The Jets are going through wide receivers like people change their shirts. They brought in Terrelle Pryor in the offseason, and now Rishard Matthews -- players dumped unceremoniously by their former teams. Pryor was released last week, Quincy Enunwa is hurt, and Jermaine Kearse played almost every snap last week without catching a pass. So may as well try something new.
Matthews was a good player in Tennessee, but apparently wasn't happy with his usage (or lack thereof) in the new offense, so he forced his release. Nobody likes a complainer, although in fairness it's not like the Titans new offense has been any good, so maybe Matthews had a point.
The way the Jets receiving corps looks right now, Matthews could conceivably start this week. If he does, across from Robby Anderson, the Jets would have two of the better long-distance scorers from last season.
A year ago, 46 wide receiver caught at least 4 TDs. Eight of them averaged over 37 yards on those touchdown catches, including Anderson and Matthews.
| WR TDs, AVERAGE DISTANCE (2017) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | TDC | Avg |
| Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 7 | 58.3 |
| Tyrell Williams, LAC | 4 | 58.3 |
| T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 4 | 56.5 |
| Travis Benjamin, LAC | 4 | 41.5 |
| Rishard Matthews, Tenn. | 4 | 38.5 |
| Ted Ginn, N.O. | 4 | 37.5 |
| Robby Anderson, NYJ | 7 | 37.3 |
| Amari Cooper, Oak. | 7 | 37.0 |
| Adam Thielen, Minn. | 4 | 35.5 |
| Golden Tate, Det. | 5 | 34.4 |
| Robert Woods, LAR | 5 | 32.6 |
| Will Fuller, Hou. | 7 | 28.7 |
| Nelson Agholor, Phil. | 8 | 28.1 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pitt. | 7 | 26.9 |
| A.J. Green, Cin. | 8 | 26.6 |
| Jaron Brown, Ariz. | 4 | 26.3 |
| Kenny Stills, Mia. | 6 | 25.7 |
| Paul Richardson, Sea. | 6 | 23.8 |
| Josh Doctson, Wash. | 6 | 23.3 |
| Randall Cobb, G.B. | 4 | 22.8 |
| Brandin Cooks, N.E. | 7 | 22.7 |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 5 | 22.0 |
| Doug Baldwin, Sea. | 8 | 20.5 |
| Jermaine Kearse, NYJ | 5 | 20.2 |
| DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 13 | 19.5 |
| Marvin Jones, Det. | 9 | 19.0 |
| Davante Adams, G.B. | 10 | 18.7 |
| Ryan Grant, Wash. | 4 | 18.5 |
| Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 9 | 17.9 |
| Devin Funchess, Car. | 8 | 17.8 |
| Stefon Diggs, Minn. | 8 | 17.3 |
| Alshon Jeffery, Phil. | 9 | 15.9 |
| Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 6 | 15.5 |
| Dez Bryant, Dall. | 6 | 15.5 |
| Chris Hogan, N.E. | 5 | 14.8 |
| Sammy Watkins, LAR | 8 | 14.8 |
| Keenan Allen, LAC | 6 | 13.8 |
| Cooper Kupp, LAR | 5 | 12.6 |
| Michael Crabtree, Oak. | 8 | 12.4 |
| Mike Wallace, Balt. | 4 | 11.0 |
| Demaryius Thomas, Den. | 5 | 10.2 |
| Jordy Nelson, G.B. | 6 | 9.7 |
| Mohamed Sanu, Atl. | 5 | 5.6 |
| Cole Beasley, Dall. | 4 | 5.0 |
| Jarvis Landry, Mia. | 9 | 4.9 |
| Michael Thomas, N.O. | 5 | 4.6 |
The Jets now have rookie Sam Darnold at quarterback, and he might not have the ability to hit on those throws very often (or not get enough time behind the team's offensive line). But at least he's got a couple of quality targets out there running those routes for him.
--Andy Richardon