Time to ‘Q’ up new leader of Jets WRs
IF THIS were last season, it probably would have been Brandon Marshall publicly undressing the Jets for their poor practice Thursday afternoon.
But Marshall is with the Giants, and Eric Decker, another team leader, is in Tennessee, leaving Quincy Enunwa to be the voice of the Jets’ receiving corps.
“It’s never acceptable, and we know that,” Enunwa said, after a Florham Park practice marred by dropped passes, penalties and busted assignments. “We have to do better, and we’re going to do better.”
Enunwa is in just his third season, but he now finds himself the most experienced wide receiver on the roster. The 25-year-old from Moreno Valley, Calif., came into league as a sixth-round draft pick out of Nebraska in 2014, and he lingered in the shadows of Marshall and Decker until Decker went down with an injury last year. Enunwa opened eyes with several big plays and big games. He caught five passes for 109 yards and one touchdown in the Jets’ 22-17 loss to the Patriots on Nov. 27, and had nine receptions for 64 yards in a 34-13 loss to the Dolphins on Dec. 17. Overall, he caught 58 passes for 857 yards and four touchdowns while playing in all 16 games and starting 13.
With Marshall and Decker gone, the current group of wide receivers largely is unknown and unproven, and, judging from Thursday’s practice, unreliable. Enunwa didn’t help matters. A perfect pass from Christian Hack. enberg went t hrough his hands, hi t - ting off his shoulder pads and bouncing high into the air. Enunwa promptly did 10 pushups as punishment.
Later, Enunwa was doing a deep in-cut near the goal line when he let a pass from Josh McCown slip through his fingers. Though the throw may have been a bit high and behind him, Enunwa will have to make those kinds of catches during games if the offense is going to have any kind of success.
“Today was not a great day,” Enunwa said. “I put that on myself. I try to make sure I can create a spark when things aren’t going well, make a big play and hype the guys up. I’ve got to do better, and we as a group have to do better.”
The group includes Robby Anderson, who made the team as a free agent last season and caught 42 passes for 587 yards and two touchdowns; Jalin Marshall, the second-year free agent from Ohio State; Charone Peake, a 2016 secondround pick out of Clemson; ArDarius Stewart, the thirdround pick out of Alabama; and a host of other free agents and rookies.
One scribe suggested the best wide receiver on the field Thursday was future Hall of Famer Steve Smith, who has retired and was on site working for the NFL Network.
Enunwa knows he will have to defend this receiving corps for most of this season. The Jets are building from the ground up, especially at wide receiver.
“I believe in us,” Enunwa said. “I think we’ll learn from today.”
Much of the team still is getting to know each other. Enunwa was wearing a T-shirt on Thursday that read “Offseason Champions.” It was the reward for a contest that split the team into partnerships intended to build camaraderie.
“It really helped us,” Enunwa said. “You were given a partner, and we were able to do things for the guy next to us. You can’t be selfish. You have to learn about the guy next to you. It’s during the offseason when you have to learn who guys are.”
The Jets learned Thursday that none of this is going to be easy.