The Jets are feeling very good about things, with just more than a week to go before the start of the regular season.
They’ve reshaped their attitude under new coach Aaron Glenn. New GM Darren Mougey has reshaped the roster, while managing to keep a lot of proven talent at key positions.
They should be feeling good right now. They made it through camp and the preseason without any catastrophes. But what really matters is how they’re feeling after they start tallying up the wins and losses. That’s when the offseason vibes, on and off the field, become meaningless and the only thing that matters is the answer to these two questions:
Are they talented enough to win? And do they know how to win?
It might take a while to answer that second question. The 2022 Jets didn’t reveal their true selves until December, when the season came off the rails despite such a promising start.
But we should know quickly if they have enough talent to get the job done, and one of the biggest question marks is in the receiver room: Yes, they have a top-tier receiver in Garrett Wilson, who signed a big-money extension this offseason. But him, there are a lot of question marks and not a lot of proven talent; Wilson had more catches and yards in 2024 than all of his other current wide receiver teammates combined.
And so, that leads us back to the first question, and the natural follow-up to it: Do they need to add more talent at wide receiver right now to compete?
The Jets say they’re completely confident in the room, which includes veterans Allen Lazard, Josh Reynolds, and Tyler Johnson (who is currently on the practice squad, but will almost certainly be activated and play an early season role, and fourth-round pick Arian Smith out of Georgia.
“I like the room as a whole,” Mougey said. “Obviously, it starts with Garrett … he can do it all and then the pieces that go around him. I think we got pieces that complement each other there. … I feel really good about the room as a whole.,”
That’s nice. But for the Jets to get the most out of their offense, they will need one of their non-Wilson-receivers to significantly outplay their expectations. And with Lazard, Reynolds, and Johnson all established veterans that leaves Smith as the most likely breakout candidate.
And Jets director of player personnel Robbie Paton hinted this week that the team feels the same way.
“Really, really excited about this player from OTAs to training camp and into the preseason,” Paton said. “You’ve seen him just get better and better and better. He’s really going to feel like a guy that’s going to make an impact early in the season for us at receiver, giving us that explosive, take-the-top-off element on offense.”
Smith certainly has tools to be that player for the Jets, with his track-star speed and ability to make defenders miss in the open field. But there are still concerns over his struggles with drops and overall readiness to be a consistent contributor.
And that’s where this question answers itself: If a fourth-round pick, who has yet to play an NFL snap, needs to contribute immediately for the offense to function at its best, the talent isn’t where it needs to be.
Will the Jets do anything to fix it between now and the start of the regular season? That’s a toss-up. Their trade for defensive Harrison Phillips shows they’re looking for opportunities to upgrade their weaknesses.
But they seem to be looking for opportunities that cost them limited draft capital: the trade for Phillips cost them a swap of a sixth-rounder for a seventh-rounder
“Generally speaking we’re always looking to improve the roster in all different avenues,” Mougey said this week when asked if the team would part with a first-round pick for the right player via trade. “I don’t know that I have a philosophy and not really into the hypotheticals, but, we’re always going to look to improve the roster in any way we can. Today, with a vision and an insight of the future too, and what that might mean for the team.”
It wouldn’t cost that much for a weapon like disgruntled Raiders’ receiver Jakobi Meyers, who requested a trade this week. But the mid-round cost of a pick seems more than the Jets are willing to pay right now, or they would have already addressed it.
That equation might not change between now and the start of the regular season. But if their lack of depth in the receiver room becomes a liability in the regular season they’ll have to pay the cost of fixing it and the toll that comes with everyone wondering why they didn’t properly address an obvious shortcoming when they had the chance.
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.
Andy Vasquez may be reached atavasquez@njadvancemedia.com.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.