New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith was recently named the worst starting QB in the entire NFL by a panel of league insiders. Ouch. But it's not as if we, the football public, didn't already know that Smith was a less than ideal option under center. Even his head coach Todd Bowles knows that, as he recently hinted that he won't hesitate to bench him if he struggles. As such, the Jets will likely rely on the ground game to keep their offense afloat.
But who will be the starter in the backfield? New York has four intriguing options in Chris Ivory, Bilal Powell, Stevan Ridley and Zac Stacy.
"The player who I believe has the most ability in this group - Ridley - also has the largest question looming over his status: Is he fully healthy from a torn ACL that limited him to just six games in 2014 and resulted in a cool free-agent market this offseason?" ESPN NFL Insider Field Yates wrote. "Stacy and Powell don't have the explosiveness that Ivory can bring on a snap-by-snap basis, but Ivory has never logged a season with more than 200 carries. The Jets essentially took fliers on Ridley and Stacy (acquired in a trade with St. Louis) and with uncertainty at quarterback, it's surely possible this team will put a heavy emphasis on the ground game. All that being said, forecasting a clear-cut starter or carry leader is tricky at the moment. Perhaps the most interesting factor here is this: If one of these four were to be let go prior to the end of the preseason, might one land with a team with less talent at running back and emerge as a fantasy asset?"
Right now, it doesn't appear as if there is a consistent fantasy producer in this bunch. As Yates mentioned, Ivory has been limited by injuries over his career. Powell is more of a secondary option. Ridley may not yet be 100 percent, and Stacy fell out of favor with the Rams awfully quickly. Fantasy owners may want to let the running back competition shake out in training camp before placing their trust in any of these ball-carriers.
