Geno Smith appears to have an early leg up on Michael Vick to open the season as the New York Jets starting quarterback. He’ll need to cut down on the turnovers to keep the job. Photo: Richard C. Lewis

Data as of June 26 | Current Cheatsheets | Current Projections

NR = Not ranked

QB Geno Smith

A 2nd round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, Smith was handed the starting job after Mark Sanchez was injured in the preseason, and Smith suffered the normal ups and downs most rookie quarterbacks experience. He turned the ball over 25 times (21 interceptions and four lost fumbles), failed to throw for 200 yards in eight games (including one stretch of five straight games) and threw for just 3,046 yards and 12 touchdowns. While Smith sported a respectable PPG average of 17.1, that was topped up by his 366 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns. While we could place some emphasis on Smith averaging 23.1 PPG with just two turnovers during his final four games of the season, that production included 186 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. Smith will need to show plenty of improvement in terms of his ability to read defenses and pocket awareness to hold onto his job for all 16 games in 2014. Look for Michael Vick to appear under center at some point. That makes Smith waiver wire material.

QB Michael Vick

Although the signals out of Jets camp have been a tad conflicting, it seems that Vick is destined to open the season as Geno Smith’s backup. But it certainly won’t be a surprise if he ends up under center at some point in 2014. Vick’s familiarity with offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg’s system could be beneficial but his PPG averages have dropped in each of the last three seasons. If he takes the reins and has a good game or two, grab him as a bye week replacement.

RB Chris Johnson

Released in the offseason by the Titans for salary cap reasons, Johnson quickly found a home in the Jets backfield. He is expected to work in a timeshare with Chris Ivory but the workload should be tilted in Johnson’s favor. The fantasy reputation of the RB formally known as CJ2K has taken a hit over the years as he has been inconsistent and not come close to approaching the 2,006 rushing yards he posted in 2009. But perhaps that’s been a bit unfair. A closer look reveals that Johnson has had an outstanding career. He topped 1,000 rushing yards in each of his six seasons, rushed for 7,965 career yards, has 2,003 career receiving yards and 58 touchdowns. And while a much higher percentage of that production came during his first three years in the league than his last three, he still has managed to average double digit fantasy points every year. On the downside, he averaged a career low 3.9 yards per carry in 2013. With Ivory eating into his workload, look for this to be the first year that Johnson fails to top 1,000 rushing yards, but we still like him as a low end RB2 with upside. Keep in mind that he is a slight risk due to surgery in January for a torn meniscus.

RB Chris Ivory

In his first year in New York, Ivory started off slowly, rushing for just 115 yards during his first five games. After that, he played much better, gaining 718 yards and scoring three touchdowns on the ground while averaging 4.85 yards per carry over his next 10 games. Ivory worked in a timeshare with Bilal Powell last season and Powell is expected to surrender that role to Chris Johnson in 2014. Since Johnson is a clear upgrade over Powell, we can make the prediction that Ivory will see fewer touches this coming season. He figures to handle the short yardage work and earn 8-12 carries a game but he offers nothing as a pass catcher with just five receptions during his four years in the league. Ivory rates as a solid handcuff and lower tier RB3.

RB Bilal Powell

While Powell has been a decent option out of the Jets backfield over the last two years, he is expected to see his workload substantially reduced with the free agent signing of Chris Johnson. Powell essentially shared the Jets backfield with Chris Ivory last season, reaching career highs in rushing yards with 697, receptions with 36 and receiving yards with 272. However, with Johnson on board, Powell will see his receiving work reduced to a bare minimum and Ivory is clearly a better short yardage runner. In fact, Powell may need to hold off Rams reject Daryl Richardson just to retain a roster spot.

RB Daryl Richardson

While Richardson was a surprising success story as a rookie 7th round pick in 2012, chalking up 451 rushing yards and 117 receiving yards over the Rams first 11 games of that season, it’s been all downhill since culminating in his release from the St. Louis Rams after the NFL Draft. The Abilene Christian product wore down as his rookie season came to a close, earning just 24 touches over the Rams final five games. In 2013, he opened the season as the Rams starter with the departure of Steven Jackson but a toe injury and his ineffective play caused him to lose his job to Zac Stacy, and a thigh injury caused him to miss the final seven games of the season. Richardson will need to beat out Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell to have any fantasy relevance in 2014.

WR Eric Decker

Let’s go out on a limb and make a couple of predictions. The first is that Decker will be the only Jets wide receiver to have any meaningful fantasy value in 2014. The second is that his production in his first year in New York will take a deep nose dive compared to playing with Peyton Manning. After catching 87 passes for 1,288 yards (both career highs) and 11 touchdowns with Denver in 2013, Decker signed a five-year, $36.3-million contract to join the Jets as their leading receiver. Unfortunately, as we saw in the Super Bowl, Decker is ill-equipped to handle that type of role. Look for the Patriots Darrelle Revis to eat him up during their two matchups this season. That being said, Decker isn’t chopped liver as a wide receiver as his 2,352 yard and 24 touchdowns over the two previous years attests. At 6’3” and 218 pounds with solid speed, he is both a threat in the red zone as well as on deep passes. Unfortunately, it’s a big drop from Manning to Geno Smith or Michael Vick. And that causes a big drop in Decker’s fantasy value. Consider him a WR3 with marginal upside.

WR Stephen Hill

A raw prospect coming out of Georgia Tech as the Jets 2nd round selection in the 2012 NFL Draft, Hill has done little to dispel the notion that he remains a work in progress. In fact, the only reason he will enter training camp penciled in as a starter is because Jeremy Kerley is not a good fit to line up outside and none of the team’s other back up wide receivers are ready to handle the role. And, we suppose, Hill’s upside will give him another opportunity. At 6’4” and 215 pounds with blazing speed, Hill is an athletic marvel but his hands, grasp of the playbook and route running leave plenty to be desired. He isn’t worth grabbing on draft day but is worth holding onto in dynasty formats.

WR Jeremy Kerley

We’ll put a ten spot down that Kerley will never match his production from 2012 when he caught 56 of 95 targets for 827 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The former 5th round pick took advantage of a Santonio Holmes injury and Stephen Hill’s lack of readiness to load up his target count that season and barring injuries, he will never see that many targets again. While all this might sound a tad harsh, the simple fact is that Kerley is a quintessential slot receiver, lacking the size and explosiveness to play outside, in a Jets offense that lacks upside. It’s not that he’s a bad football player. It’s just that he doesn’t have much fantasy appeal.

WR Jalen Saunders, WR Shaquelle Evans and WR Quincy Enunwa

With a suspect depth chart at wide receiver, the Jets used a pair of 4th round picks to acquire Saunders and Evans and then grabbed Enunwa in the 6th round of this year’s NFL Draft. Saunders lacks size and will challenge Jeremy Kerley for the team’s slot receiver role. Evans and Enunwa are potential replacements for the disappointing Stephen Hill but neither is expected to contribute much in 2014.

TE Jace Amaro

The Jets finally addressed the tight end position in a meaningful way, using a 2nd round pick to acquire Texas Tech’s Jace Amaro. Amaro was highly productive in college playing in a fast paced, quick strike offense but New York runs a completely different type of scheme under Marty Mornhinweg. The 6’5”, 265 pound Amaro will need to improve as a run blocker to lock down the starting position from Jeff Cumberland. Since we see a time share on the horizon, Amaro isn’t worth drafting in redraft formats although he does rate as a solid prospect in dynasty formats.

TE Jeff Cumberland

The Jets gave off conflicting signals with regards to Cumberland in the offseason, signing him to a three-year contract extension and then using a 2nd round pick on Jace Amaro. Amaro is clearly the future at the position for the Jets and we predict that Cumberland was signed for his blocking prowess, an area Amaro will need to learn in the pros.