Quarterback

The Jets thought they were about to become Super Bowl contenders when they traded for Aaron Rodgers two off-seasons ago, hoping to pair the talented veteran quarterback with a defense that was already one of the best in the league. However, that didn’t go according to plan. Rodgers lasted four snaps into his first season in New York, going down for the season with a torn achilles, and a league worst quarterback situation in his absence wasted a dominant defensive performance, as the Jets finished just 7-10, despite ranking 1st in yards per play allowed and 2nd in first down rate allowed.

Rodgers returned in 2024, but the offense still wasn’t as good as expected, finishing 21st in yards per play and 17th in first down rate, while the defense was even more disappointing, still ranking 2nd in yards per play allowed, but plummeting to 22nd in first down rate allowed. That was partially due to the Jets’ defense losing some key players between 2023 and 2024, but the bigger issue is the Jets fired defensive minded head coach Robert Saleh after a disappointing 2-3 start and, without him, the defense totally collapsed, leading to the team finishing 5-12 overall, including 3-9 after firing Saleh.

The Jets went all in on trying to compete over the past two seasons and, after disappointing in both seasons, opted to go into a full rebuild this off-season, going from 7th in average age and 9th in average annual value of their roster in 2024 to 28th in average age and 24th in average annual value of their roster in 2025. Rodgers and several other expensive aging veterans were either released or not retained as free agents and new defensive minded head coach Aaron Glenn will attempt to resurrect what is left of a once dominant defensive unit.

With this year’s quarterback class being a below average one, the Jets opted to address the quarterback position in free agency, signing Justin Fields to a 2-year, 40 million dollar deal with 30 million guaranteed. Fields was the 11th overall pick in the draft just four years ago, has had his moments, and is still only going into his age 26 season, so he was a worthwhile flier for the Jets, but it seems unlikely that this will be the situation that finally gets the most out of him, given all of the other issues the Jets have. He will probably be a downgrade from Aaron Rodgers who, while he wasn’t as good as he had been in the past and while this team disappointed overall, still had a solid 77.8 PFF grade in 2024.

In four seasons in the league, Fields has made 44 starts and has completed 61.1% of his passes for an average of 6.95 YPA, 45 touchdowns, and 31 interceptions as a passer, while excelling on the ground with 6.00 YPC and 19 touchdowns on 418 carries. In terms of PFF grade, he has been at 64.2, 70.2, 74.6, and 71.5 over those four seasons. I would expect more of the same from him in 2025, but he was probably the best option the Jets could have hoped for this off-season. He at least has some upside and, in the likely scenario he doesn’t make good on that upside, the Jets would be better positioned to be selecting high in a much better quarterback draft in 2026.

Fields will be backed up by Tyrod Taylor, who has made 58 starts in his career, completing 61.9% of his passes for an average of 6.99 YPA, 68 touchdowns, and 29 interceptions, while rushing for 5.60 YPC and 19 touchdowns on 407 carries. However, he is now in his age 36 season and is only a backup at this stage of his career, albeit an above average backup. If Fields struggles as expected, there is a good chance he gets benched for Taylor at some point this season, but Taylor wouldn’t necessarily be an upgrade and he doesn’t nearly have the upside Fields has.

Grade: B-

Receiving Corps

In addition to released Rodgers’ ahead of a 37.5 million dollar non-guaranteed salary, they also got rid of his long-time #1 receiver Davante Adams, ahead of a 36.25 million dollar non-guaranteed salary. Adams was acquired mid-season from the Raiders last year and proceeded to be Rodgers’ best receiver the rest of the way, with a 67/854/7 slash line in just 11 games, averaging a team leading 2.16 yards per route run. The Jets did keep another favorite target of Rodgers’ this off-season, Aaron Lazard, but only after he agreed to slash the remaining non-guaranteed 22 million over 2 years left on his contract down to a 1-year, 2.5 million dollar deal.

Garrett Wilson was the Jets #1 receiver before Adams was added and, even after taking a backseat to Adams for most of last season, he still finished last season with a 101/1104/7 slash line and a 1.69 yards per route run average. Overall, the 2022 1st round pick has exceeded 1000 yards receiving in all three seasons in the league, with an average slash line of 93/1083/5 and a yards per route run average of 1.69, despite inconsistent at best quarterback play. His quarterback play probably won’t be better this season, but he comes with a high floor and, still only in his age 25 season, he also comes with additional upside.

Even though he had to take a big pay cut to stay on the roster, Allen Lazard still figures to have a significant passing game role by default, given the Jets’ other options. Lazard has made a living off of having chemistry with Aaron Rodgers, but, even though he has played with Rodgers for most of his career, he still only has a 1.31 yards per route run average for his career, including 1.26 last season. Now going into his age 30 season, without his favorite quarterback, he figures to be even more inefficient. 

The Jets’ don’t have a better #2 option though, as the rest of the depth chart consists of veteran journeyman free agent addition Josh Reynolds, who has averaged 1.21 yards per route run in eight seasons in the league and now heads into his age 30 season, fellow veteran journeyman free agent addition Tyler Johnson, who has averaged 1.06 yards per route run in five seasons in the league, 4th round rookie Arian Smith, who is unlikely to make a significant positive impact in year one, and 2024 3rd round pick Malachi Coley, who averaged just 0.34 yards per route run as a rookie. Reynolds is probably the favorite for the #3 receiver job by default, in a very thin position group.

Given their issues at wide receiver, the Jets might focus more of their passing game on the tight end position this off-season. However, the Jets top tight end is second round rookie Mason Taylor, who has a big upside, but could be an inefficient target in a big role in year one. His only competition for the top tight end job is 2022 3rd round pick Jeremy Ruckert, who has finished below 60 on PFF in all three seasons in the league, while averaging 0.83 yards per route run, and free agent addition Stone Smartt, who has never played more than 307 snaps in a season in three years in the league, while averaging just 1.17 yards per route run in a situational role. Taylor will likely have to be a big part of this passing game whether he is ready for that or not. Outside of talented #1 receiver Garrett Wilson, this offense severely lacks reliable pass catchers.

Grade: B-

Offensive Line

The Jets also let go of their two tackles from a year ago, Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses, who had PFF grades of 73.7 and 63.3, but were heading into their age 35 and age 34 seasons respectively. To replace them, the Jets will promote swing tackle Olu Fashanu, a 2024 1st round pick who had a 61.2 PFF grade across 7 starts as a rookie, and they drafted Armand Membou in the first round of this year’s draft to give them a long-term bookend. Both are inexperienced and raw, but both have huge upsides and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they were at least a solid duo in 2025. Fashanu figures to start at left tackle, while Membou stays at his collegiate position of right tackle.

The rest of the Jets’ offensive line remains the same as last year, which is a good thing, as this was actually a solid unit, ranking 17th in pass block grade and 12th in run block grade on PFF. Right guard Alijah Vera-Tucker is also a former first round pick, selected 14th overall in 2021. Last year he had a career best 77.7 PFF grade, but that didn’t come out of nowhere, as he had PFF grades of 66.8, 71.8, and 71.7 in his first three seasons in the league. The problem is he missed 20 games due to injury over those three seasons, before making 15 starts in 2024. He’s always had a lot of talent and could play at a similar level in 2025 as he did in 2024, but he remains a higher than average injury risk.

Center Joe Tippmann is also a recent high draft pick, selected in the 2nd round in 2023. He had a decent rookie year with a 61.0 PFF grade across 14 starts, before taking a step forward with a 73.4 PFF grade across 17 starts in 2024. He’s technically still a one-year wonder in terms of playing at the level he played at last season, but he could easily continue playing at an above average level and may have further untapped upside, still only in his age 24 season.

The biggest surprise on this offensive line last season was left guard John Simpson, who had a 77.3 PFF grade in 17 starts, after finishing below 60 on PFF in each of his first four seasons in the league prior to last season. It’s possible the former 2020 4th round pick has permanently turned a corner and will remain an above average starter, but he also could easily regress and prove last season to be a fluke. 

Max Mitchell will likely be the swing tackle. The 2022 4th round pick has received PFF grades of 55.5, 49.3, and 65.1 in three seasons in the league, across 14 starts. He did take a step forward in his third season in the league last season and he’s not a bad backup, but he could still struggle if forced into a significant role. On the interior, the Jets have 2020 6th round pick Jake Hanson, who has been mediocre in seven career starts, and free agent addition Josh Myers, a 2021 2nd round pick who has made 56 starts in four seasons in the league, but who has mostly been mediocre, with PFF grades of 58.3, 60.4, 55.8, and 55.7. The Jets have a promising tackle duo of back-to-back first round picks and they have three players coming off great seasons on the interior, though all three of them had career best years and they might not repeat those seasons again in 2025. Still, this looks like an above average offensive line.

Grade: B+

Running Backs

The Jets’ running game wasn’t bad last season, ranking 16th in the NFL with 4.30 yards per carry, but lead back Breece Hall was a bit of a disappointment. A 2nd round pick in 2022, Hall averaged 4.81 YPC on 303 carries with 1.82 yards per route run across his first two seasons in the league, despite a torn ACL that ended his rookie season and affected him into his second season. Going into 2024, another year removed from the injury, many were expecting a breakout year for Hall, but he only averaged 4.19 YPC on 209 carries with 1.26 yards per route run.

Not only was Hall not as effective as expected, but he ceded more carries to 4th round rookie backup Braelon Allen than expected. Allen only averaged 3.63 yards per carry on his 92 carries, but he had a higher carry success rate than Hall, 51.1% vs. 46.4%, with his biggest issue being that he only had one carry longer than 15 yards (20) all season. I would expect a similar split between the two backs in 2025, but both could benefit from playing next to a quarterback like Justin Fields who can take off and run with the ball himself, which takes some of the defense’s focus off of the running back. Hall also has some bounce back potential from a down year in 2024 and he could have a big year as a pass catcher, given the Jets’ lack of options in the receiving game.

In addition to drafting Allen in last year’s draft, Jets also used a 5th round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft on another running back in Isaiah Davis. He averaged 5.80 YPC on 30 carries as the #3 running back last season and figures to have the same role in 2025. He probably won’t see much action, but would take over as the backup if Allen got hurt and, if Hall got hurt, Davis could see a bigger role as part of a committee with Allen. This is a solid backfield overall, even if Breece Hall didn’t have the breakout year many expected last season.

Grade: B+

Edge Defenders

The area where the Jets declined the most on defense last season was probably the edge defender position. In 2023, the Jets had a very deep group on the edge, with Jermaine Johnson, John Franklin-Myers, Bryce Huff, Michael Clemons, and Will McDonald finishing with PFF grades of 83.0, 70.4, 79.7, 65.9, and 71.6 across snap counts of 748, 626, 481, 368, and 183 respectively. Going into 2024, the Jets let go of Huff and Franklin-Myers and replaced them with Haason Reddick, while hoping for more out of 2023 1st round pick Will McDonald in his second season in the league. 

However, Reddick ended up holding out for the first seven games of the season in search of a new contract and then struggled upon his return, with a 53.5 PFF grade across 392 snaps. Meanwhile, Jermaine Johnson was limited to 82 snaps in two games by a torn achilles. The result was Will McDonald and Michael Clemons being forced into much larger roles than the year before and struggling, with PFF grades of 756 and 624 respectively across snap counts of 59.4 and 50.6 respectively.

McDonald was an above average pass rusher, with 10.5 sacks, 12 hits, and a 13.2% pressure rate, but struggled mightily in run defense. Now going into his third season in the league, McDonald still has the upside to be better in 2025, especially if he can play a smaller role, one more focused on rushing the passer in obvious passing situations. Clemons, meanwhile, is a 2022 4th round pick who flashed potential in his first two seasons in the league, also having a 78.7 PFF grade across 311 snaps as a rookie, in addition to his solid 2023 season. He could have a bounce back year if he is allowed to play a smaller role.

Haason Reddick is gone, but Johnson’s return could make a huge impact if he can return to form, as he not only dominated in 2023, but he is a 2022 1st round pick who also flashed potential with a 71.7 PFF grade across 312 snaps as a rookie. Johnson might not play quite as well in 2025 as he did in 2023, in his first season back from injury, but he should still be an above average player. The Jets also used a 5th round pick on Tyler Baron and have 2024 undrafted free agent Eric Watts, who had a decent 66.1 grade across 231 snaps as a rookie. They will compete for a deep reserve role. This position group is not nearly as deep as it once was and both McDonald and Clemons will probably have to play bigger roles than they should, but the re-addition of Jermaine Johnson should be a big boost.

Grade: B

Interior Defenders

The Jets’ interior defenders also disappointed last season. The personnel was largely the same as 2023, but top interior defender Quinnen Williams fell to a 69.6 PFF grade, after receiving PFF grades of 90.1 and 90.6 in 2022 and 2023 respectively. The 3rd overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Williams was inconsistent early in his career, finishing with PFF grades of 67.4, 81.4, and 64.4 in his first three seasons in the league, but it seemed like he had permanently turned a corner after back-to-back dominant seasons in 2022 and 2023. Williams is still only going into his age 28 season, so he has obvious bounce back potential, but that is not a guarantee, given his history of inconsistency and given that he had his best years under Robert Saleh, who is no longer with the team.

The Jets will need Williams to return to form because the rest of this position group is a significant issue. Javon Kinlaw and Solomon Thomas, who struggled with PFF grades of 53.4 and 45.6 across snap counts of 695 and 458 last season, are no longer with the team, but the players the Jets added to replace them aren’t necessarily upgrades. Derrick Nnadi, signed from the Chiefs, has finished below 60 on PFF in four straight seasons on an average of just 290 snaps per season, including a career worst 35.8 PFF grade across a career low 221 snaps in 2024. 

Byron Cowart, signed from the Bears, has finished below 60 on PFF in every season in his career in which he has played significant snaps, including a 58.9 PFF grade across 335 snaps in 2024. Jay Tufele, signed from the Bengals, has never finished above 60 on PFF in four seasons in the league, while playing an average of just 132 snaps per season, including a career worst 44.4 PFF grade across a career high 242 snaps in 2024. The Jets do have Leonard Taylor, who showed some potential with a 62.7 PFF grade across 261 snaps last season, but that’s a small sample size for a 2024 undrafted free agent and it still wouldn’t be a surprise if he never developed into even a solid rotational player. Outside of Quinnen Williams, who is coming off of a down year, this position group has a lot of problems. 

Grade: B

Linebackers

The Jets’ linebackers were also disappointing in 2024. In 2023, CJ Mosley and Quincy Williams were one of the best linebacker duos in the league, with PFF grades of 82.9 and 81.1 respectively, but in 2024 Mosley was limited to 110 snaps in four games by injury, while Williams fell to a 68.0 PFF grade. Fortunately, the Jets did have Jamien Sherwood step up. A 2021 5th round pick who had only played 357 snaps in his first three seasons prior to last season, Sherwood ended up playing 1,063 snaps as the replacement for Mosley and finished the season with a 73.8 PFF grade. He’s still a one-year wonder, but that season didn’t come out of nowhere, as he had PFF grades of 79.1 and 76.1 in 2022 and 2023 respectively as well, albeit on snap counts of 25 and 193 respectively. He might prove to be unable to repeat last season’s career best year, but he also could remain an above average every down starter.

Williams, meanwhile, is a one-year wonder in terms of playing at the level he played at in 2023, so he’s no guarantee to bounce back in 2025. Prior to his back-to-back above average seasons, Williams finished below 60 on PFF in each of his first four seasons in the league, after being selected in the 3rd round in 2019. Williams is unlikely to reach his 2023 heights again, but he’s also even more unlikely to regress back to his pre-2023 form. Another season similar to 2024 seems like the most likely outcome for him in 2025.

With Mosley not being retained this off-season, the Jets needed to replenish depth at the linebacker position and attempted to do so by signing Jamin Davis. A 2021 1st round pick, Davis had some decent seasons in Washington early in his career, with PFF grades of 62.9 and 67.6 respectively on snap counts of 833 and 742 respectively in 2022 and 2023 respectively, but he fell to a 51.1 PFF grade across just 107 snaps in 2024, a season he began with Washington and ended with Minnesota, after Washington cut him mid-season. 

Only going into his age 27 season, Davis is not a bad depth option, but the Jets will obviously be hoping he doesn’t have to see significant action in 2025. Aside from Davis, their other depth options are 2023 6th round pick Zaire Barnes, who hasn’t played a defensive snap in two seasons in the league, and 5th round rookie Francisco Mauigoa. Williams and Sherwood are a solid starting duo and Davis isn’t bad depth, but this position group is unlikely to be as good as they were in 2023, when they were one of the best in the NFL.

Grade: B+

Secondary

Cornerback Sauce Gardner also had a disappointing season in 2024, falling from PFF grades of 87.9 and 88.6 in his first two seasons in the league in 2022 and 2023 respectively to a 70.2 PFF grade in 2024. The 4th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Gardner has obvious bounce back potential in 2025, still only in his age 25 season, but there is a chance he never quite is the same as he was in 2022 and 2023, without his old head coach Robert Saleh.

While Gardner should be better this season, this cornerback group probably won’t be because they lost their other outside cornerback, DJ Reed, in free agency and he stepped up while Gardner was struggling by his standards to lead all Jets cornerbacks with a 70.7 PFF grade. In his place, the Jets signed veteran Brandon Stephens and used a third round pick on Azareye’h Thomas. Stephens will probably get the first crack at the starting job, but he’s an underwhelming option. He had a 69.2 PFF grade across 1,078 snaps in 2023, but the 2021 3rd round pick has finished below 60 on PFF in his other three seasons in the league, including a 55.8 PFF grade in 2024.

Slot cornerback Michael Carter also had a down year in 2024. After receiving PFF grades of 73.5 and 80.4 across snap counts of 732 and 671 respectively in 2022 and 2023, Carter fell to a 50.7 PFF grade last season and only played 285 snaps in 13 games because he ceded snaps down the stretch to Isaiah Oliver. Carter is still only in his age 26 season, so he could bounce back in 2025, but he could also be another player who won’t be the same without Robert Saleh. He also isn’t guaranteed to get his starting job back, as Oliver remains on the roster as competition. 

Oliver, who also played some safety last season, finished the 2024 season with a 65.1 PFF grade across 576 snaps. That was his fourth season straight above 60 on PFF, but he has only averaged 397 snaps per season over that stretch and he has never had a season in seven seasons in the league in which he had a PFF grade higher than 60 and a snap count higher than 600 in the same season. He might be best as a versatile reserve, rather than a starting slot cornerback, but he could still beat out Carter if Carter can’t bounce back.

Including Oliver, the Jets had five players make starts at safety last season. Aside from Oliver, who is likely to primarily be a cornerback this season, only one other safety, Tony Adams, remains as Ashtyn Davis (71.1 PFF grade across 260 snaps), Jalen Mills (63.4 PFF grade across 457 snaps), and Chuck Clark (50.8 PFF grade across 709 snaps) were not retained this off-season. Adams, who had a 66.4 PFF grade across 764 snaps last season, after a 68.0 PFF grade across 879 snaps in the first significant action of his career in 2023, is likely locked into one of the starting safety jobs in 2025.

At the other safety spot, the Jets will start free agent addition Andre Cisco. Cisco had a down year in 2024, finishing with a 58.8 PFF grade across 979 snaps, but he had PFF grades of 67.9, 67.1, and 68.9 across snap counts of 247, 992, and 848 over the first three seasons of his career prior to last season and the 2021 3rd round pick is still only going into his age 25 season, so he has obvious bounce back potential. He and Adams will likely be a decent, but unspectacular safety duo.

Aside from the hybrid Oliver, the Jets depth options at safety are limited. The Jets used a 4th round pick in this year’s draft on Malachi Moore, but he would almost definitely struggle if forced into a starting role as a rookie by injuries ahead of him on the depth chart. Jaylin Simpson, meanwhile, was a 5th round pick in 2024, but didn’t play a snap as a rookie and also would likely struggle if forced into a starting role by injuries ahead of him on the depth chart. The Jets are likely to get a bounce back season from #1 cornerback Sauce Gardner, but they lost DJ Reed this off-season and, aside from Gardner, their secondary is underwhelming overall.

Grade: B

Kicker

The Jets cycled through five different kickers who attempted kicks for them in 2024. Only one of those kickers remains on the roster, Anders Carlson, and he is likely the favorite for the job, with his top competition being undrafted rookie Caden Davis. Carlson was a 6th round pick by the Packers in 2023, but only lasted one season there because he was the second worst kicker in the league statistically, costing the Packers 11.92 points below average. Last season, Carlson played for both the 49ers and Jets and was better, only 0.63 points below average, and he could continue getting better going forward, but he is still an underwhelming primary option.

Grade: C+

Conclusion

The Jets are starting a rebuild, after unsuccessfully going all in during the brief Aaron Rodgers era. The result is a young roster with some very underwhelming position groups and noticeable needs. The Jets might not quite be one of the worst teams in the league this season and they have a weak schedule, but they seem very unlikely to contend for a playoff spot.

Update: The Jets upgraded their kicker position in a big way with the addition of Nick Folk, but the loss of Alijah Vera-Tucker for the season is a big blow to this team’s offense.

Prediction: 6-11, 4th in AFC East