NY Jets: Top 3 players on a historic pace

Oct 4, 2015; London, United Kingdom; New York Jets quarterback

(14) throws a pass to wide receiver

(15) during the first half of the game against the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Flynn-USA TODAY Sports

Several members of the NY Jets are set to have career years if they keep continuing on their historic pace this season.

The Jets can rest easy this week, they arrived back from their business trip just a couple days ago and they are headed into their bye week. So with there being no Jets game this week, fans will be paying close attention to the rest of the divisional games as the Buffalo Bills (2-2) travel to play the Tennessee Titans (1-2) and the New England Patriots (3-0) fresh off their bye, are headed down south to play the Dallas Cowboys (2-2).

Another thing Jets fans should do during this bye week is take a look back at the first four games of the season and take a peek at what’s to come. I wrote an article, NY Jets: First quarter season review, that you can check out here as we await next week.

It’s interesting to see that some of the players on this roster are performing incredibly well this season. Surprisingly enough, some of the biggest stars on the Jets’ roster are in for career years this season if they stay on pace.

Let’s take a look at the top 3 biggest players on the Jets and how their final season statistics would look if they continued to play the way they’re playing.

Next: 3. Might as well call him Mr. Sacks

Oct 4, 2015; London, United Kingdom; New York Jets defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson (96) sacks Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill (17) in Game 12 of the NFL International Series at Wembley Stadium.The Jets defeated the Dolphins 27-14. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

3. Muhammad Wilkerson

Could we see Wilkerson get back to a double-digit sack campaign this season? Well if keeps playing the way he has through the first quarter of the season, he could be playing his best football in a contract year.

Muhammad Wilkerson is on pace for a career high 14 sacks #Jets

— Joe Caporoso (@TurnOnTheJets) October 5, 2015

That’s right he’s on pace for a whopping 14 sacks which would be a career high for Wilkerson and he couldn’t have better timing as he’s vying for a long-term extension from the Jets. That would put Wilkerson in a very elite category in terms of single season sack performances of all-time for the Jets. They haven’t had a pass-rusher reach that total in a long time. The top-3 highest single season sack totals belongs to:

22 Mark Gastineau, 1984;

20.5 Joe Klecko, 1981;

20 Mark Gastineau, 1981

Next: 2. The man nobody can stop once he starts running

Sep 13, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets running back Chris Ivory (33) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns during the second half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

2. Chris Ivory

Ivory through three games is the third leading rusher in the NFL and he didn’t even play Week 2. He has rumbled for 314 yards on the season. Of course the likes of Freeman McNeil, Thomas Jones and Curtis Martin litter the most single season rushing yards for the Jets but Ivory is definitely making a name for himself.

If Ivory stays on pace he could be at least in the conversation for one of the best rushing seasons in recent memory, though he’s more on pace for a Jones type season than a Martin season.

Chris Ivory is on pace for 1,256 yards, 12 TDs with a 5.0 yards per carry #Jets — Joe Caporoso (@TurnOnTheJets) October 5, 2015

That’s not crazy numbers, but for what the Jets are trying to do, those are good enough numbers to bring the team where they want to go this season. Former general manager John Idzik is often looked at as a stain on the organization’s history that they wish they could remove. But Idzik wasn’t all bad during his tenure, one of the important trades he was a part of was bringing Ivory to the Jets for a 4th round pick.

It’s not talked about all the time, but it should be because that mid-round draft pick provided the Jets with their next bell cow on offense for the next several years. If he can have a few more games like he had against the Dolphins in London, his stats could be even greater when all is said and done.

Next: 1. One of the top acquisitions in years

Sep 21, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New York Jets receiver Brandon Marshall (15) carries the ball during a NFL game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Jets defeated the Colts 20-7. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

1. Brandon Marshall

Of course back several months ago when I was sitting in the car just searching through my Twitter feed, I saw that Marshall was on the trading block and that the San Diego Chargers, New England Patriots and a few other teams were interested in Marshall’s services. So as an avid Jets fan I thought why wouldn’t the Jets want to bring this guy in? So I had to do an advanced Twitter search to find it, but boy did I.

Should the New York Jets be in the Brandon Marshall sweepstakes? @BMarshh54 #nfl #trade #rumormill #Jets #JetLife #ganggreen

— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@Jetswagg25) March 6, 2015

This was my correct prediction, well sort of, I accidentally tagged the wrong Brandon Marshall by accident which caused it’s own media fire-storm for his Twitter account getting wrongfully blown up. But regardless, Marshall later that day was traded to the Jets and I was so excited for calling it and actually having a legitimate receiver for the first time in a very long time. Marshall is having a better season than most analysts gave him credit for and he’s on pace for another statistical feather in his Hall of Fame cap.

Brandon Marshall is on pace for 180 targets, 120 receptions, 1,600 yards, 12 TDs #Jets — Joe Caporoso (@TurnOnTheJets) October 5, 2015

Is Marshall back tossing it with Jay Cutler in Denver or Chicago? No these are with Ryan Fitzpatrick at the helm and no insult to the veteran journeymen quarterback but he’s no all-pro. It just goes to show that quarterbacks don’t always make receivers. Back to the stats, this would be a career high in yards, receptions and a tie for touchdowns in a single season for Marshall.

And perhaps an even bigger story would be the fact that finally, after one of the longest droughts in history for the Jets, they would have a 1,000+ yard receiver. Every time I bring it up Jets fans cringe, it’s been 8 long seasons, 9 if you count 2007 since the Jets have last had one.

It’s about time they get this monkey off their back and more importantly, it seems like Marshall has dedicated himself to this team harder than anyone could have imagined and he’s been a perfect fit here with the Jets.

Next: NY Jets: The emergence of Marcus Williams

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