PFF ranked the New York Jets’ roster 30th-best in the league, besting only the Detroit Lions and Houston Texans.
December is six months away, but New York Jets fans are asking Pro Football Focus to check this list twice.
In a tweet posted late Thursday night, Ben Linsey of the analytic statistical service claimed that the Jets have the third-worst roster in the NFL, unveiling the league’s bottom five. Only the Detroit Lions and Houston Texans rank below the Jets while the Jacksonville Jaguars and Philadelphia Eagles lie just ahead. Notably, each of the five teams is led by a new head coach, with Robert Saleh now at the helm of the Jets.
It’s likely that even the most loyal and die-hard Jets fan was expecting the team to appear at or near the top of such lists, especially after a two-win season. But many Gang Green fans were displeased that their team was so low, particularly after an eventful offseason that was praised by fans and analysts alike.
PFF, in fact, was particularly complimentary toward the team’s spring endeavors. Linsey himself ranked the Jets’ revamped defensive line amongst the league’s top ten and later placed four green interior defensive linemen in his top 30. Another video from PFF claimed that the Jets were the third-most improved team from last season, bested only by New England and Cleveland.
Jets fans were quick to reply to the perceived slight.
— Ryan "The Cardinal" McC. ✍️🎧🎙️ (@WhoIsRyanMcC) July 2, 2021
PFF rating the #Jets roster 30th in the NFL pic.twitter.com/CsSslIvFHr
— NYJ MIKE (@NyjMike) July 2, 2021
The Jets are gonna surprise a lot of ppl next year
— K. Alex (@K_Alex1) July 2, 2021
In either case, the placement goes to show how much work needs to be done before the Jets officially returned to professional relevancy. The team undoubtedly got better for reasons far beyond the macabre implication that things simply couldn’t get any worse from last season.
But until those improvements make themselves apparent on the field, it’s going to be hard to convince observers to retire the “Same Old Jets” moniker.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
