NY Jets Optimistic Roster Breakdown: WR Jamison Crowder

For the sake of positivity, let’s take a look at an optimistic outlook for NY Jets’ wide receiver Jamison Crowder.

The NY Jets will go into the 2020 season with arguably the most inexperienced wide receiver corps in the NFL. But one player who will be asked to be the leader of the unit is slot receiver Jamison Crowder.

The Jets made a concerted effort to address the position in the offseason and while the addition of second-round pick Denzel Mims is exciting and free-agent signing Breshad Perriman has some potential, it’s hard to be too optimistic about the team’s wide receivers.

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Mims and Perriman are major question marks going into the year, but Crowder, on the other hand, will be tasked with serving as a model of consistency in an otherwise volatile position group.

The former Washington Redskins receiver put together arguably the most productive year of his career in his first season with the Jets. In an otherwise stagnant offense, Crowder was oftentimes one of the few shining lights.

But what will he have to do to make 2020 a success? We take a look at an optimistic outlook for his upcoming season.

Optimistic stats projection

• 87 receptions, 1,025 receiving yards, 6 receiving touchdowns, 11.8 yards per reception

*All optimistic stats projections are based on a 16-game output because….optimism*

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From a statistical standpoint, you could argue that 2019 was Crowder’s best season in the NFL. He topped his career-high in receptions hauling in 78 passes while falling just short of career-highs in receiving yards (833) and touchdowns (six).

And he did that despite playing in an inept offense that ranked 29th in the NFL in passing. Remember, he was also forced to play with Luke Falk for three games.

If Crowder can stay healthy in 2020 — which he has in four of his five NFL seasons — there’s no reason why he can’t top his career numbers again in a hopefully improved offense.

Could he become the Jets’ first 1,000-yard receiver since 2015? It’s possible, but some things will need to go his way.

Crowder received a whopping 122 targets last season which was the most in his career by a wide margin. This was primarily because of injuries to many of the team’s top pass-catchers.

But if Mims and/or Perriman fail to live up to expectations in 2020, the Jets might be forced to go to Crowder more underneath. In that case, his primary competition for targets will be the returning Chris Herndon.

It isn’t overwhelmingly likely, but all it takes are a couple of big games to boost that 833-yard mark up and over 1,000. A career-high 87 receptions would certainly help matters.

How Jamison Crowder could find success with the NY Jets in 2020

Crowder will find success with the Jets in 2020 if he simply plays as well as he did last season. While not the flashiest receiver, Crowder serves an important role as quarterback Sam Darnold‘s safety blanket underneath.

The aforementioned Chris Herndon could provide a similar asset to Darnold provided he’s healthy, but don’t expect that to eat into Crowder’s role in the offense.

In an inexperienced, volatile wide receiver corps, Crowder is the only player who’s developed any sort of chemistry with Darnold and he’s far and away the most accomplished of the group.

On top of that, he’s an excellent fit for Adam Gase’s West Coast offense — an offense he now has a year of experience playing in.

As long as Crowder can stay healthy and play up to expectations, 2020 should be a successful season for the former Duke standout.