There is usually one or two big stories about every NFL team, but this team has a lot of major stories. The first one is Aaron Rodgers. Yes, he will play. But how good will he be? He's 40 years old coming off an achilles tear, but he's still one of the greatest to ever do it. Keeping him healthy is the recipe for success for Gang Green.
He has the supporting cast to make this offense elite. The main duo is Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson. Wilson, entering his 3rd year in the NFL, has had back to back 1000 yard seasons with five different starting quarterbacks throwing him the football. This does not include Aaron Rodgers. With a healthy Rodgers, the sky is the limit for Garrett Wilson.
Breece Hall will also enter his third year in the NFL. He has already asserted himself as one of the top backs throughout the league. He's a threat both on the ground and through the air making him a quarterback's best friend. Coming off a near 1000 yard rushing season last year, I expect Hall to eclipse this mark by a wide margin.
The Jets got a lot better on offense after acquiring two new wide receivers: Mike Williams and Malachi Corley. Williams, a veteran wide receiver who has battled some injuries, comes over as the much needed WR2 for this Jets offense if he can remain healthy. Corley, drafted out of Western Kentucky, has showed glimpses of how dynamic he can be, but is not fully there yet.
New York is going to need Allen Lazard to have a much improved season from 2023. Part of the reason he came over to the tristate area was because of his buddy Aaron Rodgers. Entering the second year of his four year deal, Lazard will look to prove that last season was just a fluke.
The main problem on offense last season for the Jets was the offensive line. The line could be blamed for almost every disappointment in 2023. So, the front office was tired of it and went out and made the proper adjustments. One of them was signing one of the best left tackles in the NFL, Tyron Smith. The others were drafting Olu Fashanu to learn from Smith, and brining in both John Simpson and Morgan Moses.
On paper, the Jets offensive line looks like a wall and much better than it was a short time ago in 2023. The success of this team will fully depend on the well-being of the offensive line. The second worst offense in the NFL in 2023 is primed for improvement now in 2024.
Now let's talk about arguably the best defense in all of football. After ranking third in total defense last season, the Jets made just a couple of adjustments this offseason. They unfortunately had to let Bryce Huff walk this offseason as he signed with the Eagles. The price that he was asking for was too steep for a player that isn't necessarily up there as one of the best at his position in the game.
They have since replaced Huff with Haason Reddick, but this has been another one of the hot topics surrounding Gang Green. Reddick is currently in an almost 4 week holdout and in the past week, he has requested a trade that was quickly shot down by Jets General Manager, Joe Douglas.
Reddick is in the last year of his contract and is about to turn 30 years old, so he is fighting to play under a new contract. The Jets thought that Reddick would play under this current contract when they traded for him, but they were mistaken. This whole debacle needs to be solved before the regular season begins.
To state the obvious, this Jets defense is loaded everywhere you look. With Quinnen Williams manning the defensive line, to the linebacker room consisting of captain CJ Mosley and Quincy Williams, and one of the best cornerback duos in the league in Sauce Gardner and DJ Reed, this defense is absolutely frightening.
The one area they can improve upon is their rush defense, as it ranked 25th in the NFL. However, the pass defense was superb, ranking 2nd throughout the league. If the Reddick situation is resolved, there should be no problem improving the run defense.
This will be Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas' make or break year in New York. Jets fans everywhere are sick and tired of losing season after losing season. This year, with all of the talent they have, if they can stay healthy, there should be no reason why the Jets aren't back in the playoffs for the first time since 2010.
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