Disappointing with an Asterisk: Corey Davis' first season with the NY Jets

Corey Davis' 2021 season saw both good and bad

Optimistic NY Jets fans would say that Davis had an overall strong season.

His 492 yards and four touchdowns in nine games put him on an 875-yard and seven-touchdown pace in 16 games, which would make him one of the best outside receivers Gang Green has had since Brandon Marshall in 2015.

Also, Pro Football Focus gave Davis a 68.8 score on the season, a respectable grade, albeit much-decreased compared to last year. In addition, Davis flashed great skill against the Titans in Week 4, a game in which the wideout posted over 100 yards and a touchdown.

The more pessimistic fan would say, though, that Davis' first season was a major disappointment for New York. His constant drops and multiple fumbles made him a liability on offense, which when combined with his frequent injuries leads to a disastrous combination for an expensive receiver.

His catch rate of 57.6 percent is relatively low for a possession receiver like Davis and is a 13 percentage point drop-off from last season.

His PFF score is not up to WR1 standards, which only furthers a point that Davis-maligners have made all offseason: was Davis' strong 2020 campaign merely the product of a loaded offense with too many pieces for a defense to keep track of?

Of these two stances, I would actually give more weight to the former, as the anti-Davis arguments leave out crucial factors from this season that Davis could not control.