Last season, the New York Jets had so much hype surrounding them. Though they didn’t live up to it. However, now with a healthy quarterback and improved supporting cast, it’s time for the Jets to prove their worth in 2024. Welcome back to another edition of ‘The Super Bowl Race In The Perspective of Chase’, and today we will preview the New York Jets 2024 season.
2023 Season
Expectations were high for the New York Jets after they landed 4x MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers in a trade. Pair him alongside their talented group on both sides of the ball that had just showed major promise in 2022, and many expected the Jets to be a real contender in 2023. Well…Aaron Rodgers had other plans. He only played four offensive snaps before tearing his achilles, a season ending injury requiring surgery. And the team wasn’t talented enough next to him to make it work with Zach Wilson. While he had the best season of his career…it doesn’t take much. Eventually it got so bad that New York had to turn to Trevor Siemian and Tim Boyle for five games this season. And as good as they’re defense was front to bottom, as good as Breece Hall was a dynamic player and all of these other great things, there’s not much the squad could do without their quarterback. And they capped up their season with their 13th straight year with no postseason appearance, becoming the longest active playoff drought amongst the other big four sports.
Offseason Additions and Losses
Now with a hopefully productive and healthy Aaron Rodgers, the Jets came into this offseason trying to capitalize on that window and build around their 40 year old quarterback. That started with the offensive line. The big move was signing former Cowboys tackle and 8x Pro Bowler Tyron Smith to a one year deal. While he is getting older, he will be the glue to the O-Line in 2024. They also traded some low-value draft capital to bring Ravens tackle Morgan Moses back to New York, and signed former Ravens guard John Simpson. And even with their 11th overall pick, they selected OT Olumuyiwa Fashanu. Now the Jets have a more than capable offensive line if they can stay healthy. But they also added former Chargers receiver Mike Williams, who like the rest will be a high-impact addition if he can stay healthy as the WR2 on this depth chart. They also signed Javon Kinlaw to improve the defensive line and signed Tyrod Taylor for quarterback depth in case Rodgers isn’t healthy. So the Jets did a great job at building around Rodgers and his needs, and these pieces will be great. They just have to hope these veterans can stay healthy.
X-Factor: Breece Hall
It sounds obvious, but Hall is one of the more dominant forces at the running back position the game has to offer. Coming off of an ACL tear, Hall played all 17 games while rushing for nearly 1,000 yards and ranked second amongst running backs and fourth amongst skill position players in scrimmage yards last year. He did this while on a playing-time restriction to begin his season. He has that dawg in him! He is dynamic. He can run, but he can also catch, and is a valuable piece on both. And he showed that if Rodgers were to go down again, he can find success with any quarterback that is at least capable enough of getting him the football. He is elusive, explosive and his ability to create separation with the ball makes him one of the NFL’s best running backs. He will be a major difference maker this coming year.
Reason for Concern: Aaron Rodgers
It sounds crazy, right? The 4x MVP at the quarterback position is the thing to be concerned about? Well…yes. I am a huge fan of Rodgers, and I wish him nothing but success in a Jets uniform. But I don’t know how much more he has to give. I mean, the man is 40 years old coming off of a serious achilles tear injury. That isn’t always the recipe to success. The good thing for Rodgers is that he’s not as mobile and works his magic from the pocket, meaning his injury may not affect his play as much as it would to a Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes type-player. But in the pocket, we saw Rodgers display a somewhat disappointing season in 2022–his last full season in the league–with a higher turnover rate and less pocket presence than what we used to see from him. Luckily for Rodgers, he may have enough playmakers on offense to where he doesn’t have to be the difference maker he used to be. But if this team is eying a Super Bowl, I’m concerned the Jets will face some struggles with Rodgers trying to get them there.
Reason for Promise: The Defense
I don’t think the Jets defense gets recognized as much as it good. This is a very solid, productive, physical and talented group on all levels. First on the defensive line: it all starts with Quinnen Williams. New York signed him to a massive deal last offseason, and his dominant physical traits has allowed him to become a force on the line. They added Kinlaw, who was a tremendous run-stopper in San Francisco last season. Jermaine Johnson is also an incredible pass rusher after a 7.5 sack season, and if he plays, we know Hasson Reddick is a beast. Their two inside/middle linebackers are both also great players. C.J. Mosley has been one of the best linebackers in the league for a while now, and is coming off of three straight 150 tackle seasons while missing just one game. Quincy Williams, their other linebacker, just made 1st team All-Pro. And in the secondary, Sauce Gardner has 2x All Pro team appearances in two seasons, and D.J. Reed and Chuck Clark are other great pieces. There’s a reason why this was one of the NFL’s best scoring defenses last season, and they have the potential to do it again this season.
Prediction
It’s hard to predict what the Jets will do, not knowing their health situation. The injury bug has hurt them terribly over the past few years to some of their most important players. And they added players who are prone to get hurt. However, even if this team stays relatively healthy, I don’t think their in that Super Bowl echelon. I think they’re a step or two away. The team hasn’t made the postseason in 13 years; to label them as Super Bowl contenders before one playoff win is extreme. They also find themselves in a division where either themselves, Miami or Buffalo will win that division, and in a conference with a stacked Wild Card race. I think the Jets will be around postseason caliber, and will sneak in if they stay healthy. I just can’t imagine them doing much there in 2024.
Leave a Reply