The New York Jets are the NFL’s last winless team, as they come home from London to host the Panthers in Week 7. The Jets will be seriously short-handed in their matchup against Carolina, since they’ll be without top receiver Garrett Wilson and could be without Josh Reynolds as well. Tyler Johnson, Arian Smith and Allen Lazard would be the only healthy receivers on the active roster in that situation.
Can Smith take this opportunity and break through as a fantasy option? Who else could get more work against the Panthers this week and be relevant for fantasy? Let’s take a look at the latest on the injuries to Wilson and Reynolds and see who could be the next man up for the Jets.
Garrett Wilson injury update
While coach Aaron Glenn didn’t rule out Wilson for Week 7’s matchup before practice on Wednesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported earlier this week that he’s expected to miss a couple of weeks with a hyperextended knee.
WR Josh Reynolds (hip) also didn’t practice Wednesday, and Glenn declined to comment on his game status. Reynolds has played at least 67% of snaps in every game he has been healthy for this season, and he has the second-most targets of any receiver on the roster, behind only Wilson.
Wilson has 56 targets this season, Reynolds has 12, and no other wide receiver has more than seven.
Arian Smith’s potential upside
The Jets drafted Smith in the fourth round out of Georgia in last year’s draft, and the rookie may well be the team’s top wide receiver in Week 7. He has four catches this year on six targets for 24 yards. He also had a carry, but lost 10 yards on that play.
Here’s what Aaron Glenn had to say about Smith on Wednesday:
Smith has created separation and been open on multiple occasions this season but QB Justin Fields hasn’t been able to get him the ball where he can make plays.
In the All-22 film, Smith has lots of potential opportunities created but Fields only targeted him one time, resulting in an incompletion. The opportunities have to increase for the rookie with Wilson out, and he’ll have to capitalize on them to be a true fantasy option going forward. He had some drop concerns at Georgia, which caused him to slide, but there’s no doubt that he brings big-play potential and could have a breakout game against the Panthers.
Other receiver options
Tyler Johnson and Allen Lazard are more proven than Smith but don’t offer the same upside and ceiling. Johnson has four catches for 63 yards in his five games, while Lazard has just four catches for 24 yards.
Neither veteran receiver had any catches last week against the Broncos while Reynolds actually led the way with three catches for 25 yards. The team had a net -10 yards passing, so there wasn’t much production to go around.
Other non-receiver options
One way to work around the injuries at receiver will be for Fields to lean more heavily on tight ends and running backs as pass catchers. Rookie Mason Taylor has been starting at tight end all year and has 21 catches on 29 targets for 177 yards. He had nine catches in Week 5 against the Cowboys but only one catch last week in London. Taylor hasn’t had many big plays but is a viable value play in PPR leagues.
Breece Hall ranks third on the team in targets behind Wilson and Taylor. The star running back has 17 catches for 150 yards, while backup running back Isaiah Davis also has seven catches but for only 51 yards.
All season, the Jets only have seven receiving touchdowns, and Wilson has four of those scores. Taylor’s backup, Jeremy Ruckert has one, Lazard has one, and so does fullback Andrew Beck.
The Bottom Line
The Jets’ passing game was awful in London against a tough Denver defense. Taking Wilson out of the mix makes it even more suspect, but there should be some opportunities in Week 7. If Reynolds is out, Smith would seem to be the next man up and could legitimately be the WR1. He has flier upside in that role as a big-play threat, but he’s extremely high-risk since he’s so unproven. If you’re desperate for a flier flex play in deep season-long leagues, there is fantasy football sleeper potential. Since Wilson is expected to miss multiple weeks, Smith could even have a mini-run of relevancy.
Taylor is probably a slightly better option with some more targets likely coming his way, making him a fringe TE2 with good PPR upside.
In DFS contests, the DraftKings main slate is highlighted by the NFL $2.75M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st], and the Jets are one group to consider if you need to save some serious salary. Smith is only $3,500 and Taylor only $3,400. Even Breece Hall ($6,300) could end up an outstanding value if he gets all the work he can handle as both a rusher and receiver.
All the Jets are high-risk after their struggles this season, but they do all offer significant savings as well, if you’re willing to take on that risk to get the extra salary cap space for other spots.
