Despite what many felt was a talented roster in 2024, the New York Jets failed to impress, to put it lightly, posting a 5-12 record. Now rolling out new faces at quarterback, head coach, and general manager, the Jets are hoping to be on the upswing moving forward.
Still, there are some detractors for an unproven Jets team with unproven names in key positions.
Pro Football Focus' Max Chadwick and Dalton Wasserman ranked every NFL roster for 2025, noting strengths, weaknesses, and x-factors for every team's starting lineup. The Jets did not fare well in the pair's assessment, ranked as just the No. 28 overall roster in the NFL.
The biggest strength for the Jets, according to Chadwick and Wasserman, is the offensive line.
"The Jets fielded the eighth-highest-graded offensive line in the NFL this past season (76.3)." Chadwick and Wasserman wrote. "That’s especially exciting when considering how young New York’s front-five is. The Jets return four of five starters from last year, and all four will be 28 years old or younger in the 2025 season. New York’s one weakness on the offensive line, right tackle, was addressed when the team selected Missouri’s Armand Membou with the No. 7 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft."
On the flip side, PFF was not as excited about the Jets' prospects on defense, noting the team's weakness as "a defense that fell off a cliff."
"In 2023, the Jets clawed their way to a 7-10 record with the league’s lowest-graded offense and highest-graded defense (90.0)." Wasserman and Chadwick noted. "The following season, New York’s PFF defensive grade free-fell to a 64.0 mark, which ranked eighth worst. New head coach Aaron Glenn will be focused on getting the Jets' defense back to its elite ways this season."
The x-fator for the Jets isn't particularly surprising: New quarterback Justin Fields, who has the potential for a boom-or-bust season.
"New York finally moved on from the failed Aaron Rodgers experiment and replaced him with Justin Fields on a two-year, $40 million contract." Chadwick and Wasserman wrote. "Fields has never been a top-20 quarterback in PFF overall grade in any of his four seasons, but he’s still only 26 years old and will be reuniting with Garrett Wilson, whom he threw passes to at Ohio State. With an underwhelming receiving corps outside of Wilson, the Jets would be wise to tap into Fields’ rushing ability as much as possible."
Wasserman and Chadwick also selected a rookie to watch, and despite high praise for the Jets' first round pick Membou, it was actually second round selection Mason Taylor.
"New York doesn’t have a legitimate pass catcher outside of Garrett Wilson. The Jets will be hoping that second-round pick Mason Taylor can assuage those concerns at tight end." Wasserman and Chadwick added. "The son of Hall of Famer Jason Taylor is very athletic with strong hands for the position, dropping just 1.7% of his catchable targets this past season."