It was a brutal 2023 season for the New York Jets. After having a ton of expectations going into the year, their hopes of snapping their playoff drought basically ended just four offensive plays into the season.
However, the bright spot for the Jets is that they are a young team and most of their core is intact.
Going into the 2024 campaign, expectations will once again be high for Gang Green. They have had a solid offseason on paper, and most importantly they are getting Aaron Rodgers back under center.
Recently, ESPN ranked all 32 NFL teams based on their rosters, and the Jets came in ranked 4th in the league.
Here’s some of what ESPN had to say about the strengths of the Jets.
Biggest strength: Cornerback. New York has the league’s top CB trio. Sauce Gardner is already arguably the league’s best corner, having been a first-team All-Pro in each of his first two seasons. Perimeter running mate D.J. Reed (fourth among CBs in tackles since 2021) is one of the league’s most underrated defensive backs, and former fifth-round flier Michael Carter has developed into one of the league’s top slot corners. – Clay
The Jets have one of the league’s best defenses
Without a doubt, the strength for the Jets is on the defensive side of ball, particularly at cornerback.
Even though the Jets had a rough 2023 season, it was clear that their defense was good enough to be a Super Bowl-caliber unit. The combination of Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed is one of the best in the league at cornerback, as Gardner is a superstar and Reed might be one of the most underrated players at the position.
While cornerback is certainly a strength for the Jets, the team obviously isn’t perfect.
New York suffered a big loss at the safety position earlier in the offseason when Jordan Whitehead left in free agency. The Jets do have some depth to replace him, but he was an impact player, and his spot is currently a question mark until someone proves otherwise.
Overall, there is a lot to like about the Jets, but there are still question marks.
Rodgers will need to stay healthy for a majority of the season for the team to accomplish what they want, and at his age (he is 40 years old), that is no guarantee.
However, with the 4th ranked roster in the league, this could finally be the year that the Jets not only snap their playoff drought, but make some noise in the playoffs.
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