Michael Carter, who has emerged as one of the league’s top young pass-catching running backs, will miss two to three weeks due to an ankle sprain. With the electric rookie sidelined, the Jets will call on Ty Johnson and old man Tevin Coleman to handle the load. With Coleman looking like dust, Johnson is the player we recommend off the Week 12 Waiver Wire.
Since Zach Wilson got hurt against the Patriots, Carter has been on fire. He’s averaged over 100 total yards on over 17 touches over the last five games and saw 32 targets during that span. While Carter is more talented than Johnson, they possess a similar skill-set that should see Johnson getting the targets, while Coleman handles some early-down work.
Although Johnson only has 144 rushing yards and a touchdown on 42 carries (3.4 YPC) this season, he does have 25 receptions, 271 receiving yards, and two touchdowns on 38 targets. Those targets make Johnson a potential FLEX option in half-PPR and PPR leagues.
The potential is there for Johnson, who racked up 104 rushing yards and a score on 22 carries in a spot-start against the Raiders.
For Carter managers, this is a brutal blow to the rookie who’s become more and more fantasy-relevant in each passing week. Hopefully, he’ll be back to 100 percent to man the FLEX for fantasy playoff runs.
“It’s really a blow for him,” Robert Saleh said. “He’s one of those young [bright] spots I’m talking about. He’s been getting better every week, and every time he touches the ball he makes someone miss. If the o-line blocks the run for nothing, he’s finding three, if they block it for five, he’s finding, eight, nine, 10. And he’s so dynamic with the ball in his hands. So him missing this time where he can get better, obviously a blow for him. Hopefully, we can get him back before the end of the season to get more playing time so he can continue to rack up those reps and hit the ground running this offseason.”
Over the next three weeks, the Jets get the 30th ranked rush defense in the Texans, then tougher matchups against the Eagles and Saints. Meaning, Johnson could be an immediate streaming or DFS option right away in a disturbing matchup between two of the league’s worst teams.
Ty Johnson comes in at RB40 on The Wolf’s 2021 Rest of Season Big Board. Check back on Wednesday to see where he lands on our Week 12 Rankings.
