Five Biggest Questions
1. Will Zach Wilson be streamable?
2. Can Breece Hall become a must-start RB?
3. Will Garrett Wilson and Elijah Moore both be fantasy relevant?
4. Is Corey Davis draftable in most leagues?
5. Can any TE become streamable?
Briefly last season, it looked to some like Mike White was the Jets' best quarterback. When the dust settled, order was restored, and rookie Zach Wilson maintained his perch as the team's "franchise" QB. Of course, Wilson has to develop quickly. This isn't some four-year development plan. The team's been burned too many times over the years by supposed "franchise" quarterbacks. Wilson needs to justify why the Jets drafted him with the No. 2 pick last year.
The good news is the team invested heavily in more offensive playmakers at this year's draft. This might be the best collection of RB/WR/TE talent the Jets have had at one time in a generation or more. There were times last year when Wilson's top receivers included Braxton Berrios, Jamison Crowder, Keelan Cole, Ryan Griffin, and/or Tyler Kroft. Heading into Week 1, only Berrios remains, and he could realistically finish the season No. 7 or No. 8 in team targets. Wilson is neither safe nor draftable in shallow leagues. But there should be plenty of streaming weeks ahead. And that makes him an appealing, ascending, nothing-to-lose fantasy asset.
How will the backfield shake out? Who knows. Rookie Breece Hall is younger and faster than Michael Carter. Think of Carter as the Atari 2600 from the early '80s, and Hall is the Sega Genesis. A cut above on so many levels. How much above? That's the big question. Hall has weekly-fantasy-starter upside. Carter could eventually be a glorified handcuff. Hard to know how quickly Hall will seize the 1A job, but it should happen soon.
At receiver, Corey Davis could be the odd guy out, which is strange considering the Jets handed him $27 million guaranteed last year. Maybe I'm off on Davis. Maybe he's poised for an 80-900-8 campaign. But he's missed 20% of his career games with injuries. He might realistically be the No. 4 or even No. 5 offensive option by midseason. If Wilson were Patrick Mahomes, sure, there would be fantasy value for a No. 3 WR. But if that's all Davis is (and who I believe he'll be), then he's not a good bet to finish in the top 50.
More importantly, Elijah Moore (WR29 ADP) and Garrett Wilson (WR45) probably will battle it out for No. 1 duties. I view the rookie Wilson as the value play here. Some people will insist Moore is the real deal. And yes, he's quite good. But since last season, the Jets have added an instant-impact wideout, three starter-caliber TEs, and a potential franchise RB with good hands. When Moore was crushing it for fantasy managers in his final five games, he scored five TDs while averaging nine targets per contest. That's not sustainable in the Jets' 2022 offense.
At TE, is the next Dustin Keller in this corps? For fantasy purposes, C.J. Uzomah, Tyler Conklin, and Jeremy Ruckert should cancel each other out. Among the three, Ruckert is the name to watch. I'm still unclear why this team shelled out millions on two middling / slightly-above-middling TEs while also drafting a potential franchise TE. Regardless, if Ruckert shows well, he could be in fantasy starting lineups by December. Of course, that would require an injury to Uzomah and/or Conklin, or perhaps a bold acknowledgement from the coaching staff that Ruckert gives them the best chance to win. So yeah, not an entirely likely scenario. But Ruckert has the clearest path on an otherwise murky path to fantasy relevance.