Breaking down the Jets wide receivers ahead of training camp

The New York Jets wide receiver corps managed to overachieve in 2017 and with a crowded but talented group leading the pack, expectations are certainly higher as the team moves into 2018.

Don’t look now but the New York Jets could have a pretty good group of wide receivers at their disposal heading into the new NFL season. In fact, there’s an argument to be made that, if all goes according to plan, they could have the most talented wide receiver corps in the entire AFC East. Perhaps this says more about the state of the wide receivers in the AFC East, but let’s be optimists here.

Of course, however, this is the world of sports we’re talking about. And everything won’t go according to plan. That being said, the Jets should feel significantly more comfortable with their receivers heading into 2018 than they did last year.

The team has ample depth and returns their top two targets in Robby Anderson and Jermaine Kearse, who both topped 800 receiving yards last year. Terrelle Pryor joins the team after a tumultuous, injury-riddled season in Washington, but the former Cleveland Brown does have a 1,000-yard campaign under his belt.

Perhaps the biggest X-factor is the return of Quincy Enunwa who missed all of last season with a neck injury. It wasn’t long ago that Enunwa was viewed as one of the top young receivers in the league so Jets fans are certainly eager for his return to the gridiron.

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Throw in second-year receivers Chad Hansen and ArDarius Stewart and the Jets could have one of the deeper wide receiver groups in the entire NFL. The one thing they’re missing is a standout, true No. 1 receiver. The team hopes that one of their roster members will indeed emerge as that legitimate superstar that the Jets are desperately in need of.

That man could very well be Robby Anderson who has shown that he’s more than a simple “one-trick pony” deep threat. Anderson broke out in 2017, finishing the season with 941 yards on 63 catches and would have undoubtedly topped the 1,000-yard mark had Josh McCown not had his season ended prematurely by a broken left hand.

The former undrafted free agent out of Temple displayed a new edge to his game last year and really refined his abilities as a receiver. He always had the top-end speed to be a deep threat but his improvement as an overall football player shined through in 2017.

Anderson clearly worked out the kinks in his footwork and became a more physical receiver at the snap of the ball. He used a quick first step and battled with his hands to get a good release on opposing cornerbacks which allowed him to get open deep more often than not.

Catching the football also seemed to come more naturally to Anderson in 2017 and his hands were evidently stronger than they had been in the past which allowed him to make more contested catches than at any other point in his career.

If Anderson can stay out of trouble off the field, he could be in line for a career year in 2018. His off-the-field concerns have been well-documented and our very own Rhonda Schmidt did a great job of detailing his issues and emphasizing that it is imperative that he corrects his behavior.

There is still time and everyone deserves a chance to grow and mature. If he can do just that, Anderson could very well have a Pro Bowl caliber season in 2018 and be that No. 1 receiver the Jets know he can be.

Elsewhere, the aforementioned Kearse is coming off a solid season in which he posted career highs in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns. The former Seattle Seahawk is a reliable No. 2 receiver who has good hands and has shown to be a dependable option in the shallow-to-intermediate passing game.

Kearse’s playing time may be challenged this year, however, with the addition of Terrelle Pryor and the potential emergence of second-year receiver Chad Hansen who should both contend for more snaps on the outside.

Pryor is the only current Jets receiver to have posted 1,000 receiving yards in a season and it’s easy to forget that he did that with five different quarterbacks throwing him the ball. In fact, the state of the Browns QB room in 2016 was so desolate that Pryor himself was actually called upon to play a little quarterback for the first time since his days as an Oakland Raider.

Now there’s no denying that the former Ohio State standout had an absolute disaster of a season with the Redskins last year. Injuries played a major part and may have derailed the campaign before it could really get going. Pryor suffered an ankle injury in Week 2 and clearly wasn’t himself for the remainder of his time playing in the nation’s capital.

If he could stay healthy, Pryor has the potential to regain his 2016 form and be a borderline Pro Bowl receiver in his first year with Gang Green. However, there will be no shortage of competition and if the team’s younger talent performs well during training camp and the preseason, Pryor could find himself as one of the surprise roster cuts as the Jets continue their quest for youth.