Garrett Wilson Injury Opens the Door for a New York Jets Deep Sleeper in Week 8

With Garrett Wilson sidelined for Week 8, the New York Jets’ offense somehow manages to get even uglier — but his absence could open the door for an unlikely fantasy football deep sleeper.

New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson (5) carries the ball after the catch against the Dallas Cowboys during the first half at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Things were already going horribly wrong for the disaster that is the New York Jets' offense. Then, things got even worse when their best player, wide receiver Garrett Wilson, suffered a knee injury. Wilson suffered a knee injury that cost him Week 7 and will now cost him Week 8. While for a team like the Jets, wins and losses don't really matter, their fans are likely just hoping for a high draft pick and a new coach, but this kills any value their offense has for fantasy owners. His absence is having as negative an impact that is possible on their already horrendous offense.

Fantasy Football Impact of Garrett Wilson Injury

New York Jets quarterback Tyrod Taylor (2) warms up before the game against the Carolina Panthers at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

QB Tyrod Taylor/Justin Fields, New York Jets

We had to put both Taylor and Fields, because the Jets benched Fields and the owner completely threw him under the bus, and named Taylor the starter for Week 8. Well, it turns out that Taylor is dealing with a knee injury and is questionable to play this week now. It turns out that the worst owner in the NFL, Woody Johnson, and their likely one-and-done head coach, Aaron Glenn, never considered this as a possibility. As of now, we don't know which quarterback will be under center. For the Jets' sake, hopefully not Fields now that they added off-field issues on top of his already vast on-field issues. 

Regardless of which one of these two is under center, any value that might have had has been sapped by the absence of Garrett Wilson. He's the only decent wide receiver on this team. Now give us a minute while we Google who their WR2 is so we can tell you why they're awful...

WR Josh Reynolds, New York Jets

Last week, it was Reynolds who served as the top option in the passing game. He was targeted nine times. He turned those targets into a whopping three receptions for 29 scoreless yards. Then again, all the yards are scoreless when you don't score any touchdowns.

The Bengals have one of the worst defenses in the NFL, and we aren't even considering starting Reynolds. Wide receivers Tyler Johnson and Allen Lazard both saw three targets each, but Reynolds is the top option, and I think it's clear how we feel about him. They aren't even worth a write-up, so it's safe to say that you shouldn't be starting them. Still, it's good to see Aaron Rodgers still haunting the Jets with that Lazard contract. Another great Woody Johnson move. 

All that being said, if you are in a deep league, Reynolds is worth consideration as a super-duper deep sleeper.