Power Rankings: Top Post-Draft Offenses (21-25)

Oct 20, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith (7) celebrates his touchdown run during the second half of their game against the New England Patriots at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

New York Jets 8-8
Last Season’s Rankings: #25 Overall Offense (318.1 total yards per game) #31 Passing Offense (183.3 passing yards per game) #6 Rushing Offense (134.9 rushing yards per game)
Last Season
No matter how you split it, slice it, dice it, mince it, splice it, cut it or look at it, Geno Smith’s rookie season was utterly atrocious. Now before you Jets fans get on my case, I will acknowledge the fact that Smith was a rookie last season and did not have hardly any receivers to throw to. That still doesn’t excuse his third-worst 21 interceptions, seven fumbles and near-to-last 190 yards per game in 2013. Luckily though, the Jets had their exceptional running game to keep them afloat. Had Chris Ivory, Bilal Powell and Geno rushed for 134.9 yards per game, the 2013 season would have looked a whole lot different.

Run Offense
Many may say the age of CJ2K is done. Many may say that the ole Eastern Carolina Pirate doesn’t quite have it in him anymore. Well many of you are wrong, folks. With the signing of Chris Johnson for two years, the Jets are making a wise and exciting investment. In his career Johnson has rushed over 1,000 yards every single season. That’s right haters. (Every.single.season). Granted his yards per carry numbers have been steadily dropping, Johnson still have some gas left in the tank to be relevant in the Jets’ offensive system. In all honestly it wasn’t a great pickup for the Jets, not in the fact that CJ2K is a horrible player (he is one of the most exciting backs in the game), but in the fact that the Jets already have Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell whom both averaged a combined 4.3 yards per carry. We all understand Johnson will perhaps never have another 2009 season, but he still has the ability to light it up and go for over 100 any given Sunday. Regardless though, the Jets did add OT Dakota Dozier out of Furman University. During the off-season, the Jets lost former offensive tackle Austin Howard to the Oakland Raiders. With Dozier helping out on the offensive line, the Jets and their running game can rest assured knowing they have a solid blocker up front. He may be a little bit rough around the edges, however his raw size surely makes up for it. He was named to the All-America team in the FCS, so you know he must be legitimate. Currently he is probably going to be at the right tackle position and most likely on the bench, unless someone gets injured. In terms of the backs though, New York has a quite diversified portfolio. On one hand they have the lightning-quick Chris Johnson, on the other, power-back Chris Ivory and the combination of the two in Bilal Powell. I’m not entirely sure how the Jets’ coaching staff plays to utilize Johnson and the rest of the Jets’ running backs, however they do in fact have the players to make a legitimate push in 2014.

Pass Offense
For the past three seasons the Jets have hardly had any receivers in their repetoire. Last season the leading receiver for New York was Jeremy Kerley who caught only for 523 yards. The entire Jets squad in 2013 ranked 2nd to last with only 183.3 passing yards per game. This season in order for New York to be successful they’re going to need Geno firing on all cylinders with his receivers, especially Decker. In the past three seasons Decker has caught for over 2,900 yards and an outstanding 32 touchdowns. Decker brings a good receiver who is especially deadly in the middle of the field and in medium to medium-long routes. Look for him to be an instrumental part of the Jets playoff push.

Now don’t get my wrong, there are times when I thoroughly believe that taking Geno 39th overall was a mistake, however I believe that if Smith had a better offense surrounding him then he would have done much better than he did during the season. This season Smith’s offensive line allowed him to be sacked a whopping 47 times, 6th most in the NFL this season. As well, Smith and the Jets had only one receiver catch for over 500 yards and that was Jeremy Kerley who caught 43 passes for 523 yards in 2013. One of the main reasons why Smith ended up throwing 21 interceptions and 10 touchdowns and fumbling the ball 7 times in 2013 can be blamed on himself, but at the same time on his offensive line and receivers. If a QB isn’t protected all the time, it is no wonder that Smith was forced to throw the ball. At the same time it doesn’t give Smith an excuse to play poorly at the QB position and throw 21 interceptions.

As for the rookie Tajh Boyd, who was selected later in the draft, I expect good things. Although many may not agree, I believe that Boyd was one of the most underrated QBs in the draft. Luckily the Jets grabbed him in the later rounds, but still. His career numbers at Clemson were nothing to scoff at. Over his last three seasons as the starting QB, Boyd averaged 3,858.3 yards, 34.3 touchdowns, 65.1 completion percentage and a 158.5 QB rating. Yet because of off-season evaluations, Boyd has been considered by many to be worse off than some other QBs. Sure he may have thrown and errant ball or two during some off-season workouts, but does that mean we should totally ignore his great career stats? Regardless, Boyd is now a New York Jet and should see at least some playing time -or rather- proving time during the pre-season. If he can complete all of his passes and make plays during the pre-season, he should be able to make the week one roster. Currently Geno Smith is the QB of the Jets, however after last season’s atrocious showing at QB, his job could be in jeopardy if either Michael Vick or Boyd show that they have what it takes.

With Jace Amaro and company to combine with Eric Decker and the Jets receiving corps, Geno Smith and all of the other Jets’ QBs should have more than adequate receiving targets next season. If the Jets do fail to resurrect their 31st-ranked pass offense, it is time for either a QB change or a coaching change. Amaro should be used in the goal-line situations due to his size and leaping ability, while receivers like Jalen Saunders and Shaq Evans should stay towards the inside at the slot position for some quick screens or even on the outside for some deep bombs. The key though is that they have the talent to make something great. It is now up to the players to perform and the coaches to mold those players into great athletes.

As stated above in the predictions, the Jets needed receiving power last season. With the addition of TE Jace Amaro, they sure got it. Although many may be concerned with the amount of drops  and type of offense that Amaro had at Texas Tech, Amaro has the potential to be a big deal for the Jets’ this season as a pass-catching tight end. At Texas Tech, Amaro was able to catch for 1,761 yards and 11 touchdowns on 131 receptions in his final two seasons at TTU (1,352 of those yards coming during his junior season). In Amaro’s case, he gives the Jets’ a lanky 6-5, 260-pound build that can play in about any situation. Where I see Amaro most successful is down around the goal-line, where he can go up and snag those high, hard-to-catch passes in traffic or along the out of bounds line.

While Jalen Saunders’ stats have certainly declined over time, his skills till remains one of his best traits. At Oklahoma, Saunders caught 50 passes for 1,065 yards and 12 touchdowns as a sophomore. However, he would fail to reach the 1,000 yard mark in his next two season, averaging 779 yards over his final two seasons at OU. For the Jets, Saunders is more of a speedster than he is a jumping, pass catcher like Amaro. Where he could best be used is in the slot, catching screen passes or even over the middle slant routes, using his speed and great agility to gain good yardage. Over his career, Saunders was able to add 26 career touchdowns receptions (about 6 touchdowns per season). If the Jets can get him off and running, look out for his play-making abilities in the red zone.

For Shaq Evans, he doesn’t necessarily have the statistics to back up his play, but a look at his tape shows some positive signs. Where Evans has potential is in his hands. Because he has such good hands, he is able to make impossible grabs and seemingly catch passes amidst even the densest traffic in the secondary. His senior season saw him catch 47 passes for 709 yards and 9 touchdowns. If he can develop his speed and quickness a bit, the sky is the limit for Evans. On the other hand, being a virtual unknown until his senior season, Quincy Enunwa is perhaps one of the Jets’ sleeper picks. During his senior season as a Cornhusker, he was able to catch 51 passes for 753 yards and a very modest 12 touchdowns in 2013. Enunwa was especially clutch for Nebraska on 3rd down, where he was able to catch 17 passes for 337 yards and 4 touchdowns. For the Jets, I can see Enunwa being an outside receiver, used as a perhaps a 3rd-down specialist or as a pass-catcher during 5 receiver sets.

Both of these receivers are going to need to distance themselves from Saunders and show the Jets their individual skill sets. For Evans, he must show that he can make every catch and perhaps show that he can make plays. In Enunwa’s case, he needs to show his size and strength during training camp and use that to his advantage. At 6-2 and 225 pounds, Enunwa can shake off defenders and jump vertically above some corners to pluck balls out of the air. It will most definitely be interesting to see how all of these receivers blend in with new additions in former Bronco Eric Decker and former Raider Jacoby Ford.

Not to mention, the addition of Michael Vick adds an interesting element to this Jets’ offensive passing game. While Vick isn’t quite the runner he used to be, he can still throw the ball with the best of them. I believe that in the case that Geno continues to throw intercepts and miss easy throws, we could be seeing Vick starting some games for the Jets in 2014. I think Geno gets the starting nod week one, however mid-way through the year is when Vick could potentially be getting his first playing minutes. Geno has a revamped receiving and running game with Eric Decker and Chris Johnson. If he can prove able to manage the offense, then the job is his for the taking. However, Vick’s experience and playoff caliber leadership show that this Jets’ QB competition is much more complicated than it seems.

In conclusion though, with the rookie additions combined with the veteran receivers, the Jets should see improvement. Again the key word is should. The ball is in the hands of Geno Smith. If he starts throwing interceptions and missing passes, I think that 2014 is not as successful as predicted. It all comes down to the QB situation with Smith, Vick and Boyd.

In The End
The formula is simple: more receivers + Chris Johnson’s speedy/agility= overall success (barring a complete meltdown by Geno Smith).