In their quest to regain some sort of relevance in the AFC East division, the New York Jets decided to redo two core pieces of their offense in this year’s NFL Draft, selecting BYU quarterback Zach Wilson with the second overall selection and UNC running back Michael Carter in the fourth round. Pairing these two options in first-year head coach Robert Salah’s debut will make for quite a rookie season for the former San Francisco defensive coordinator.
Many waves were made about Wilson leading up to the draft, but Carter flew more under the radar, mainly caused by how good the top two backs off the draft board in Najee Harris and Travis Etienne were. Plus, Carter was caught in a timeshare with fellow Tar Heel draft pick Javonte Williams, who was selected two rounds earlier by the Denver Broncos.
For Carter, he joins a backfield that is devoid of a long-term solution alongside their new franchise gunslinger, and even with both Tevin Coleman and La’Mical Perine already in the building, Carter should be handed the keys in some fashion to the offense this season.
Fully embracing a rebuilding process can be a hard pill for a team to swallow, but the Jets seem to finally be leaning into it fully – and by beginning a rebuild with rookies at both QB and RB, it will produce quite a few growing pains to start out. But for Carter, he landed in a perfect position for as late as he went in the draft, and big things should be expected from him as he begins his professional career.
2021 Projections
163 carries / 665 yards / 5 TDs / 28 catches / 235 yards / 2 TDs / 3 fumbles
Fighting to earn the starting role over both Coleman and Perine is not something that will happen overnight for Carter, yet his skill set lends itself to being the most talented option in the room. Selecting an RB with a mid-round pick usually dictates a team that is willing to give a rookie a shot at taking over but is hesitant to use high draft capital to ensure that happens, which is exactly the situation that the Jets find themselves in.
The trio of Frank Gore, Perine, and Ty Johnson combined to rush for 1,139 yards on 305 carries (3.7 yards per carry), and these three names are either free agents or are not starting material in the NFL, hence why Carter is the perfect option to take over the role, even in the short term.
All Carter did in his four years at Chapel Hill was rush for 3,404 yards and 22 touchdowns, and haul in 82 passes for 656 yards and 6 TDs – as a reminder, these numbers came alongside Williams, who was also there making a name for himself on the gridiron.
Channeling that kind of lead-back mentality but timeshare role that he had in college, Carter should be asked to handle more than 150 carries and almost 200 total touches in his rookie season. With him having fresher legs than most early-to-mid round RBs, he looks to be a prime candidate to lead this offense in carries, rushing yards, and rushing TDs, helping take some of the rushing load off of Wilson while also being able to push both Coleman and Perine out of the picture.
The key for Carter’s NFL career is going to be that he matches the timeline in which the Jets are running their rebuild on – with Wilson almost certainly locked in as this team’s starting QB right out of the gate, Carter will be given a chance very early on himself to earn starting snaps alongside the BYU product and commence the full-on rebuild.
While not even close to being relevant for playoff contention, the Jets have quite a few building blocks on their team that can support them through these losing seasons – by adding Wilson and Carter to left tackle Mekhi Becton, this offense under offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur looks to be ready and willing to surprise some teams right out of the gate this season.
Carter will not and should not be asked to hold down a bell-cow role throughout his rookie campaign – but becoming this team’s starting RB does not mean that a bell-cow role is in the cards. LaFleur comes from the 49ers and head coach Kyle Shanahan, so LaFleur is a disciple of the multiple RB ideology, something that can benefit Carter while also keeping him sharp and not tired out to begin his career.
The Jets seem to finally understand what it is all going to undertake to lean into this much-needed rebuild process, and with both Wilson and Carter in the fold, that process can get off the ground and move forward. With no real timeline set at this point, all eyes are going to be on this team’s new shiny toys on offense, and while Carter may not be earning the most eyes from outsiders, he certainly may after the kind of season he should be able to put up.
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