Jets wide receivers eager to catch elite tag

No Pro Bowls or first round picks, this year’s group of New York Jets wide receivers are ready to change the narrative and become an elite group.

When you think of the elite wide receiver groups in the NFL, who do you think of? The Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Minnesota Vikings usually come to mind. These teams all have a true number one wide receiver and have Pro Bowl players at the position.

One team that is not mentioned as “elite” is the New York Jets but they are looking to change that in 2018. Analysts and fans often overlook the Jets skill position players due to the fact that they don’t have a first rounder or Pro Bowl tag associated with them. A seven-year playoff drought doesn’t help matters either.

But this current group of Jets wide receivers have a tag that no other team in the league does. They’re the only team with four wide receivers on its current roster who have produced at least one 800-yard season in their careers. Kearse, Terrelle Pryor, Robby Anderson and Quincy Enunwa are members of the 800 club.

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According to an article by Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, Jets wide receiver Jermaine Kearse is confident in this year’s group to become elite because they all have playmaking ability. Here is what Kearse had to say according to Cimini:

“It’s the tags, man. We don’t have anybody with a tag that says ‘elite receiver.’ We don’t have any first-rounders or anything like that. No Pro Bowls. But that doesn’t mean we can’t get the job done. At the end of the day, we’re playmakers and that’s what we’re going to do. I mean, watch the film and you’ll find out. You’ll just see.”

Health is the biggest obstacle in this group’s way of becoming elite.

Pryor is recovering from a surgically repaired ankle and there is a chance he could miss the start of training camp. Enunwa is recovering from neck surgery that kept him out all of 2017. Enunwa practiced during minicamp with a helmet on which is encouraging.

Anderson was the team’s best wide receiver last season, leading the group with 941 yards and seven touchdowns. However, he is facing a potential suspension from the league due to two arrests in the last nine months.

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If Pryor and Enunwa prove to be fast healers and Anderson does not face league discipline, the Jets do have the potential to become one of the elite wide receiver groups. The Falcons, Steelers, and Vikings wide receivers are among the best in the league. If this year’s group of Jets wide receivers can help them get to the NFL Playoffs, they will have that elite tag.