Jets @ Giants
Final Score: Jets 12, Giants 7
Writer: Ben Brown (@BenBrownPL on Twitter, iamatechnician on Reddit)
The New York Jets are one of the youngest teams in the league, and that youth is headlined by their shiny new QB Zach Wilson. We got to see our first look at Wilson in this one and it was a positive experience, however there is still clearly some work to do. We also got to see rookie RB Michael Carter for the first time and he looked pretty good as well against a depleted Giants defense. Ty Johnson was the most impressive RB for the Jets, breaking off a few good-looking runs and looking like a guy who is capable of being an every-down back who can be a threat both on the ground and through the air if given the chance.
As for the Giants, it was rough. The battle for the backup RB job is in full swing and nobody you know really moved the needle in their direction, though Sandro Platzgummer did break off a long run. QB play was a real issue in this one for them so it was hard to evaluate any of their pass catchers.
Here’s their only score of the night, courtesy of Clayton Thorson and Damion Willis.
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New York Jets
Quarterback
Zach Wilson: 6/9, 63 yards
Mike White: 13/19, 127 yards, Sack, Fumble
James Morgan: 5/9, 45 yards | 3 carries, -7 yards
We got to see our first look at Zach Wilson, the 2nd overall pick, in this one and it was a promising start. He completed his first pass of the night to Corey Davis on a designed rollout after a nice play fake.
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He looked confident throwing it on the run and the mechanics looked clean. One thing I noticed was that he kept throwing to his first read on every play, at least on the first drive, and was staring down the receivers he was throwing to. It was most notable on a third-and-six conversion where he connected with Corey Davis for a first down. Wilson stared him down the entire time.
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This is typical for a rookie so it’s nothing to be alarmed of, but I definitely saw more of it out of Wilson than I did from Mac Jones in New England. Just something to monitor moving forward as he continues to learn and build confidence because that won’t fly against good teams in the NFL.
He’s also not making any pre-snap adjustments just yet. Again, he’s a rookie, but it’s something Mac Jones was also doing. The Jets are clearly letting him take it slow early on in his career.
I liked his poise in the pocket and his ability to feel pressure. On one play, he was able to quickly throw the ball away to avoid a sack as a blitzing linebacker got free. His check-down receiver stumbled to the ground, Wilson recognized it, and instead of forcing it to the receiver, he made the right choice to just get rid of it.
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On his final pass of the night, he was able to step up in the pocket, avoid pressure, and make a good throw with defenders in his face.
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He was not free of bad decisions, however. After leading the team down the field on their opening 12 play, 52-yard drive, Wilson faced a third and four to keep it going. The Giants got some pressure with a four-man rush and Wilson threw the ball off his back foot to a receiver that had two defenders all over him.
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It was a terrible decision and he was lucky it wasn’t intercepted.
All in all, it was a solid debut for the rookie. The training wheels are clearly still on and it will take time before he feels comfortable running this offense. I would like to see him try to look off defenders rather than stare down his target prior to throwing the ball, but that’s not easy and it will take time. For fantasy purposes, I am not somebody who has drafted him this year simply because I don’t like rookies in bad situations. After watching this, I might take a flier on him as a QB3 in bestball, but nothing more. We’ll see what next week brings.
For the backups, Mike White had a few good throws and a few really bad ones. He was also strip-sacked on their first drive of the third quarter but was bailed out by his offensive lineman who recovered the ball. White has been on and off the Jets’ practice squad since 2019 and is just a guy who is 26 and trying to find his way as a backup in the league. James Morgan is another young guy fighting to make it as a backup and he has a decent scouting profile. Morgan did show a strong arm but accuracy was an issue in a few of his throws. The Jets could benefit from bringing in an experienced backup QB capable of mentoring the young guys.
Running Backs
Ty Johnson: 9 carries, 33 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 7 yards
Michael Carter: 7 carries, 22 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 9 yards
La’Mical Perine: 12 carries, 30 yards, TD
Josh Adams: 2 carries, 14 yards
Ty Johnson started this game and I thought he did the most with the opportunity he was given. The offensive line did not do a good job of providing him running lanes for most of his time on the field, but when he was given a big hole on the first play of their first drive he hit the hole hard and gained 12 yards. He had another nice run on their second drive and caught both targets thrown his way. I liked what I saw out of him more than I did any of the other backs.
Michael Carter also looked good with the opportunities he was given. He looked a little indecisive on his first carry, a toss to the left side where he stutter-stepped and hesitated a bit before hitting the edge. After that he hit holes with power and I was impressed by his feet. He motioned out wide and ran routes as a receiver a couple of times, which is something I didn’t know was in his game. Be on the lookout for more of that next week. He’s also a bit smaller than I expected.
I didn’t have any notes written down about La’Mical Perine besides his touchdown run up the gut where he pushed his way into the end zone. The play was reviewed as it initially looked like his knee might have touched the ground before the ball crossed the line but it was ruled a TD anyway. I was neither impressed or disappointed in him.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Corey Davis: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 18 yards
Jamison Crowder: 1 target, 1 reception, 4 yards
Denzel Mims: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 51 yards
Vyncint Smith: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 39 yards
D.J. Montgomery: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 28 yards
Keelan Cole: 1 target, 1 reception, 16 yards
Tyler Kroft: 2 targets, 1 reception, 13 yards
Chris Herndon: 1 target, 1 reception, 9 yards
My key takeaway from this group is that Corey Davis appears to be Wilson’s favorite receiver, at least so far. Wilson’s first three passes all went to Davis and they seemed to be on the same page. That’s a good sign this early in the season.
Jamison Crowder had a catch called back on a pass interference call thanks to an illegal pick play by Keelan Cole. Otherwise, his one catch came on a designed rollout for Wilson. He was not a factor in this game and he will likely start the season as the #2 receiver in the offense.
Denzel Mims didn’t show up until midway through the third quarter, and he made his presence known with style.
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He may have been on the field prior to this and I just didn’t see him, but this was the first time I heard or saw his name and it’s a bad sign that it came this late in the game. The catch and run was impressive due to the effort he displayed on the play, but that’s really just poor tackling by the Giants’ third-string defense.
Mims’ second catch was the result of a defender leaving him wide open on the left side of the field.
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I don’t like that little hitch in his step once he got up off the ground. With his speed that probably cost him a few yards. He clearly has the talent to succeed in the league, he just may not be good at the little things and that might be disappointing to the coaching staff.
New York Giants
Quarterback
Mike Glennon: 3/7, 20 yards, Sack
Clayton Thorson: 5/16, 72 yards, TD, 4 Sacks
Mike Glennon is a career backup for a reason. He has decent mechanics and when he has time in the pocket he can make some good reads. He doesn’t have very good pocket presence, however, and he isn’t great at stepping up to avoid pressure. One notable example of this was evident on the Giants’ second drive. The right tackle got beat on a second-down play and the Jets’ end got pressure on Glennon, hitting his arm and causing a duck of a pass that very nearly got intercepted. Glennon had room to step up and he simply didn’t. I really don’t want to spend any more time on Glennon because we know what he is (big, inaccurate arm) and if he’s thrust into a starting role anywhere he would still be among the last quarterbacks available on the wire in even the deepest of leagues.
Clayton Thorson was a 2019 fifth-round pick by the Eagles out of Northwestern who has since made his way to New York. This isn’t really a name you need to worry about, because he’s not going to threaten Daniel Jones for the starting gig anytime soon. He has a bit of a long windup and some issue with accuracy and decision making, but there is one positive play in particular that I’d like to point out.
Here’s a third-and-four deep in his own territory right before the half. Watch what he does pre-snap, right after the snap, and then of course the throw.
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Not only does he make pre-snap adjustments to both his O-Line’s protection assignments and coverage adjustments to his receivers; He also immediately looks right to move the safety and then drops a near-perfect ball into the hands of his intended receiver all along. This is the difference between a third-year QB and a rookie QB. This is what we want to see out of Zach Wilson. If Clayton Thorson had Wilson’s amazing arm talent that everyone talks about he would easily be the starting QB for the Giants, but he doesnt. We probably won’t see it anytime soon out of Wilson, but if/when he does start doing this it will be time to fully buy into him as a fantasy star.
Running Backs
Devontae Booker: 3 carries, 12 yards
Sandro Platzgummer: 4 carries, 51 yards | 1 target
Corey Clement: 5 carries, 32 yards, Fumble (Lost)
Elijhaa Penny: 1 carry, 2 yards
Alfred Morris: 2 carries, -4 yards | 1 target
It’s a battle for the backup RB spot for the Giants and there are a few notable names that fantasy players will recognize who are competing for the job. Devontae Booker was the back to hit the field and he looked fine. Nothing stood out that was worth mentioning besides one third-down play that he was on the field for.
The Giants drove the ball down inside the five-yard line early in the second quarter and the drive ended on a fumble by Corey Clement. Clement is a known commodity, a journeyman who has flashed some potential at times. Had a nice 9-yard run. If he makes the team he’s the kind of name that folks will recognize, and he has the potential to come in as an injury replacement and score 15 fantasy points against a bad defense late in the season if needed. Fumbles in the preseason will not help you get the 2nd string job behind an injury-prone starter, however.
Alfred Morris‘ most notable play was a missed block that resulted in Clayton Thorson getting absolutely walloped. The right tackle double-teamed the inside guy, leaving the edge rusher completely untouched since Morris had lined up on Thorson’s left. Whether this was a miscommunication between Thorson and the tackle, or if Morris simply lined up incorrectly and it wasn’t caught, it’s still a bad look for a veteran back trying to earn a spot on the roster.
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Sandro Platzgummer is a member of the NFL International Player Pathway Program from Austria, and he ripped off a 48-yard run that was honestly the most exciting play of the night.
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I thought he looked better than Alfred Morris in this one. He’s shifty and he’s got quick feet. They also split him out wide on a play and he was targeted twice out of the backfield, one on third down. I’m interested to see how he fares next week.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Darius Slayton: 3 targets, 1 reception, 8 yards
David Sills V: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 49 yards
Damion Willis: 2 targets, 1 reception, 21 yards, TD
Rysen John: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 14 yards
C.J. Board: 1 carry, 12 yards | 2 targets
Dante Pettis: 3 targets
Darius Slayton started this game, a troubling sign as most of the first team had the night off. He showed something a few years ago and I think it’s safe to say he’s officially the 4th receiver on the depth chart now, at best. He didn’t do anything in this one to help his chances, though QB play was an issue and he only played on the first few drives.
C.J. Board had a nice reverse sweep on the Giants’ second drive, gaining 12 yards. Board giveth and then taketh away, though, as he dropped what would have been a first down a few plays later that should have been caught.
The only other real notable name here is longtime fantasy darling Dante Pettis. He did catch a ball that got called back by a penalty, and was open down the sideline but had no shot at catching a ball that was way over his head. This will be a tough receiving corps for him to crack into but there’s no doubt he’s talented.
— Ben Brown (@BenBrownPL on Twitter, iamatechnician on Reddit)