New York Jets: Offseason fantasy outlook

Quarterback – Josh McCown, Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Darnold

This spot is likely going to be a bit of a headache for fantasy this season. Here’s what the smart money is on as far as how things play out. McCown is going to start the first few games. After the Jets lose a few games, they’ll turn to Bridgewater to see what they have in him. After his career was in danger due to a grisly knee injury, Bridgewater has worked his way back into fringe starter territory. Darnold will wind up holding a clipboard for the vast majority of his rookie season.

What that means for fantasy is unless you’re in a dynasty league, this situation is one to avoid on draft day. It’s going to be volatile and there’s no need to waste a pick on it, even if it’s a late one. The value for the Jets quarterback is going to come in the form of daily fantasy football, where you only have to worry about one game. I can almost promise already that I’ll play McCown or Bridgewater at a cheap price in a good matchup. Dynasty players should value Darnold very highly if you need a quarterback. It comes down to preference between him, Baker Mayfield, Josh Rosen and Lamar Jackson.

Running Back – Isaiah Crowell, Bilal Powell, Elijah McGuire, Thomas Rawls

There seem to be a lot of folks out there who are sleeping in the Jets running back situation. At least as of now, it seems like a standard split backfield with Crowell being the two down and goal line back while Powell fills the pass catcher role. Crowell is currently sitting at the RB40 in PPR and the RB33 in standard. Both of those spots seem like pretty good values the Jets rushed for over 100 yards per game last season. They were just a hair below league average in that category and Crowell is too low if they continue that kind of workload.

Powell is RB56 in PPR and RB49 in standard, which is bizarre to me. PPR is going to be the better format for Powell this year with Crowell getting the prime scoring looks for the most part. The Jets could be down on the scoreboard quite often and Powell should see plenty of action. Powell finished as a top 30 running back in both PPR and standard in 2017. He’s not going anywhere close to that in drafts right now.

Keep an eye on McGuire and Rawls in training camp over the summer. Both have flashed little bit of talent here and there and could be the type of waiver wire warrior that helps an owner win their league if Crowell or Powell get hurt. It always pays to have an idea of who the next man up is through the NFL because injuries are such a big part of the game.