AV: I think the Jets will take a noticeable statistical jump in the receiving category. With Geno Smith throwing the rock this season, there's good reason to believe the Jets WRs will have a production increase. Last season with the Raiders, Smith threw for over 3,000 yards and his top two targets, WR Tre Tucker and TE Brock Bowers, nearly had 700 receiving yards each. Smith's 67.4 % completion rate ranked 11th in the league, and his career-best was 70.4 % during his last year with the Seahawks in 2024. Garrett Wilson led all Jets targets in 2025 with 395 yards, and he missed a majority of the season with a knee injury. TE Mason Taylor had the most receptions (44). Wilson is back healthy and will get to share the field with Adonai Mitchell for the first time since he joined the Jets halfway through the 2025 season. Mitchell played in 8 games and had 301 yards. During OTAs, he and Smith already started building a good relationship. Once the pads come on in training camp, we'll get a better look about what rookie Omar Cooper Jr. is capable of. The WR from Indiana can be explosive and gain several yards after the catch. So, between Wilson, Mitchell and Cooper, I don't think it's unreasonable to think that at least two of them could surpass 500 yards this season.
JB: As the well-worn cliche goes, there's nowhere to go but up. For the Jets' secondary it's a fact when it comes to picking off the aerial offerings from the opposition after not nabbing a pickoff last season. As the players in the building know full well -- from new acquisitions like Minkah Fitzpatrick, Nahshon Wright and rookie D'Angelo Ponds, to holdovers Brandon Stephens and Azareye'h Thomas -- getting the ball back for the offense is one of the keys to success in the upcoming 2026 NFL season and interceptions can be game changers. Stephens even said so last month during minicamp. "It's hard to believe that could happen that could happen, but it happened," Stephens said. "At the end of the season, you keep it in the back of your mind, but you flush it so it doesn't happen again. All the guys are taking it personally because it's part of our nature." The signing of Wright, who was a standout last season with the Bears, has the potential to change the narrative in the defensive backfield. "He had five picks last year," Stephens said "The elephant in the room is we didn't have any last year, so that's a focal point going into this season. He's an incredible player with great instincts, which you need on the outside, as a corner group specifically. He's a great addition to our defense." Ponds, the team's second round draft pick (No. 50 overall) in the draft, could be a productive wild card. The diminutive CB has shown he has a nose for the ball.