3 NY Jets players that must step up following the Corey Davis injury

3. Keelan Cole, WR, NY Jets

Keelan Cole was forced to sit out in Week 13 after testing positive for COVID-19, but the former Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver should be in line for more playing time upon his return.

Cole was signed to a one-year, $5.5 million contract in the offseason as the Jets looked to overhaul their wide receiver room. Although his signing was a bit overshadowed by the addition of Davis.

With Davis now out of the picture, however, it could be Cole's time to shine.

In 10 games this season, Cole has hauled in just 19 catches for 299 yards as he's been a nonfactor most weeks. He has just one game with more than three catches and seven with two or fewer grabs.

That said, he did receive a much larger workload when Davis was forced to miss consecutive games back in late October and early November.

Davis was sidelined due to an injury in Weeks 8 and 9, and over those two weeks, Cole received a whopping 13 of his 33 total targets on the year. He recorded eight catches for 91 yards as well.

There's every reason to believe that Cole will be given a larger role once he returns which could be as soon as this week. Of the two Jets wide receivers inked to new contracts in the offseason, only one remains.

Keelan Cole will look to emerge from Corey Davis' shadow over the final month or so of the season.