What’s on Tape: Quincy Enunwa (Fantasy Football)
Let me just begin by giving some air to the stink fest that seems to be brewing this offseason in East Rutherford, New Jersey. I’ve long known that New Jersey has been dubbed the “armpit of the nation” but was clearly misinformed that this refers to the 2017 New York Jets. Yes, it seems like the roster is depleted with talent as they tank towards the bottom of the league and a better draft pick in this dumpster fire of a rebuilding project. If you’re paying Captain Kamikaze himself, Josh McCown, as your big FA signing, then you are in trouble this next year.
However, that distasteful introduction really was written to let you consider the fantasy production available in New York after Brandon Marshall decided to join the “other” New York team. Specifically, I wanted to see what was left behind and if there is much value in any of the pass catchers left in New York beyond Eric Decker. Quincy Enunwa was a waiver wire pickup in 2016 who showed glimpses of fantasy relevance especially in PPR leagues despite playing for these lowly Jets. Our task is to examine Enunwa’s 2016 season on film and glean what we can from observing all of his 105 targets. WARNING: Not all targets are created equally. When you’re rolling with Ryan Fitzpatrick, Geno Smith, and Bryce Petty at QB, you’re asking for some poorly thrown pigskins.
Check out where Andy, Mike, and Jason have Quincy Enunwa and every other WR ranked for the 2017 season.
Who is Quincy Enunwa?
Enunwa enters his 3rd season in the league as a 6th round draft pick out of Nebraska. He was overshadowed in the loaded 2014 WR rookie class of Sammy Watkins, Mike Evans, Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, Brandin Cooks, Allen Robinson, and others. Enunwa was actually waived in 2014, spent 15 games on the practice squad and was re-signed to the 53-man roster for the final game of that year. Since then, he’s mostly been relegated as the team’s 3rd or 4th WR.
According to PlayerProfiler.com, Enunwa scored in the 96th percentile in height-adjusted speed score which showcases how incredibly fast he is for a WR his size. As a route runner, he was not polished coming in but definitely worth a flier according to OC Chan Gailey due to his freakish metrics.
What’s On Tape
After taking on the ridiculously and somewhat monotonous task of sifting through all 105 of Enunwa’s targets (and too many terrible Jets blowout losses), there were a couple of highlight moments and common threads that seemed to show up on film. Here are a couple takes:
-Although most would’ve declared him 3rd on the depth chart starting the season, Enunwa finished the year with a 90.1% snap count rate, the highest among Jets WRs. After the season-ending injury to Decker, he was literally on the field for every important snap possible. Given the fact that the Jets run as many 3-WR sets as anyone outside of the Giants, it was clear that Enunwa was a vital part of this “offense”. I use that term somewhat lightly as you know what a waste of a season it was for the Jets.
-One of the things that jumps from the film is the number of uncatchable targets that went Enunwa’s way. Week 3 was an absolute train wreck against the Chiefs as Fitzpatrick threw 6 INTs and failed to convert on 3 red zone looks to Enunwa. He looked especially out-of-sync with Petty in Week 10 versus Los Angeles when Enunwa had a measly 7 yards on 6 targets despite seeing 100% of the snaps on the day. Only 1 of those targets was catchable including 3 thrown at his feet, 2 that should’ve been picked off, and 1 INT.
-Enunwa did have his fair share of drops (4) on his 105 targets. Jets WRs as a whole caught only 57% of their targets, an abysmal rate.
-Enunwa started out the year on fire and looked like a real difference maker in Week 2, a shockingly exciting Thursday night game versus the Bills. He was a real chain mover catching all 6 of his targets converting 5 of them into 1st downs. He made a number of plays against the recently inked Patriot, Stephon Gilmore, including a sick sideline grab in the 1st quarter. His size really shined as he bodied defenders especially in the middle of the field on chunk gains.
-I think the Browns tape in Week 8 revealed what Enunwa could be moving forward. Fitzpatrick was 3-for-14 going into the half and although Enunwa dropped a knuckleball from Fitz at the end, he had lots of opportunities come his way. His 24 yard TD was sick as he took a slant pattern from the right slot and made Browns safety Derrick Kindred look like a fool. Enunwa broke 4 tackles as he weaved his way to the end zone. He also burned Justin Gilbert on a 3rd quarter post as he effectively shuttled between being an outside receiver and a slot menace. He has the skill set to find soft spots in the middle of the field and make huge open field plays with his size, strength, and surprising speed.
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-His best game of the year came against New England in Week 12 when he roasted the Patriots for 5 catches, 109 yards and a TD. He beat Malcolm Butler in the 1st quarter on for a 40 yard gain with a sweet over-the-shoulder catch. It also seemed like Fitzpatrick threw a dime in the back of the end zone and Enunwa came down with another grab over Butler with the game close (13-10) in the 4th quarter before the officials called him out. Regardless, he definitely had Butler’s number in this game.
-Enunwa’s 365 yards after the catch ranked 18th among WRs, outpacing better known commodities such as T.Y. Hilton, Demaryius Thomas, and even the YAC-master himself, DeSean Jackson in 2016.
-Enunwa also showed a knack for reeling in targets in traffic. His contested catch rate of 80% was 11th best among WRs with at least 5 contested targets.
-The dude is a fierce blocker. He benched 225 lbs 19 times at the combine, an unbelievable total for a WR. Enunwa was utilized in a hybrid “H-back” role a couple of times by the Jets. He not only seems to be used as a blocker at the line of scrimmage in the slot but also downfield. Now this doesn’t always translate to fantasy production but it does keep him on the field even in short yardage situations.
Projecting 2017
Currently, Enunwa is going undrafted in standard and PPR mocks. This is an absolute crime for a player set up to have a healthy target share in 2017 even with Decker healthy. If the QB situation scares you off, I completely understand. If you think Robby Anderson or Devin Smith is the answer moving forward, then I guess he’s irrelevant. But this is a player, especially in PPR leagues, that you could draft at the end of your bench with the real possibility to slightly improve on 2016’s numbers and return low-end WR2 weekly value.
Enunwa’s film doesn’t jump off the page as someone with elite separation skills nor someone with a giant catch radius with highlight reel plays. However, he seems to have a knack for finding soft spots in zones and being able to rack up yards after the catch especially when he gets a full head of steam going. I can honestly see a 70-1000-5 in his foreseeable future with even more of a stamp of approval if Decker and his $8.7 million cap is cut soon. Those numbers would’ve given Enunwa a Terrelle Pryor-like finish from 2016 as someone relatively free with the potential to be a fantasy difference maker.
Check out the rest of our NFL Film Breakdowns on Cameron Meredith and Carlos Hyde.
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