Following a grotesque and utterly despicable 31-6 defeat that warrants consideration of being relegated to the UFL, the New York Jets’ 10-day dream of making a late playoff push has all but come to an end (yeah, yeah, they’re mathematically alive and every other AFC wild card contender lost). Therefore, some Jets fans are turning their attention to the 2025 NFL draft.
Jets fans have plenty of experience with the “T” word. They didn’t expect it would ever come up in 2024, let alone as soon as November 11, but it’s time to have a little talk about tanking.
Of course, the Jets’ players and coaches themselves will never consider tanking, nor should they. Every member of every NFL organization should continue attempting to rack up victories even if the team is 0-16 entering Week 18. It’s essential for the integrity of the product, and the players and coaches have no reason to care about future draft position for an organization they may not be a part of in the following season. I will never advise a team to tank, nor should you.
With that (obvious) disclaimer out of the way, let’s discuss tanking from a Jets fan perspective. Not every Jets fan has their eyes on the tank (yet), but some of them do, so this breakdown is for them.
As of the morning of Monday, November 11, the Jets currently hold the 8th pick in the 2025 NFL draft:
- Jacksonville (2-8 / .478 SOS)
- NY Giants (2-8 / .525)
- Tennessee (2-7 / .503)
- Cleveland (2-7 / .522)
- Las Vegas (2-7 / .525)
- Miami (2-6 / .438)
- New England (3-7 / .459)
- NY Jets (3-7 / .491)
- New Orleans (3-7 / .491)
- Carolina (3-7 / .494)
- Dallas (3-6 / .530)
- Indianapolis (4-6 / .466)
- Cincinnati (4-6 / .506)
- Tampa Bay (4-6 / .521)
Pro-tank fans will be happy to hear that the Jets are in a good position to continue climbing the board. In the loss column, the Jets are tied for the third-most losses in the NFL with 7, just one loss behind the Browns and Giants, who are tied for the NFL lead with 8 losses.
Additionally, the Jets are in a relatively favorable spot regarding the strength-of-schedule tiebreaker. Their current SOS (which encompasses all 17 games, even the ones they have not played yet) is .491, which is tied with New Orleans for the fourth-lowest among the 11 teams with 3 wins or fewer. Only the Dolphins (.438), Patriots (.459), and Jaguars (.478) currently have a weak enough schedule to beat the Jets in a tiebreaker.
Even more importantly, the Jets have upcoming games against two of the three teams who have an advantage over them in the SOS tiebreaker. They will visit Jacksonville in Week 15 while they have two games against the Dolphins (Weeks 14 and 18). Losses in those games would put the Jets in a particularly strong spot to climb to the top of the board.
So, yes, the Jets do still have a chance of securing the No. 1 pick if they continue losing games, albeit a small one due to the number of teams in the mix. Even if they do not land at No. 1, the Jets’ SOS puts them in a good position to land a top-five selection.
It is completely understandable if tanking is not your thing, but some fans want to hear about it, so it is a topic worth covering.
