3 NY Jets players you need to draft in fantasy football

3. Michael Carter, RB, NY Jets

Let me preface this. If the Jets sign Dalvin Cook, this is no longer an option, and Michael Carter should go undrafted in every fantasy league as he would immediately become the Jets' third-best back.

However, Cook visited with the Jets over a week ago, and there has been no deal yet. My gut tells me Cook is using the Jets to get a stronger offer from Miami and will be signing there.

That means Carter is the No. 2 option for Gang Green at the start of the 2023 season. Many fantasy football owners, myself included, drafted Carter last year pretty high in their leagues, and rightly so. He was coming off a strong rookie season where he posted 639 rushing yards, 36 catches for 325 yards, and four touchdowns.

Despite the addition of Breece Hall, Carter was projected to post over 1,000 total yards, over 50 receptions, and possibly six to eight touchdowns on a pretty reliable workload.

However, that just did not happen, and by the season's end, Carter was getting outplayed by undrafted rookie Zonovan Knight despite Breece Hall being out with an injury.

That said, I expect a pretty strong turnaround for Carter this year. It appears he has regained his shiftiness from reports from training camp, and with Israel Abanikanda struggling early, it appears that Carter could be the No. 2 option come Week 1.

Helping Carter's case, especially early in the season, is that Hall will still be returning from injury and will most likely be on a snap count. I would expect Carter to have a pretty heavy workload of 12-15 touches per game in Weeks 1-6 before the bye. After the bye, I expect Hall to take control of the touches, but Carter should be useful early on.

I would not be shocked to see Carter return to his rookie-season form this year, posting close to 1,000 total yards, plus 35-40 catches and five or six scores. No, this won't outright win your fantasy league, but it might be the difference in winning a few games early on.

If you are getting towards the end of your draft and need a running back, Carter should still be there and is worth a flyer.