Amidst the flurry of signings yesterday, one of the more noteworthy ones from a fantasy perspective involves Corey Davis. He was one of the best wide receivers on the market, and he joins a team in the Jets that's desperately in need of a No. 1 wide receiver.
Davis certainly fits the profile of a No. 1. The former No. 5 overall pick is 26 years old and comes off his best season, putting up 984 yards and 5 TDs with the Titans. That was as Tennessee's No. 2, behind A.J. Brown; now he'll be the main defensive focus for opponents. The other negative is he's joining a team without much of a track record for wide receiver success.
Over the last 20 years, New York has had 10 wide receivers finish in the top 25 at their position (PPR scoring). Only one of those did it in the last five years, 2017 Robby Anderson. Just two others in the last decade, when Ryan Fitzpatrick was having a career year in 2015 and put both Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker in the top 15. Prior to that the last Jet wideout to do it was Laveranues Coles in 2008, with Brett Favre at quarterback. It's been a really lean decade. (Table shows all top-40 Jets wideouts since 2000.)
| TOP JETS WIDEOUTS, 2000-2020 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Tgt | No | Yds | TD | FF | Rk |
| 2015 | Brandon Marshall | 173 | 109 | 1502 | 14 | 343.2 | 3 |
| 2003 | Santana Moss | 117 | 74 | 1105 | 10 | 251.2 | 9 |
| 2002 | Laveranues Coles | 134 | 89 | 1264 | 5 | 251.3 | 12 |
| 2015 | Eric Decker | 132 | 80 | 1027 | 12 | 254.7 | 13 |
| 2006 | Laveranues Coles | 152 | 91 | 1098 | 6 | 238.2 | 14 |
| 2017 | Robby Anderson | 114 | 63 | 941 | 7 | 200.0 | 18 |
| 2006 | Jerricho Cotchery | 125 | 82 | 961 | 6 | 216.6 | 19 |
| 2007 | Jerricho Cotchery | 127 | 82 | 1130 | 2 | 210.8 | 20 |
| 2000 | Wayne Chrebet | 143 | 69 | 937 | 8 | 210.4 | 20 |
| 2008 | Laveranues Coles | 116 | 70 | 850 | 7 | 197.9 | 24 |
| 2019 | Jamison Crowder | 122 | 78 | 833 | 6 | 197.7 | 26 |
| 2014 | Eric Decker | 115 | 74 | 962 | 5 | 200.2 | 26 |
| 2010 | Braylon Edwards | 101 | 53 | 904 | 7 | 187.8 | 27 |
| 2008 | Jerricho Cotchery | 112 | 71 | 858 | 5 | 189.6 | 27 |
| 2005 | Laveranues Coles | 132 | 73 | 845 | 5 | 187.5 | 27 |
| 2017 | Jermaine Kearse | 102 | 65 | 810 | 5 | 176.0 | 28 |
| 2001 | Laveranues Coles | 102 | 59 | 868 | 7 | 198.6 | 28 |
| 2009 | Jerricho Cotchery | 96 | 57 | 821 | 3 | 163.8 | 32 |
| 2011 | Santonio Holmes | 101 | 51 | 654 | 8 | 167.1 | 33 |
| 2002 | Wayne Chrebet | 80 | 51 | 691 | 9 | 174.1 | 34 |
| 2018 | Robby Anderson | 94 | 50 | 752 | 6 | 160.4 | 37 |
| 2004 | Santana Moss | 78 | 45 | 838 | 5 | 160.6 | 38 |
| 2020 | Jamison Crowder | 89 | 59 | 699 | 6 | 172.5 | 39 |
| 2010 | Santonio Holmes | 96 | 52 | 746 | 6 | 164.3 | 39 |
| 2007 | Laveranues Coles | 89 | 55 | 646 | 6 | 155.6 | 39 |
| 2019 | Robby Anderson | 96 | 52 | 779 | 5 | 162.3 | 40 |
| 2011 | Plaxico Burress | 96 | 45 | 612 | 8 | 154.2 | 40 |
| 2004 | Justin McCareins | 90 | 56 | 770 | 4 | 156.5 | 40 |
| 2000 | Dedric Ward | 119 | 54 | 801 | 3 | 154.4 | 40 |
New York has Jamison Crowder and former second-rounder Denzel Mims, but not much else at the position (Breshad Perriman is a free agent). Davis has a chance to be a lead dog with the Jets the way he wasn't with the Titans the last couple of years.
But it's a mystery who the quarterback will be. I'd handicap things at about 50 percent some rookie, either Zach Wilson or Justin Fields; 35 percent Sam Darnold getting another shot; and 15 percent some veteran much better than Darnold. Davis is probably hoping it's not Marcus Mariota, who he worked with in Tennessee.
Anyway, barring a substantial upgrade at quarterback, it looks like just a so-so landing spot for Davis, not a knockout.
--Andy Richardson