New York Jets: 3 Players with rising stock after Week 4
The New York Jets are a surprising 2-2 through the first quarter of the season. Here are three players with rising stock after Week 4.
The New York Jets are one of the pleasant surprises of the 2017 NFL season so far. Their exciting 23-20 overtime triumph over the Jacksonville Jaguars last Sunday lifted their home record to 2-0. It was far from pretty, but Gang Green showed a lot of grit and resiliency after blowing a 10-point fourth quarter lead.
New York has an excellent chance to go to 3-2 on the season when they visit the winless Cleveland Browns this Sunday. The Jets are playing with a great deal of confidence right now. We’ll see if they can continue to build on their momentum at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland.
Here are three Jets players with rising stock following their week four victory over the Jags:
3. Bilal Powell
The 28-year old halfback really struggled out of the gate this season with just 72 rushing yards in the first three games. That all changed last Sunday when Powell rambled for a career-high 163 yards on 21 carries (a 7.8 average) in New York’s nail-biting win over Jacksonville. The University of Louisville product scored on a 75-yard touchdown burst, the longest Jets coring run since Bruce Harper accomplished the feat in 1983. How long ago was that? Gang Green was still playing their home games at Shea Stadium and Ronald Reagan was in his first term as President.
New York’s offensive line opened up some huge holes for both Powell and teammate Elijah McGuire (more on him later). The Jets never missed veteran Matt Forte, who sat out the contest with turf toe. All in all, the Jets rolled up a season-high 256 rushing yards and now rank seventh in the NFL in rushing (130.8 YPG).
Powell chipped in with four receptions for 27 yards as well. His chances on building on his career-best effort look pretty promising against the Browns on Sunday. After watching Powell perform as one of the best running backs in the league over the last four games of 2016, it was nice to see him flash signs of his enormous potential. His stock is certainly increasing in value quite rapidly in New York’s bull market.