Old Friends in New Places
Jets WR Corey Davis was drafted by the Titans, No. 5 overall, in 2017. After four seasons in Tennessee, Davis signed with the Green & White in March to be the team's No. 1 receiver. Through three games this season, Davis leads the team with 2 touchdown catches. He has 12 receptions for 146 yards (12.2 avg.).
On Sunday he'll line up against a retooled Titans secondary that ranks No. 18 in passing yards, allowing an average of 259.3 yards per game. After 5 receptions, 97 yards and 2 TDs in his Jets debut, Davis has combined for 7 catches, 49 yards and 0 TDs.
"I could do better," he said following the Jets' loss at Denver. "There are plays I wish I could have back out there. I have to make more plays to put the team in better positions."
He later added: "We have to make plays wherever the ball is. We have to make plays and that starts with me."
This game could also have a pair of former Ole Miss wideouts and good friends in the Jets' Elijah Moore and the Titans' A.J. Brown. Both players, however, are dealing with injuries. Moore is in concussion protocol and Brown is considered week-to-week with a hamstring ailment.
Stopping Henry
Tennessee's offense runs through RB Derrick Henry. Henry paces the NFL with 353 rushing yards, the most he's had through the first three games in his career. He's the only RB in the NFL with more than 300 yards on the ground. This fast start comes after leading the NFL in rushing yards in back-to-back seasons and becoming the eighth player in NFL history to eclipse 2,000 yards in a single season (2,027 in 2020).
"Have you guys ever seen him in person?" HC Robert Saleh said to reporters. "Wait until you see this one. He's a massive human being. They have great conviction running the football. It looks like it's simple, but it actually gives a lot of issues for a defense. When this man gets rolling, he's all of [6-3, 247]. He looks like an offensive lineman carrying the football. He's a load, he's deserving of all the accolades he's gotten and it's going to be a tremendous challenge this week."
MCII
The Jets started six rookies in their season opener for the first time since the NFL-AFL merger, but Michael Carter II was not technically among them as the team's starting nickel. Through three games he has 19 tackles, 2 tackles for loss and 1 pass defense. One of the team's fifth-round picks, he was Pro Football Focus' top-graded rookie CB in Week 3 (76.4). Carter II, who played outside corner, nickel and safety at Duke, is one of three rookies in the NFL this season to post at least five tackles in each of his first three career games and the first Jets rookie DB to do so since Darrelle Revis (2007).
Carter II and the Jets' secondary have a tough test this weekend in Brown and Julio Jones, although both may not play due to injury.
