Offense 

I think the Jets nailed this offseason so that they can set a floor and culture in the building that this organization has lacked for years and years now, really since Rex Ryan in the early 2010s. Adding what looks to be a quality GM in Darren Mougey and a HC that finally is setting a culture and bringing an attitude to this team in Aaron Glenn it’s finally looking like the Jets got it right. Obviously that’s all going to play out and I could be completely wrong but it certainly looks more promising than any Jets regime I’ve seen in a while. 

What I love about this offense and what they’ve built here is this OL room. Not only are they talented across all five positions (Olu Fashanu, John Simpson, Joe Tippmann, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Armand Membou) they also have some veterans that you can trust to start games (Chukwuma Okorafor as your swing T and Josh Myers as a backup C) which makes this group one of most talented in the league. They were solid last year but due to veteran signings that didn’t work out for injury and age reasons it left them with holes across the line that just added to the overalll dysfunction of last year. While I’ll admit this group is far from proven and I think the overall youth and inexperience is a bit concerning I just personally think the talent of all of these guys will show through and they’ll be at the very least an above average line this upcoming year. 

The weaponry side of this offense while not star studded necessarily I think they did a good job of filling out the roster around what high upside/star pieces they do have in Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall. While this WR room isn’t the best in the league they do have some intriguing guys they took chances on in Josh Reynolds and Tyler Johnson in FA and Arian Smith (Georgia) and Mason Taylor (LSU) in the draft. Reynolds is certainly the most “sure thing”when it comes to these three guys and has some familiarity with this coaching staff when he had a few semi successful seasons in Detroit (21’ 19c 306yds in 7 games, 22’ 38c 479yds in 14 games, and 23’ 40c 608yds in 17 games) and even though he had a down year not really finding a role in Denver last year I think he’ll provide an outside WR that you can out opposite of Garrett Wilson and at least trust to have a solid role in this offense. Tyler Johnson on the other hand has had some up and down seasons throughout his career now and just hasn’t found a home but did occasionally flash for the Rams last year and could possibly find a role in this room where they need someone to do so. Arian Smith while he certainly won’t have a huge role he has real deal speed and when he does catch the ball can be a game changer on the field, especially for this offense that doesn’t have a lot of explosiveness. Mason Taylor should be an instant impact and may even be the second option for Justin Fields in this passing offense. Taylor while not a perfect prospect coming out is a solid blocker and looks incredibly smooth as a receiver, fluidity pops when running routes really making it look smooth and easy and he has some of the most dependable hands in this draft making him a perfect safety valve for Fields. They also have depth behind Taylor like Jeremy Ruckert and Stone Smartt who while not stars in this league are solid players and will make some plays for them and certainly won’t be liabilities.

This RB room as well is very talented and if they can keep Breece Hall on the field and healthy they’ll have top end back in the league, in my opinion, with depth behind him as well. Having guys like Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis as your second and third on your depth chart behind someone as talented as Hall could make for one of the best running attacks in the league paired with OL.

The only piece left to talk about on this offense is the QB room. There’s a lot of questions floating around like “Can Justin Fields be the franchise guy?” “Will Fields have a Geno Smith or Sam Darnold turnaround?” “Will Justin Fields completely fail?” and I just don’t view this room being all that complex. I think there’s a pretty small chance Justin Fields really figures it all out and becomes some top 10-15 guy in the league this year but what I would bet on is he’s what we’ve seen from Justin Fields almost every year of his career. At his best he’ll be a league average starter and more times than not float somewhere around the bottom half of the league but he’ll flash some really special arm talent and will be a plus runner for you week in week out that can change a game for you in that way. I don’t view him as the long term guy here but there’s certainly a chance he sticks around for awhile and finds a rhythm with this team while they do find a guy they feel can be the true franchise guy. You also Tyrod Taylor who can certainly step in and keep you competitive in case of injury or poor play and more importantly keep your style of play going if Fields were to go down.

Defense 

The first room/group that sticks out to me on this defense is the secondary. I absolutely love what this secondary has formed into with the signings of Brandon Stephens (who had a down start to the year last year but fits perfectly with what they’re building) and Andre Cisco in FA along with the draft picks of Azareye’h Thomas (FSU) and especially Malachi Moore (Alabama)who is a PERFECT fit not only scheme wise was but even more so attitude and culture wise. I won’t lie I wasn’t very high on Azareye’h Thomas (I had a 5th round grade on him) but I do see the style of play they’re establishing with the Brandon Stephens signing and I understand how he can work in the league as a big physical press CB I just don’t love the athleticism for a CBnow that he’s in the NFL and I’m not sure he’ll ever be more than a solid depth piece. Malachi Moore on the other hand is going to be absolutely awesome pick for them in my opinion. I think he’s going to set the tone for this team and be a captain before you know it. He has experience on special teams and while he may never be a top end S he’ll be solid enough and his impact on the team from a culture and effort perspective will be bigger than anyone can really state in words. You pair all of these additions with the talent of Sauce Gardner (I think Sauce will get back to his “old self”with Aaron Glenn) and one of the better slot CBs in the league with Michael Carter II and all of the sudden you have a secondary that can and will cause real problems for opposing offenses. 

Now onto this front seven and the impact they can have if everything comes together for them. There weren’t many notable additions to this section of the team but they did add some guys like Derrick Nnadi, Byron Cowart, Jay Tufele, and Rashad Weaver in FA who will be solid pieces for them towards the bottom of their depth chart (other than Nnadi) that will rotate in and play some quality snaps. You also added a couple of talented guys out of Miami in the draft in Francisco Mauigoa who will be another high character addition that will set a tone with Aaron Glenn despite being young along with being a solid well rounded LB for them and Tyler Baron who isn’t the highest effort guy and will need to clean that but does have some nice refinement in pass rush moves and most likely will rotate in and give some solid snaps throughout his rookie year.

Where this front seven will really change from last year is dependent on how much Aaron Glenn can get out of these guys like Will McDonald IV, Leonard Taylor III, and Michael Clemons and even though to a lesser extent still guys like Quincy Williams, Jamien Sherwood, Jermaine Johnson (health more than anything else), and even Quinnen Williams. While a number of these guys had solid years last year they didn’t play together and looked largely uninterested/uninspired by what was going on around them. If Glenn can set an attitude and culture that brings the best out of these guys and gets them back playing how they did 2-3 years ago I think we’ll see a really special jump because the talent is all there, they just have to show and utilize it.

Overview 

• While most people are looking at this team as a top 3 to 5 pick in next years draft I think there’s a real chance they can push for a wild card despite the AFC being as tough as it is. While I’m far from guaranteeing that I can see a world this defense bounces back to a top 10 or so unit in the league and this offense is capable enough behind a great young OLgroup and truly dynamic run game that they’ll gut out some tough wins enough to push for a wild card spot. Now realistically I think they do fall a bit short of that and end up somewhere around 7-9 wins and end up as one of those teams that you don’t want to play if you’re pushing for a playoff spot yourself because they’re never going to lay down and let you win. I think they’ll gut out some really tough wins and really surprise some people but just lack enough high end talent to put them over the edge in a packed AFC.