New York Jets Breakout Candidate Jeremy Kerley

Published: 2^nd Apr 12 1:09 pm

by Chris Gamble
Chris Gamble

RANT It!

Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE

When the New York Jets drafted Jeremy Kerley in the 5^th round of the 2011 NFL Draft he was expected to contribute mostly as a special teams guy who might contribute on offense. After fellow wide receiver Derrick Mason, who was signed to become the team’s third receiver behind Santonio Holmes and Plaxico Burress, was unproductive and disruptive the Jets turned to Kerley to fill the void. Kerley doesn’t possess blazing speed, he ran a 4.56 40-yard dash during the combine, and doesn’t possess ideal size, he is listed at 5-9. What Kerley brings to the Jets is very good hands, very good football sense, and excellent vision.

After Mason’s departure, Kerley stepped into the third receiver slot and began to produce. His first game came on October 9^th versus the New England Patriots and he caught 3 passes for 35 yards and a touchdown, his only one of the season. A few weeks later, again against the Patriots, he caught 4 passes for 79 yards including a 38 yarder. Kerley would then miss a couple of weeks with a knee injury and seemed to fade into the background again. However, he would come on strong in the final game of the year against the Miami Dolphins. In that game Kerley caught 4 passes for 71 yards and added a 41-yard pass to Matthew Mulligan.

Kerley is athletic and played quarterback in high school before switching to wide receiver at Texas Christian. He broke the Mountain West Conference record for most punt return yards in a season in 2009 and, during the 2010 season, he ranked second in the nation in punt returns and third in the nation in kickoff returns. He showed great vision and a great ability to make tacklers miss by using his athleticism to change direction returning kicks in college and uses that same vision and cutting ability to get open as a receiver.

Kerley is currently the Jets number two wide receiver. This could change depending on what the Jets do in the Draft and if the Jets take a chance on a veteran who gets cut later on in the year. However, I see Kerley being a key contributor throughout the season either as the number two receiver or as the slot receiver. Personally, I like Kerley as the slot receiver, someone who can take advantage of going up against the defenses third best corner or a safety and use his athleticism to get open. I also think Kerley possesses the natural talent to thrive as a number two receiver in this league and he should benefit from partaking in a full offseason program, something he was deprived of as a rookie because of the lockout.

The one negative to Kerley’s game last season was his inability to hold onto the football. He fumbled four times last year, although only one fumble was not recovered by the Jets. I think that was mostly a product of him trying to do too much as a rookie, and is something that Rex Ryan and the coaching staff will correct.

Moving forward, Kerley will be an excellent possession-type receiver who can occasionally break on for a long gain. He won’t be a burner down the sidelines but can get open in traffic and that will help Mark Sanchez out dramatically. He doesn’t possess the skill set of a Santonio Holmes but I see no reason that he couldn’t be a player similar to what Jerricho Cotchery to the Jets. For these reasons I think Jeremy Kerley will be the Jets breakout player of the year.