Little-known receivers to carry load
With top two gone this fall, somebody will have to step up.
FLORHAMPARK,N.J.— Quincy Enunwa knows that most opinions of the New York Jets’ wide receivers are far from favorable.
He and his teammates respectfully disagree.
“How can they know better when they haven’t seen anything?” Enunwa said about the naysayers. “It’s up to us to prove them wrong.”
That’s the daunting task for a mostly ragtag group of 13 wide receivers who have a combined 199 NFL catches for 2,597 yards and 10 touchdowns. Hardly eye-popping numbers and not the type of production that inspires confidence in Jets fans.
Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker, who have 1,326 career receptions, 17,314 yards receiving and 134 TDs between them, were both cut this offseason as the Jets revamped their roster after a 5-11 season.
The main offseason story line has been whether Josh McCown, Bryce Petty or Christian Hackenberg will win the starting quarterback job. Once they sort that out comes this next head-scratching question: Who will they be throwing to?
“What’s great about what we are as a group is that we’re a group that has to function as a group,” receivers coach Karl Dorrell said. “Usually, when you have an established player, you can find go-to opportunities for those types of players. This group, we’re still finding our craft, so to speak, because we’re developing.
“Even Quincy, a fourthyear player like he is, is developing into the type of receiver he’s capable of becoming.”
Enunwa is the most experienced of the bunch, with 80 catches for 1,172 yards and four TDs in three seasons over 29 games. He was the No. 3 receiver last season, but shot up the depth chart to No. 1 by default after Decker was cut on Monday — three months after Marshall was sent packing.
“I think every year, it’s going to be the same answer from me,” Enunwa said. “Last year, it was, ‘Do you think you’re going to be No. 3?’ And this year, it’s, ‘Do you think you’re going to be No. 1?’ I’m just going to play and do my best at practice, to battle, and if I come up the No. 1, that’s what happens. But, I just want to play. That’s it.”
The sixth-round draft pick out of Nebraska in 2014 was largely used as a hybrid tight end in his first few seasons. At 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, Enunwa has been asked to block in the running game.
Last year was a breakout for Enunwa, who finished tied with running back Bilal Powell for second on the Jets with 58 receptions — one fewer than Marshall. Enunwa led the team with 857 yards receiving and four TD catches, but he has used this offseason to improve his route running.
But after Enunwa and Robby Anderson, no one has more than 19 career catches, which is how many seventh-rounder Charone Peake had as a rookie to go along with 186 yards receiving. Jalin Marshall caught 14 passes for 162 yards and two TDs in his first season, but will miss the first four games for violating the league’s policy on performance enhancers.