Well Buffalo Bills fans, we’ve arrived at peak hope season on the NFL calendar. The ebbs and flows of the offseason can be meaningful, especially during the main player acquisition phase that runs from March until the end of the April.
If a team hasn’t done anything in the first few hours of the free-agency negotiating window, the murmurs of disapproval begin in the dark corners of the internet. Conversely, if a team makes a widely approved big splash in the NFL Draft with a consensus player, the optimism for the coming year or years isn’t just restored, but amplified. And between these two polar opposite reactions, there are many other inflection points ranging from detached apathy to mild and optimistic curiosity.
Just a few weeks after the NFL Draft, we reach a point where fan bases (overall) have completely bought into their teams’ draft classes. They’ve watched all the hype videos and seen the behind-the-scenes moments of draft night — that clearly prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the players selected by their team were the ideal and most desired picks at every single spot.
People are ready to believe. But it’s not just Bills Mafia that’s ready. The remainder of the AFC East teams made moves to inspire hope in their respective fan bases as well. We’ve already discussed the 2025 NFL Draft acquisitions made by the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins. For the conclusion of this series, we’ll outline the New York Jersey Jets and their draft class.
Finally free from the Aaron Rodgers drama that engulfed the team over the last two seasons, the Jets are looking at a fresh start from the top of their organization. They have a new general manager (Darren Mougey, formerly the assistant general manager for the Denver Broncos), a new head coach (Aaron Glenn, previously the defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions), and a new starting quarterback (Justin Fields, drafted by the Chicago Bears, and most recently of the Pittsburgh Steelers).
The thing that makes the Jets’ offseason so interesting is the fact that most of the changes to their organization happened at the top. They didn’t make big splashes in free agency outside of the Fields addition. Safety Andre Cisco was signed to a low-cost one-year deal, cornerback Brandon Stephens came on board for a nice $12 million average annual value contract, plus some odds and ends here and there... but that’s about it.
Sometimes organizations feel the need to an entire overhaul of their personnel when a regime change comes along. The Jets made key moves at the most influential and leadership positions in the building (GM, HC, QB) and then they essentially hunkered down until the draft.
Will it pay off?
New York Jets (5-12 in 2024, 3rd in the AFC East)
Round 1, Pick 7 - Armand Membou, OT, Missouri
Round 2, Pick 42 - Mason Taylor, TE, LSU
Round 3, Pick 73 - Azareye’h Thomas, CB, Florida State
Round 4, Pick 110 - Arian Smith, WR, Georgia
Round 4, Pick 130- Malachi Moore, S, Alabama
Round 5, Pick 162 - Francisco Mauigoa, LB, Miami (FL)
Round 5, Pick 176 - Tyler Baron, DE, Miami (FL)
If you attempt to put the Jets’ offseason into the terms of “how do we make this team more like the Lions,” it would make sense that their first draft pick would be on the offensive line. Some believed Armand Membou to be the best offensive lineman in the draft and preferred him to fourth-overall pick and fellow AFC East addition Will Campbell of the New England Patriots.
Membou is a highly athletic player with strong balance and body control. He moves fluidly into his set and maintains his frame against all types of engagements. The Jets have sported a new left tackle in four of the last five years and making a pick with the attempt to solidify that position makes all the sense in the world for Detroit, I mean, the Jets.
What else does Detroit have that the Jets need? A weapon in the passing game from the tight end position. Mason Taylor (famously the son of former Dolphin and Jet Jason Taylor) is one of the youngest prospects in the class and is still developing, but he shows high-level pass-catching traits. He also played a lot of snaps in-line in the LSU offense, making the development projection not as severe as you look to envision him in an NFL system.
Taylor shows natural hands and nuanced route running that belies his age and continued willingness as a blocker. He’s an above-average athlete and shows excellent awareness in zone coverage.
With the Jets looking for answers after Garrett Wilson in the passing game (short-lived Aaron Rodgers guy Davante Adams is now a Los Angeles Ram), Taylor could see more immediate impact in terms of targets than one might otherwise expect from a young tight end rookie.
If the Jets are going to play defense anything like the Lions did under Glenn, Azareye’h Thomas fits like a glove and hopefully (for them) covers like one too. Detroit ran Cover 1 on the overwhelming plurality of their snaps in 2024, and with Sauce Gardner on the other side of the field for the Jets and D.J. Reed ironically enough leaving the team in free agency to sign with the Lions, Gang Green needed another corner with man-coverage skills to do what they’re likely going to want to do in 2025.
Thomas is a long and physical cornerback who can disrupt the timing of a route early in its process and also make plays at the catch point. While his long speed shows some opportunity for wide receivers, the Jets are hoping their pass rush can keep that from ever becoming too much of an issue.
Arian Smith can fly. Not literally, but if we’re still playing the “how does this line up with the Lions” game, Smith would represent a heavily discounted version of Detroit speedster Jameson Williams. Why “heavily discounted”? Smith’s hands are unreliable, his route running is a work in progress as an art form, and his physicality is in question.
Smith can provide more than enough speed to threaten defenses when on the field in 11 or 12 personnel, but doesn’t currently profile as a high-target player due to those limitations, much in the same way that Detroit Lions star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown paired with tight end Sam Laporta to dominate passing game targets early in Jameson Williams’ career.
Now, a few years in, Williams is beginning to see meaningful volume in that attack. That’s likely the hope for the Jets and Smith, although it’s also probable that he remains a low-volume vertical threat and screen player who assists an offense as a big-play merchant for the foreseeable future.
Malachi Moore was “the other” safety at Alabama in 2023, before superstar safety running mate and likely top 10 2026 pick Caleb Downs transferred to Ohio State and now-Lions safety Brian Branch left for the NFL. We’re once again running with the “who is this Jets player as a Lion” theme.
Now the Jets drafted who they hope can be , unsurprisingly, Moore’s former teammate Branch. Playing primarily in the slot in 2022, Moore’s box and deep snaps increased in 2023 and 2024 to the point where “alignment versatility” shows up in bold in his prospect profile.
He was a team captain in multiple years and under two different regimes. He also boasts a similar athletic profile to Branch, though his instincts aren’t on the level that Branch displayed, which means the potential for the same level of splash plays is diminished in his projection.
The Jets finished off their draft class with a pair of players from “The U” in Francisco Mauigoa and Tyler Baron. Mauigoa (who as a linebacker, Bills Mafia will appreciate goes by the nickname “Kiko”) is a thumper. His value as a run stopping linebacker is why he went later in the draft — with his movement skills and coverage projections limiting his usefulness on passing downs in a passing NFL. He’s a tone setter in the box and can play on all phases of special teams though, and can help be a culture setter for a team that will preach aggression and physicality under Glenn.
Baron shares a similar skill set to Bills draft pick Landon Jackson, with NFL size, good length, and experience playing in multiple places. The difference is that Baron isn’t the athlete that Jackson is, limiting his ability to threaten the outside hip of a tackle and muffling the effectiveness of some of the complementary inside moves. However, he is once again a prospect who plays with high motor and aggressiveness and can contribute not only on special teams, but also to the culture of the room.
With the realignment underway in New Jersey, did the Jets do enough to make noise in the division in 2024?
...and that’s the way the cookie crumbles. I’m Bruce Nolan with Buffalo Rumblings. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @BruceExclusive and look for new episodes of “The Bruce Exclusive” every Thursday on the Rumblings Cast Network — see more in my LinkTree!