1. Bilal Powell, RB
Jets fans should be happy with the Forte and Robinson signings, but they should be ecstatic about the Powell re-signing. After a very promising 2015 season, Powell elected not to sign with division rivals New England and Buffalo, and instead return to New York on a three-year, $11.25 million contract.
With Ivory gone, Powell is now the longest tenured Jet running back and has a year of Chan Gailey’s offense under his belt. As a third-down back in Gailey’s offense last season, Powell hauled in a career high 47 passes for 388 yards and two touchdowns. In total, he collected 701 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns on just 133 touches (5.27 yards per touch).
Forte will likely be the starter when training camp is all said and done, but I would not be surprised if Powell ends up seeing more touches at the end of the year. In fact, we may even see both players on the field with Powell lining up in the backfield and Forte at slot receiver.
As of now, however, only one thing is for certain: Bilal Powell is the most explosive running back this team has. When Chris Ivory began to regress in the second half of last season, Powell was by far the most explosive player this team had on offense. He showed great vision and burst running the ball, and was even more of a threat as a receiver.
With Ivory now out of the picture, Powell figures to see a lot more touches and a lot more opportunities to prove he’s worth the money.
