Brandon Marshall Proving to Be One of Most Reliable Receivers in Jets History

Most NFL quarterbacks would give an appendage (one other than their throwing arm) to get the opportunity to throw passes to New York Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall. That's because most receivers don't have Marshall's metronomic consistency. 

The 31-year-old may not have the game-breaking speed of some of the NFL's other top receivers, but he has size, sure hands, competitive tenacity and athleticism that manifests itself in plenty of other ways. 

Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick isn't the most accurate passer in the NFL, but you wouldn't know it when he's throwing to Marshall. The 6'4", 230-pound receiver takes "reliable" to a whole new level. Not only can you count on him to make the catches he should make, but he also makes a catch or two every game he probably shouldn't make. 

There were at least two of the latter kind of passes on Sunday against the Washington Redskins.

"There was a time in the game where a couple passes went his way that he didn't have to make a play," Fitzpatrick said. "If he didn't make the play, I don't think anybody would have thought, 'Man, he dropped it.' He just made some absolutely ridiculous plays out there. He wants to rise to the moment, so that was cool."

Marshall was plucking passes out of thin air in every conceivable fashion. In the process, he posted his fifth straight game with six receptions or more (a team record) and his fourth straight game with 100 receiving yards (the most since Don Maynard in 1969). 

Marshall has also caught a touchdown pass in four of his five games with the Jets so far.

Those four touchdowns each highlighted a different facet of Marshall's supposedly fading athleticism: He towered over Cleveland Browns cornerback Joe Haden to haul in a one-yard back-shoulder fade in Week 1; he overpowered two Indianapolis Colts defensive backs to bowl his way into the end zone in Week 2; he used his massive wing span to reach over his head for a touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3; and he displayed some surprising elusiveness to evade two Redskins defenders in Week 6. 

"How he caught it, I don't know. How he turned it into a touchdown, I really don't know," Fitzpatrick said. "That's one of those where [I'm] very thankful that Brandon is my teammate and very thankful for the opportunity to get to throw to him."

Of course, this is the kind of success we've come to expect from Marshall, as noted by Jason Bailey of Grantland:

"

Since entering the league in 2006, he is second in targets, third in receptions, and fifth in receiving yards and is tied for fourth in receiving touchdowns. If you instead start counting from 2007 — excising a rookie season he spent backing up Javon Walker and the underrated Rod Smith — Marshall is first in targets, second in receptions and receiving yards, and fourth in receiving touchdowns.

"

That being said, no one could have expected his success to continue at 31 years old and with Fitzpatrick as his quarterback. 

2015	Marshall	Jets rank (thru 5 gms)
Rec	37	1
Rec yds	511	5
TD	4	T-9 (9)

In five games with the Jets, Marshall has 37 receptions for 511 yards and four touchdowns. At this rate, he will match or surpass his 2014 totals in Week 11, and he is on pace for a ludicrous 118 receptions, 1,635 yards and 13 touchdowns. He would tie a career high in receptions and would set career bests in receiving yards and touchdowns.

He would also shatter Jets records for receptions (currently 93, set by Al Toon in 1988) and yards (currently 1,434, set by Maynard in 1967) in a single season while falling just one touchdown short of the Jets' single-season record (currently 14, set by Maynard in 1965).

Yep. At 31 years old, Marshall is having a career year and doing it with an erratic quarterback who lacks downfield accuracy.

Of course, Marshall is no stranger to working with erratic quarterbacks: He's caught touchdown passes from Jay Cutler, Kyle Orton, Jake Plummer (Denver Broncos), Matt Moore, Chad Henne (Miami Dolphins), Josh McCown, Jason Campbell (Chicago Bears) and now Fitzpatrick.

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

It's not a huge surprise that Fitzpatrick is completing a higher percentage of his passes intended for Marshall than he is when targeting any other non-running back on the team, but according to Pro-Football-Reference.com, Marshall's catch percentage of 69.8 is the fourth-best for any receiver with at least 30 receptions since at least 1999. 

There have been some moments that induced head-shaking, and at least one that induced head-scratching, when Marshall has put the ball on the ground this season. Marshall has fumbled three times, which is already the second-most fumbles he's had in a season in his career. One more fumble, and he'll be tied for a personal worst.

Needless to say, the good has far outweighed the bad this season for Marshall. 

It is probably very easy for Jets fans to appreciate Marshall's consistency. It's been a long time since a receiver as reliable as Marshall suited up for the Jets. 

Unless otherwise noted, all statistics obtained via Pro-Football-Reference.com and all quotes obtained via team news release.