Jets offense. Drafted during the 2022 NFL Draft out of Iowa State, Hall hopefully can bring more potency to the Jets rushing attack that ranked fifth worst in 2021. Hall is a dual-threat running back that was the focal point of Iowa State’s offense during his time there from 2019 to 2021.
Hall ranked first in rushing yards during the 2020 season and ranked eighth in 2021, so you know that this guy can run the ball for his team and be the lead ball carrier as well. Adding Hall to this Jets offense is a great move by the front office but just curious when they already had Michael Carter on the roster.
This has already been mentioned earlier in the article but this Jets offense was terrible last season and they needed to improve it by any means necessary. Even though New York had a burgeoning running back in Carter already on the roster, the chance to add a guy like Hall to the roster is hard to pass up.
Hall is a bell-cow type of player that can be on the field for the entire game if needed. The Jets offense is still a work in progress and because of that, they will rely on the running game more in 2022. The addition of Hall to this offense will ensure that New York can get good chunks of yards on the ground on offense and give the defense enough time to rest up to keep the Jets in games, hopefully.
So in fantasy leagues, Hall is being drafted towards the top of the draft, and it’s kind of surprising. Is Hall the future for the Jets running game? Yes, most likely, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen overnight.
In dynasty leagues, absolutely he should be one of the top choices in rookie drafts, but in redraft leagues, while he holds value, he is being drafted a bit too high.
Hall is currently being selected as early as the third round in some cases. If Hall is there in the late fourth round or early fifth round, then that’s good value and an excellent selection by that point. Hall is going to be a relevant player in fantasy football this year, but don’t expect him to be a clear-cut RB1 in the 2022 season. He’ll split time with Carter and they will hamper each other’s fantasy production throughout the season.
If you play in a keeper league as well, then try and find a way to add Hall to your roster because his value will be a lot higher in 2023 and beyond.
Potential Fantasy Football Breakout Player
Zach Wilson, QB
As mentioned earlier, the Jets are trying their best to make sure their young quarterback has all the tools he needs to succeed in the NFL. Their previous young quarterback, Sam Darnold, was never given a fighting chance as his offensive line was average at best and he lacked playmakers on the outside and in the backfield. Wilson had been giving lots of pieces in the offense in the terms of offensive linemen, receivers, and running backs. Wilson has all the pieces around him and now it’s just a matter of getting himself more comfortable at the NFL level to become the franchise quarterback the Jets have lacked since Chad Pennington from the early 2000s.
One of the things that can lead to Wilson becoming a breakout candidate this season is his ability to avoid getting sacked. The Jets ranked fourth in most sacks allowed on offense which is partly on the offensive line but also on Wilson as well. The cherry on top of that sundae is that Mekhi Becton is out for the entirety of the 2022 season.
Wilson has the ability to be mobile and get out of the pocket, so hopefully his pocket awareness has improved over the offseason. He needs to be able to roll out of the pocket to either throw on the run or just tuck the ball and make a run for it and earn some yards on the ground.
In the modern NFL, these quarterbacks have the mobility to be dual-threat quarterbacks, even if they prefer to be pocket passers. Wilson needs to have this mindset, especially with the loss of big lineman Mekhi Becton for the entire 2022 season.
Wilson just needs to channel his BYU days and he can become a breakout player in the NFL and also give the Jets a sense of relief that Wilson has the makings of being the franchise quarterback they’re hoping he would be.
Let’s cut to the chase: Wilson is not a starting option for your fantasy roster unless you’re playing in a two-quarterback league or a Superflex league. In standard PPR leagues, Wilson is a potential streaming option but you can pick him up from the waiver wire. Wilson is more than likely to end up going undrafted in your fantasy league and it’s just a wait-and-see approach to see how this offense is going to look in 2022. There are loads of weapons for Wilson to succeed with, but the offensive line is going to be the main unit to watch to see if this offense can improve from last year. While Wilson has the makings to become a future franchise quarterback for New York, he doesn’t have the same value in fantasy football for the 2022 season.
Fantasy Football Bold Prediction
Michael Carter Finishes With More Fantasy Points Than Breece Hall
Hall may be the future for the Jets in the backfield but Carter is not going to go away quietly. Looking just to this upcoming season in 2022, Carter should be the more productive running back with the familiarity with the offense. He has experienced playing behind an offensive line that may not open up all the holes that a running back would want on a play.
Hall will adjust for sure but it’ll take some time and his value will be seen towards the back half of the season. Carter should be leaned on early in the season and also throughout the season. Over the course of the season Hall may end up with a similar number of touches that Carter will get but Carter will just be more effective with them.
Carter is also more of a nimble and finesse type of runner compared to Hall and could become more evasive at times. Hall has the ability to become a more finesse type of runner, but his mentality to lean on being more of a bruiser will cost him some production at times. So Carter may end up being the running back in the Jets backfield that will become the better fantasy producer in 2022.
