Jets countdown: Will Perriman make fans forget Anderson?
The 2020 Jets hope to kick off the new decade by snapping a nine-year playoff drought.
There was plenty of roster turnover this offseason, but the question remains: Does new necessarily mean better?
Tom Brady’s departure ostensibly gives hope to the rest of the AFC East, but will the Jets be the team to finally knock the Patriots off their perch as division rulers?
I’ll be revealing my Top 20 players on the roster every weekday for the next four weeks in the run-up to training camp.
This list is made up of the players who I believe will make the most impact for Adam Gase’s team this season. The ranking isn’t simply based on a player’s resume. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
So, we’re peering into our crystal ball and taking some leaps of faith. There’s some quality young talent on Gang Green’s roster. Some of those guys are poised to take their games to the next level.
Get ready for some surprises.
No. 12: Breshad Perriman
2019 ranking: N/A Position: Wide receiver Age at the start of the season: 27
2020 salary cap charge: $6.44 million
Contract status: Signed a one-year, $6.5 million deal in offseason
2019 Season in Review: Perriman sleepwalked through the first 4 1/2 years of his career before exploding down the stretch last season. The former Ravens firstrounder took advantage of a larger role in Tampa’s passfriendly offense after injuries to Pro Bowlers Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. Perriman erupted with 25 catches for 506 yards and five touchdowns in the final five games, prompting many to wonder whether this was an aberration or a window into the future.
The 6-2, 215-pound Perriman’s average snap share jumped from 59.3 percent in the first 12 weeks (excluding
Week 4 when he left due to injury after just five snaps) to 83.6 percent in the last five games, according to jetsxfactor.com.
Perriman had just 70 receptions for 1,055 yards and six touchdowns in his first 46 career games with Baltimore, Cleveland and Tampa Bay.
“He has unique size and speed combo,” said general manager Joe Douglas, who was a member of the Ravens’ scouring staff that drafted Perriman with the No. 26 overall pick in 2015. “Obviously his career trajectory was different than most first-rounders.”
Said Perriman of his terrific finish in 2019: “I think that was just a sneak peek of what’s to come for this season and many other seasons past this season. I just feel like that was a tiny glimpse and I’m looking forward to building from that little run I had last season.”
2020 Outlook:
Gang Green rolled the dice by letting Robby Anderson walk in free agency and banking that their Plan B would be good enough this season. However, it was an undeniable risk to take away Sam Darnold’s best deep threat that had been growing with the young quarterback for two years.
Perriman insists that “I don’t really think I lost a step at all” after recording a sub-4.3 40-yard dash at his Pro Day five years ago, but blazing speed is only part of the equation.
How quickly will Perriman get on the same page with Darnold, who worked with his new wideout for the first time earlier this month for a few days in Florida?
Perriman will be the “X” receiver in a scheme that typically hasn’t produced big numbers from that spot. Gase hasn’t gotten a lot of production from the “X” in offenses that weren’t led by Peyton Manning.
Alshon Jeffrey was on his way to a monster 2015 campaign on Chicago before being derailed by injury. No “X” receiver in Gase’s offense has reached 1,000 yards in five seasons without Manning.
DeVante Parker averaged 49 receiving yards in 39 games with Gase before erupting for career-highs in catches (72), yards (1,202) and touchdowns (9) in his first season after Miami fired the coach. Anderson had 52 catches for 779 yards and five touchdowns as the “X” for Gase last season.
But Perriman remains confident that the best is yet to come in what amounts to a prove-it season.
“I believe it’s going to happen now,” Perriman said. “I have no doubt in my mind that it’s definitely going to be a season to remember for me… production-wise. I’m just really excited for the opportunities that I will get and [having] a bigger role.”
Next on the Countdown: A necessary piece to a winning puzzle.
Countdown Rewind:
No. 20: P Braden Mann No. 19: DL Foley Fatukasi No. 18: WR Denzel Mims No. 17: DL Kyle Phillips No. 16: DL Steve McLendon No. 15: DL Henry Anderson No. 14: CB Pierre Desir No. 13: CB Brian Poole