Quincy Enunwa was one of many Jets offensive players quietly frustrated with his role last season.
After returning from a neck injury, Enunwa caught 38 passes for 449 yards and a touchdown. Injuries to his lower body derailed his season, but the Jets wide receiver was also not utilized well in Jeremy Bates’ offense.
While on injured reserve, the Jets elected to lock-up their No. 2 wideout before season’s end. Enunwa signed a four-year, $36 million contract extension with the Jets through the 2022 season. Bates, meanwhile, is gone,
Now, new head coach Adam Gase is ready to give Enunwa an opportunity to do more.
“I don’t want to put him in a box,” Gase told reporters at the combine. “I want him to try to do as many things as he possibly can. Really, it’s going to be about what his strengths are at the end of the day.”
Enunwa has been a bit of a hybrid, playing an H-Back role and lining up at wide receiver, tight end and in the backfield. He hasn’t done much on the outside, though, really only catching passes in the slot.
Instead of force-feeding the ball to Enunwa on bubble screens, which is what happened last year, Gase is going to attempt to find other ways to get Enunwa involved.
“He’s the type of guy that you really just want to get the ball in his hands,” Gase said. “You really don’t care how you do it.”
With the way Gase has talked up his receivers at the combine, the Jets have to be enthralled by the possibilities that a healthy Robby Anderson and Enunwa present in Sam Darnold’s second year.
