How the Jets can get Omar Cooper and Kenyon Sadiq going against Patriots

The New York Jets received good injury news in the pass-catching department this week. According to Jets head coach Aaron Glenn, the team will have both Kenyon Sadiq and Omar Cooper Jr. in their game against the New England Patriots.

For Cooper, this is his first game since the season opener, when he suffered an injury on the first drive of the game.

As for Sadiq, he has played in every game but did leave the Cleveland Browns game after a big hit that caused a fumble.

How the New York Jets can utilize Kenyon Sadiq and Omar Cooper

Kenyon Sadiq has had an interesting start to his pro career. In the Jets' Week 3 game against the Detroit Lions, Sadiq went off for seven catches, 105 yards, and a touchdown. In the other four games he's played, though, his receiving totals are 21, 17, zero, and three yards.

Sadiq has been a boom-or-bust player for the Jets so far, and Frank Reich has an opportunity to change that this week. Reich needs to get Sadiq going deeper down the field.

Looking at his average depth of targets, there's a glaring difference between the Detroit game and every other game this season. He had an ADOT of 10 yards against the Lions. The other four games saw his ADOT at -0.3, -.5, 4.7, and 1.3. Sadiq is more than just a screen merchant.

With a 4.39 40-yard dash time, Sadiq can blow past any linebacker you put on him. Additionally, his 99th percentile vertical jump makes him a contested catch threat against the smaller but quicker secondary players that he could match up with. He's a mismatch waiting to happen; it's just up to the offensive coordinator to get him other opportunities than just screen passes.

As for Cooper, we saw his yards-after-the-catch ability on his lone catch of the season. On that play alone, Cooper had 26 yards after the catch. That's the bread and butter of his game.

Looking at his numbers at Indiana, 494 of Cooper's 937 yards were YAC. His 7.2 YAC per reception was good enough for 44th in the nation among 432 qualified receivers, according to Pro Football Focus. Cooper also ranked 26th in college football in first-down conversions at 44.

Cooper might not see a high volume of targets in his first game back, but it would not be surprising to see some catch-and-run opportunities schemed up for him.

Going up against a red-hot Patriots offense, it's on the Jets' OC to get the most out of his guys. If the Jets have any dreams of upsetting the Patriots on Sunday, they'll need the offense firing on all cylinders.

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