We’re under 24 hours before the New York Jets take on the Denver Broncos in a “must-win” contest between the two squads. Both teams sit at 1-3 on the year, and both need a win to get their season back on the right track.
A spot in the AFC playoffs could be on the line while this game is still considered to be “early” in the NFL season.
As with any big game, there are plenty of fantasy football implications. There are players you should start, sit, and potentially gamble on in every matchup. Today, we’ll look at the best players to hammer home and move away from in this Jets contest.
Plays to Start
Breece Hall
Hall has been a weird player to judge in fantasy this year. He’s averaging over six yards a carry but has only had 36 carries in the young season. New York made it clear that Hall’s workload would increase week-to-week, but by how much is the question?
The second-round pick from last year recorded just 10 touches in Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs. He should get more if the Jets are to be successful against the Broncos. Hall was dominant in Denver last season before suffering his ACL injury midway through the game. He’s hungry to show he can produce at an even higher level than what he’s shown so far.
He’s a player you have to start this week.
Courtland Sutton
As bad as Denver’s defense has been, their offense has taken impressive strides in the first year under Sean Payton. Russell Wilson is playing at a higher level than last year, and the receiving game has improved as well. The difficulty with having top receivers like Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, and Marvin Mims Jr., is that you don’t know who will be the focus to stop against opposing defenses.
With D.J. Reed out for the Jets, Sauce Gardner will likely take away one side of the field while Denver attacks whichever side he isn’t on. That leaves the best receiver for the Broncos for Sunday will be one either in the slot or rotating both sides of the field. A lot of people are high on Jeudy, but I think Sutton is the play this week. He has had over 10 fantasy points in each game this year and I think that continues.
Garrett Wilson
Turns out that when Garrett Wilson gets the ball in the Jets offense, good things happen. He may have under seven yards per reception so far this year, but he was targeted 15 times against the Chiefs. That number should remain consistent as New York’s offense continues to improve every week. I think Wilson is a safe play in every game simply because he’s the player the Jets need to get the ball to be successful on offense.
Players to Sit
Dalvin Cook
New York may think that Dalvin Cook is on the cusp of turning a corner in the running game, but no metric backs that up on the field. The Jets keep trying to even the carries between Cook and Hall. With every snap they give to Cook and take away from Hall, the Jets offense just gets stuck in the mud. This isn’t to say that it can’t be fixed, but New York needs to rely heavily on their top players to save their season.
Cook just isn’t one of those players.
Russell Wilson
As stated before, Wilson has greatly improved in his first year under Payton’s eye. He’s been more decisive, has been better with his decision-making, and has been able to use his legs a little more. That being said, the Jets have tremendous advantages on their defensive side of the ball. New York’s defense forced Patrick Mahomes in into four turnover-worthy plays in their loss and got consistent pressure against a good Chiefs offensive line.
Denver’s O-Line simply isn’t better than the champs. That should be more than enough for everyone to realize that this Jets defense can rack up plenty of sacks, pressures, and mistakes from the Broncos offensive group. It’s just not a good fantasy matchup for Wilson.
Anyone on the Jets offense not named Garrett Wilson or Breece Hall
Allen Lazard had a nice game against Kansas City and the Jets trust their tight-end trio. That being said, no other player outside their starting running back and receiver is safe to play for me. New York’s offense is simply too hit or miss at the moment to consistently trust anyone to produce at a high level in fantasy. It could certainly change in a couple of weeks though if they play as well as they did against the Chiefs.
Biggest Sleeper: Zach Wilson
Which Zach Wilson is going to show up this week? That’s the question that will center New York’s quarterback for the rest of the season. After a career game that saw Wilson put up a season-high in fantasy points (19.2), he draws a matchup against one of the worst secondaries in all of football. The Broncos allowed Justin Fields and the Bears to dominate them last week, even if they won the game.
Simply put, if Wilson plays anything close to what he showed against Kansas City, the Jets should not only win the game, but he could be a quiet player to start this week and help your team win its matchup.
Sunday could go a lot of ways, but Wilson’s performance is a must-have if the Jets are going to win.
