Someone named Greg Salas, wearing No. 17 in the home green-and-white, led the Jets in receiving Sunday with two catches for 57 yards — highlighted by a 44-yard catch-and-run that set up a critical insurance field goal — in the Jets’ 26-20 upset victory over the Saints at MetLife Stadium.
Jets right guard Willie Colon, whose locker in the team’s Florham Park, N.J., training facility is adjacent to Salas’ stall, said after the game he had no idea what his name was.
“Number 17, I don’t know his name even though he sits next to me, he made some nice catches for us,’’ Colon said. “I know he’s my locker mate, I just don’t know his name. I have to introduce myself to him.’’
This was symbolic of how and why the Jets beat the favored, high-powered Saints. They did it with little-known role players barely recognized even by the most ardent of fantasy football nerds, filling in for injured players — introducing themselves.
Salas, who’s with his fourth team since he was drafted by the Rams in 2011 and was signed this season off the Eagles practice squad, made his Jets debut Sunday and made a difference when starting receiver Jeremy Kerley left the game in the first half with an elbow injury.
Then there is 6-foot-7 tight end Zach Sudfeld, whom the Jets signed a day after the Patriots released him a few weeks ago. He caught two passes for 46 yards, including a 25-yard catch of a pass from Josh Cribbs out of the wildcat formation that led to a first-half field goal.
“I don’t know if we ever connected in practice before on all the times we’ve run that play,’’ Sudfeld said.
“I didn’t throw it to him one time in practice,’’ Cribbs said.
Cribbs, whom the Jets signed off the street the same day they signed Salas, threw that 25-yard pass to Sudfeld, ran three times for 12 yards out of the wildcat, caught two passes and returned five kickoffs for an average of 26.8 yards. Not bad for a player no team wanted just a few weeks ago.
Add to this mix-and-match David Nelson, who was signed a month ago and caught a pass for 19 yards Sunday, and what you have is a fascinating hodgepodge of receivers who are saving a Jets team that entered the season with what was perceived as some of the worst skill position talent in the league.
The Jets were already without their top receiver, Santonio Holmes (hamstring), their two top tight ends, Kellen Winslow (suspended) and Jeff Cumberland (concussion) before they lost Kerley.
Of the Jets’ nine completions for 140 yards in the game, seven for 128 yards came from players not on the team in training camp.
“I credit the GM [John Idzik]’’ Cribbs said. “He saw a puzzle being made and he went out and got the pieces to the puzzle that would fit. We have a lot to play for. We have guys coming off the street like myself. I was not on a team for six weeks, and I have a lot to prove. Now you got Salas coming off the practice squad proving himself. Nelson has really been showing up. We’re hungry.
“That’s what our GM did. He went out and got guys that are hungry.’’
Nelson, the former Bills receiver who missed all last season with a knee injury and has been a godsend to the Jets’ depleted receiving corps, called the role of the role players Sunday “a huge testament to the character’’ of the team.
“I don’t think most people knew who 86 [Nelson] or 17 [Salas] or 82 [Sudfeld] are,’’ Nelson joked. “But that’s what this league is. Every year, you have teams that have injuries and it’s guys who come in that can make or break the season.’’