The New York Jets coming into this season have really tried to solidify their offense around their 2021 first-rounder Zach Wilson. This team went from a bottom-of-the-barrel team to an on-paper juggernaut. It’s easy to see that the New York Jets have turned a corner and are ready to become a powerhouse. That being said this may be the last year to get in on this talent before they become too expensive. That’s why Belly Up is here to tell you about the guys you need to draft in our New York Jets fantasy outlook.

Zach Wilson

Zach Wilson out here throwing bombs 👀

(via @stephenrusso9)
pic.twitter.com/woPMfqKA2V

— FanDuel (@FanDuel) July 31, 2021

The Jets have their sights set on becoming a force this season, and their QB Zach Wilson is who’s driving the brand new Mustang. Wilson faced a lot of scrutinies last season for being a rookie and making rookie mistakes. People are already swirling ideas of drafting a QB in 2023 if 2022 doesn’t go well. Hold the phone…slow your roll…take that chill pill.

While Wilson’s rookie season was nothing to write home about, his talent is game-changing. So let us reflect on his 2021 season. Wilson only had his duo of Corey Davis and Elijah Moore together for seven games, and his leading receiver without those two was Braxton Berrios. It’s easy to see why Wilson had 9 TDs and 11 interceptions; he was trying to work with what he had. Some positives that came out of 2020 was he paid off as a deep-ball thrower, throwing a catchable deep ball 67.4% of the time (7th amongst QBs). He also had a deep ball competition percentage of 39.5% and the fifth-best deep ball accuracy rating (6.7). The one thing I want to hammer this argument down with is his receivers dropped 41 passes (3rd most). So a good view for this year is that Zach Wilson can quickly become a star with a healthy receiving core and some extra weapons.

When you assess the possibility of success, you have to follow the trail that the team has left you. So we know Wilson is a talent who reminds us of Russell Wilson. So what was Russ’s most significant issue? It wasn’t receivers or RBs…it was the offensive line. So much to our surprise, last year PFF ranked the Jets as the 11th best o-line in 2021, and it was a team effort as they didn’t have Mekhi Becton and had a ragtag crew of outcasts along with rookie Alijah Vera-Tucker. Now enter Laken Tomlinson, who had his best year ever in 2021 and is coming from the same scheme that Mike LaFleur runs. So with the edition to the line and adding Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson from the Draft. I am going out on a limb and saying Zach Wilson will be a top 12 QB and should be someone to target in all formats.

Breece Hall

RBs Breece Hall & Michael Carter at #Jets practice

That catch by Breece❗️

These 2 are gonna be a great duo 🔥 pic.twitter.com/nn96rKJR8R

— Harrison Glaser (@NYJetsTFMedia) May 19, 2022

Hall was a juggernaut at Iowa State having back-to-back seasons with 1,700 scrimmage yards and 23 TDs. He now enters a situation where the team needs a workhorse back to carry the ball 20-plus times a game. Last season the Jets tried to utilize Michael Carter in this role, and it didn’t work out as Carter was never able to get more than 16 carries in a game. Carter also only had one game of 100 or more yards. He didn’t live up to his expectations and will most likely only be in on-pass catching situations.

This is where Breece Hall will come in; as the best rusher last year in college, he comes into an ideal situation for his skill set. As a unit last season, the team averaged 4.04 yards per carry amongst five active running backs. This shows me it’s not the team’s lack of a line but lack of a workhorse back. The Jets run a wide zone Shanahan-based offense, which requires a fastback that can breakaway if they find the hole. Insert Breece; his tape was full of breakaway runs. As a team, the Jets combined for 14 breakaway runs, which would’ve ranked 6th in the league if given to one player. I feel pretty confident in saying that Breece has entered into a very good situation and has the potential to be this year’s, Javonte Williams.

Michael Carter

Carter was hyped into last year and showed potential, but I think that the Jets were hoping he’d command more touches. Like I said in the Breece Hall portion, Carter never got 20 carries in a game. This is a team that scheme-wise wants someone to be a workhorse. They don’t utilize the RB as a pass-catcher enough to make him a valuable asset.

Carter at this point should be looked at as an insurance policy, something close to a Kareem Hunt. If he can be like a Hunt then we could see a great value at his current ADP of RB 38. The thing with Carter is if they wanted him to be the guy the Jets wouldn’t have drafted the best RB in the draft. So don’t look at him as someone you can take as your RB2. Take him as a best ball guy and or someone as your backup or spare flex play.

Elijah Moore

ELIJAH MOORE BREAKOUT PARTY pic.twitter.com/dvVcBKrDrP

— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) November 5, 2021

Moore started his rookie campaign rough. In his first four games, he averaged 3.65 FFpts/game. After a two-target and zero catch day against the Falcons in Week 5, that woke up Moore. During his final stretch of games from Week 6-13, Moore averaged 17.6 FFpts/game. During that stretch, he scored the fourth-most points for a wide receiver, according to FantasyPros. Moore seemed like he was elevating his game before a quad injury took him out for the rest of the season. I want to give you a look at what he could’ve been had he kept that pace up. Moore would’ve totaled 243.4 fantasy points (PPR) which would’ve slotted him in at WR15.

This offense has an incredibly high ceiling, and don’t let anyone convince you they can’t have multiple producers. The way I see Moore this year is that he and Garrett Wilson can almost seamlessly switch roles. Wilson is a great deep ball threat and may end up more on the perimeter, while Elijah Moore will look to build off his slot snap percentage of 16.7. Little note on slot percentages, only one wide receiver in the top-24 last season had below 10% of slot snaps. So if Moore is utilized as a slot more than last year, then we may see him achieve top-24 status in 2022.

Garrett Wilson

Garrett Wilson at #Jets practice looking real good 👀

That footwork & those hands 🔥 pic.twitter.com/zk8V5BlBfn

— Harrison Glaser (@NYJetsTFMedia) May 19, 2022

Wilson took the College Football world by storm, going for 70 catches, 1,058, and 12 touchdowns. The former Buckeyes best season by far. Wilson possessed the speed to get proper separation from corners and body control to come down with contested catches. The first-round pick quickly elevated his game in 2021 and should transition to the NFL pretty flawlessly.

Wilson’s talent fits what the Jets are looking to achieve. He’s a talented speedster who tracks the ball well in the air, and with a gifted gunslinger like Wilson, that’ll come in handy. There were two areas where Zach Wilson was exceptionally accurate, according to Playerprofiler, and that was with his deep ball and his red-zone throws. These are two spots where Garrett Wilson should thrive this next season. So for me, I think that the Wilson to Wilson duo has excellent potential, and Garrett should be a WR2 at the very least this year.

Corey Davis

Davis was on his way to a 112 targets season with 65 receptions, 930 yards, and eight touchdowns. The veteran receiver missed eight games last year due to an abdominal muscle surgery. This season Davis should still have a chance to be the team’s possession receiver. This makes him a good selection for a later round in redraft leagues. The problem with his dynasty value is that his contract has an out in 2023, as his dead cap hit would be under a million dollars.

Davis’ current ADP is at WR59, according to FantasyPros, and this puts him in the high-end third receiver zone. He’s surrounded by the likes of Tim Patrick, Van Jefferson, and Tyler Boyd, three guys on teams with great quarterbacks. Davis may not have the ceiling of his fellow stablemates but should have the volume to make good on his ADP value.

CJ Uzomah

Uzomah is an interesting addition to this New York Jets team as he’ll offer a big 6’6 target in the red zone. Uzomah last year had a minor breakout through Weeks 4-7, where he had two games of 90 yards and two touchdowns. This was the only relevant period of his career, so I’m only selecting him in deep leagues.

The potential in this offense is great, but I don’t think everyone will eat in this offense. I only see Uzomah having a big year if he puts on his best Hunter Henry impersonation and scores nine touchdowns.

Tyler Conklin

Tyler Conklin (@T_Conk1) breakout year incoming 🚀✈️😈 pic.twitter.com/lBOgIT45Nf

— Zach Gaines (@JetsPrime) April 5, 2022

Conklin was the other tight end signed by the Jets and might be the better one to draft in 2022. The former Viking was the better of the two players last year, even though he got $7 million less than Uzomah. The one place Conklin excelled was in the red zone; he out-targeted Uzomah 15 to 6. Another thing Conklin has going for him is he’s three years younger than his fellow tight end.

Currently, Uzomah sits at TE32 and Conklin at TE39 in start-ups. While there isn’t too much difference, I wouldn’t hop on either bandwagon this season, but if I had to shoot for one of these guys, it might have to be Conklin due to his past usage in the red zone.

Defense

While the New York Jets have the 17th hardest schedule in the NFL for 2022, I’m still passing on this defense as a whole. They’ve made improvements but not enough to where they are going go from the team in 2021 that gave up the most points to giving up the least. Something that intrigued me is that the JETS had the fifth-most sacks (53) and the least combined tackles (1035). I expect this to be a team you can use for IDP purposes. Quincy Williams and CJ Moseley finished in the top 25 for linebackers, and Quinnen Wiliams finished DL29. Marcus Maye, before his injury, was averaging 13.6FFpts/game, which gives us hope for Sauce Gardner.

Conclusion

The New York Jets are a team you need to go after in dynasty and redraft leagues. This team is going places and has too much ceiling potential to pass up. The community will tell you that you shouldn’t trust the New York Jets, but the ADP value and potential say to stack these guys.

If you enjoyed this work and want to read more team profiles, then visit us at www.bellyupfantasysports.com. You can follow me on Twitter @semtexmex93