Jets Fantasy Football Preview: Le'Veon Bell, Jamison Crowder lead less than inspiring corps of options

Sam Darnold remains an unknown entering his third year in the NFL. And the Jets are in the same boat when it comes to their Fantasy options. Le'Veon Bell appears to be a fading star, who could face competition from an over-the-hill veteran (Frank Gore) and a rookie (La'Mical Perine). The receiving corps has a good slot receiver in Jamison Crowder but also new faces in Breshad Perriman and Denzel Mims. Chris Herndon still has upside at tight end, but now he has to prove it. There are a lot of questions for the Jets, mostly with Darnold, but not a lot of starting Fantasy options for 2020 — at least as of now.

2019 Review

Record: 7-9 (17th in NFL)
PPG: 17.3 (31)
YPG: 273.0 (32)
Pass YPG: 194.4 (29)
Rush YPG: 78.6 (31)
PAPG: 32.6 (22)
RAPG: 23.9 (26)

2019 Fantasy finishes

QB: Sam Darnold QB27
RB: Le'Veon Bell RB16
WR: Jamison Crowder WR26; Robby Anderson* WR40
TE: Ryan Griffin TE22
*No longer with team

Number to know: 6

That's the number of games the Jets won in their final eight outings last year, which could mean this team is better than most expect heading into 2020. Over that span, the Jets averaged 22.5 points per game, which was better than their season average, and they scored 34 points in three games in a row against the Giants, Redskins and Raiders. One of their two losses also came against Baltimore, which was the best team in the NFL in the regular season (the other loss was Cincinnati). While the Jets don't seem to have a lot of talent on paper, they could be a surprise in the AFC East this year.

2020 Offseason

Draft Picks

1. (11) Mekhi Becton, OT
2. (59) Denzel Mims, WR
3. (68) Ashtyn Davis, S
3. (79) Jabari Zuniga, DE
4. (120) La'Mical Perine, RB
4. (125) James Morgan, QB
4. (129) Cameron Clark, OT
5. (158) Bryce Hall, CB
6. (191) Braden Mann, P

Additions

WR Breshad Perriman, RB Frank Gore, QB Joe Flacco, OG Greg Van Roten, C Connor McGovern, OT George Fant, OG Alex Lewis, LB Neville Hewitt, CB Pierre Desir, LB Patrick Onwuasor

Key Departures

WR Robby Anderson

Available Opportunity

90 carries, 26 RB targets, 154 WR targets

Rankings and Projections

Player	Jamey Eisenberg	Dave Richard	Heath Cummings
Sam Darnold	QB27	QB28	QB30
Le'Veon Bell	RB18	RB19	RB14
Frank Gore	N/A	N/A	N/A
La'Mical Perine	N/A	N/A	N/A
Jamison Crowder	WR36	WR45	WR36
Breshad Perriman	N/A	WR54	N/A
Denzel Mims	WR59	N/A	WR51
Chris Herndon	TE21	TE25	TE21
Brett Maher	N/A	K27	K18
Jets DST	DST28	DST30	DST15

	Heath Cummings' projections
QB	Sam Darnold	3,765 YD, 24 TD, 16 INT; 98 Rush YD, 1 TD
RB	Le'Veon Bell	974 YD, 5 TD; 71 REC, 548 YD, 3 TD
RB	La'Mical Perine	263 YD, 1 TD; 7 REC, 51 YD, 0 TD
WR	Jamison Crowder	120 TAR, 77 REC, 824 YD, 5 TD
WR	Breshad Perriman	94 TAR, 47 REC, 734 YD, 5 TD
WR	Denzel Mims	94 TAR, 56 REC, 791 YD, 4 TD
TE	Chris Herndon	52 TAR, 36 REC, 458 YD, 4 TD

Biggest Question

Can Denzel Mims be the best rookie receiver in the NFL in 2020?

The 2020 rookie receiver class is loaded with talent, and six guys were drafted in the first round (Henry Ruggs III, Jerry Jeudy, CeeDee Lamb, Brandon Aiyuk, Jalen Reagor and Justin Jefferson). Mims was a second-round pick, but he might have the best opportunity of all of them. With Anderson gone to Carolina, there are 96 targets available for Mims to take — if not more. He'll compete with Perriman for the No. 1 outside role, and Crowder, Herndon and Bell will be significant factors in the passing game. But Mims could get plenty of targets from Darnold, and he's in a great spot. Mims is someone to target in all leagues with a late-round pick.

One sleeper, one breakout and one bust

Sleeper

Chris Herndon TE

NO New Orleans • #86
Age: 28 • Experience: 5 yrs.

2019 Stats
REC 1	TAR 2	REYDS 7	TD 0	FPTS/G 1

Herndon only appeared in one game in 2019 because of a four-game suspension and a rib injury, but he's expected to return this season at 100 percent and play a prominent role. Griffin was the Jets' top tight end last year, and he scored five touchdowns in the nine games he played with Darnold in 2019. And Herndon is a much better talent than Griffin. You're not going to draft Herndon as a No. 1 Fantasy tight end, but he is someone to gamble on with a late-round pick as a No. 2 option with upside. He could be this year's version of Darren Waller or Mark Andrews as a top-tier tight end in 2020.

Breakout

Jamison Crowder WR

WAS Washington • #80
Age: 30 • Experience: 10 yrs.

2019 Stats
REC 78	TAR 122	REYDS 833	TD 6	FPTS/G 12.3

Crowder falls more into the sleeper category than a breakout, but he might be my favorite Jets player in 2020. I expect him to be the best receiver for the Jets. He had a solid season in New York in 2019, and he plays the slot for Adam Gase, which has always been a good role (see Jarvis Landry in Miami). Last season, Crowder had seven games with at least 15 PPR points in the 13 games Darnold played (he missed three games with mono). If you take the stats Crowder produced in the 13 games with Darnold and project that over 16 games, he would have finished with 86 catches for 932 yards and six touchdowns on 132 targets. We'll see how everything fits with the Jets with Mims and Perriman, along with Bell and Herndon. But I'm excited to draft Crowder as a No. 3 PPR receiver with a mid-round pick -- and he could end up starting most weeks.

Bust

Le'Veon Bell RB

TB Tampa Bay • #6
Age: 32 • Experience: 8 yrs.

2019 Stats
RUYDS 789	REC 66	REYDS 461	TD 4	FPTS/G 14.3

Bell was a bust in 2019, and I'm not sure things will get much better this year. While the Jets invested a lot in their offensive line, especially with Becton, McGovern and Lewis, Bell is likely going to lose some of the 311 touches he had from last year to Gore and Perine. And Bell just had his worst average in the NFL at 14.3 PPR points per game, as well as a career-low 3.2 yards per carry. He's still someone to draft as a No. 2 running back in all leagues, but the earliest I would draft him is Round 4, even in PPR. Let someone else deal with the headache of Gase screwing with Bell's touches because of Gore or Perine. It will happen, and you could regret drafting Bell with a pick in the top 40 overall.