‘Bam!’ Just like that Knight’s a starter for Jets
The Jets suffered through a heartbreaking 27-22 loss to the Vikings on Sunday that dropped them to 7-5 on the season.
However, one bright side for Gang Green is that it may have found a future star at running back.
In his first NFL start for the injured Michael Carter (ankle), Zonovan “Bam” Knight amassed 90 yards on 15 carries. He also caught five passes for 28 yards.
With the Jets down 27-15 in the fourth quarter, Knight’s 48-yard run helped set up Mike White’s eventual oneyard touchdown run that cut the deficit to one score.
This is all coming off Knight’s first NFL game, the 31-10 victory over the Bears the week before, when he led the Jets in rushing with 69 yards on 14 carries.
“I don’t think it was anything I specifically saw,” Knight said about his 48-yard run. “I think it was just people executing up front and wide receivers blocking.
“I just trusted the tracks and they took care of the blocking and I just cut off of them. Really, it wasn’t on me, it started with the guys up front and the wide receivers helping out.”
Knight found out he was starting for Carter from running backs coach Taylor Embree just 60 minutes before kickoff.
This is a moment Knight has been waiting for since the Jets signed him as an undrafted free agent last May. The Jets obviously knew what type of talent Knight was despite him not being selected in the draft. At N.C. State, Knight rushed for 2,286 yards and 18 touchdowns while averaging 5.5 yards per carry.
But it’s unlikely the team thought he would be as big of a contributor this soon into his career with Breece Hall, Carter and Ty Johnson ahead of him on the depth chart.
During training camp and the preseason, Knight dazzled playing on the second and third-team offenses. Against the Eagles in the preseason opener, Knight’s 52-yard kick return set up the eventual game-winning touchdown. He also rushed for 53 yards and a touchdown on 16 preseason carries
All of that led to the Jets putting him on their 53man roster following training camp.
Gang Green played some musical chairs, releasing Knight from the active roster and placing him on its practice squad shortly thereafter. But the Jets have had some injuries in their backfield within the last two months and signed him back to the active roster in October after Hall was lost for the season due to a torn ACL.
The Jets then traded for Jaguars running back James Robinson, but the team still increased Knight’s role in the game against the Bears after Carter went down with his injury and they made Robinson inactive.
“Just what he was doing in practice, just thought it was the right time, going to contribute in many facets — not just on offense, but special teams as well,” Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said about Knight.
“When Michael Carter went down, and he kind of turned into our lead back, I look out there and he still was running down on kickoff. He does a lot for Brant (Boyer), obviously, but we just felt like it was a great opportunity to give him his opportunity.”