Wide Receiver

Santonio Holmes is expected back in 2012 (the Jets already paid a 7.5 million dollar roster bonus) even though he and Mark Sanchez have a strained, at best, relationship. However, it is Plaxico Burress who is not expected back next season. They really need a new receiver opposite Holmes and perhaps another one for depth purposes, depending on what they think of Jeremy Kerley, their 5^th rounder last year who was solid, at times, in the slot as a rookie.

Offensive Tackle

Wayne Hunter was one of the worst starting offensive linemen in the league. He surrendered 11 sacks and 32 pressures last year, while committing 11 penalties and this was on the right side, not even against the opponent best pass rusher on a weekly basis. They’ll need to address this position through the draft.

Rush Linebacker

It’s a bad thing when a former first round pick bust leads your team in sacks despite being listed at 228 pounds and only recording 11 total tackles on the season, but that’s exactly what happened with the Jets when Aaron Maybin led the way with 6. Maybin seems to have found a nice role as a situational rusher, but they need help at the starting rush linebacker spots. Calvin Pace is a 31 year old declining player who managed just 4.5 sacks last year. Bryan Thomas will be 33 and coming off a major injury, while Thomas’ replacement, Jamaal Westerman, hardly dropped any jaws in Thomas’ absence, totaling 3.5 sacks. The Jets, as a team, managed just 35 sacks last season, despite blitzing so much. They need to get better at rushing the passer without blitzing. I can’t see Courtney Upshaw falling past them at 16.

Safety

Jim Leonhard is a solid player, but he can’t stay healthy. In his absence, Eric Smith is perennially awful. As a Patriots fan, I love watching him try to cover Rob Gronkowski twice per year. Meanwhile, at the other safety spot, Brodney Pool is decent, but not great. They need another safety in the mix. 

3-4 Defensive End

They addressed this position in the first round last year with Muhammad Wilkerson, but they still need help there. Wilkerson had a good rookie year, but they need a pass rushing compliment for Mike DeVito opposite him. DeVito is great against the run, but offers absolutely no pass rush. His passing rushing compliment, Marcus Thomas, did not do well in that role last year.

Quarterback

Depending on who you ask, Mark Sanchez is either the worst quarterback in the league or definitely the week 1 starter. I think it’s more towards the later, although I could definitely see them bringing in a quarterback to push him as his backup. At the very least, this quarterback can be a better backup than the ancient Mark Brunell.

Nose Tackle

Sione Pouha had another great season, but he is a 33 year old free agent. They drafted Kenrick Ellis in the 3^rd round last year just in case, but there’s a chance that he gets deported this offseason. They could bring in another nose tackle.

Cornerback

Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie are more than fine as the starters, but 2010 1^st round pick Kyle Wilson continues to struggle as the nickelback. Some competition to push him in his 3^rd season wouldn’t hurt.

Center

Their offense was a mess when Nick Mangold was out this season. Obviously, it’s always going to hurt to lose a player of Mangold’s caliber to injury, but if they had a better backup, they could avoid complete catastrophe in case of any future Mangold injuries.