Will success come down to Brandon Marshall?

The success of the New York Jets for the upcoming season will come down to the play of wide receiver Brandon Marshall in the grand scheme of things.

There truly is no price when it comes to being successful. All across the NFL, teams will do whatever it takes to produce a successful season filled with many victories, happy fans, and of course, a ticket to the NFL Playoffs. The regular season is a long one where every year, one never knows what will ultimately happen as it progresses. As the New York Jets do their best to prepare for a tough schedule ahead, their ultimate success comes down to one very important player on offense.

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Wide receiver Brandon Marshall was such a huge surprise last season, he completely exceeded expectations beyond belief in his debut year with the Jets. In 2015, Marshall totaled 1,502 receiving yards, 109 receptions, and a career-high 14 touchdowns. Needless to say, general manager Mike Maccagnan struck gold when deciding to bring Marshall into the mix a year ago.

Heading into the upcoming season, all eyes tend to be on the play of quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Of course, the quarterback position is the most important on any team but when Marshall isn’t on the field, the Jets’ offense is clearly not the same, even with the shaven wonder under center.

In preseason Week 3 action against the New York Giants, Marshall didn’t see any action due to the leadership regime resting him due to sore hips. It’s not anything to worry about, but it was a very smart decision by the Jets to not put him in situations that could hinder the damage he’s going to cause to defenses in 2016.

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Marshall is hands down the premier x-factor of the Jets on offense.

Without him, everything seems off as his unique skill-set and big play-making skills are sorely missed when he’s not around.

Besides what he does on the football field, he’s a veteran leader that plays with such passion for success, it’s contagious to everyone around him.

Marshall is crucial to the overall success of the Jets as he was one of the biggest reasons why they almost made it to the NFL Playoffs last year.

Even Fitzpatrick had to chime in on how difficult it is without his partner in crime ready to keep defenses wondering what is coming next. Here’s what he had to say, courtesy of the Media Relations Department of the Jets:

On how difficult it is to gauge where the offense is without Brandon Marshall…

It’s tough. I think we feel pretty good right now. I don’t know that those three games were a great indication of where we feel we are. But we’ve obviously got a tough defense in Cincinnati that we’re going to open up with and we can’t start slow, we’ve got to come out firing. Now all the focus and attention will kind of go towards that.

On if it is difficult not having had all the offensive options in a single preseason game…

I don’t think so. I think in the long run that may be something that helps us just with being able to get reps with everybody. Last year I feel like I developed a pretty good rapport with Brandon and was able to build on my rapport a little bit with Quincy (Enunwa). (Decker) and I have a good thing going. Even though Quincy hasn’t been out there, even though Brandon wasn’t out there today, I don’t think we’re going to take a step back in terms of where we are with our chemistry.

must read: Matt Forte chimes in on preseason debut

Make no mistake about it, if Eric Decker, Quincy Enunwa or another wide receiver has success this season, it’s because of Marshall. Not only does he have a hand in mentoring those around him towards greatness but his presence causes defenses to heavily prepare against him, opening up opportunities for others. If the Jets finally end this playoff drought in 2016, it will be thanks largely in part to No. 15.