Less than 20 days remain until rookies report to New York Jets training camp in Florham Park, which means we’re almost out of the “offseason rankings” portion of the NFL calendar.
Until then, we’ve got some more rankings to unpack.
ESPN recently ranked all 32 starting lineups across the NFL, an interesting twist to your typical “power rankings”. The Jets’ placement is actually noticeably higher than their current Super Bowl odds, which are the third-lowest in the league (+35000, per FanDuel Sportsbook).
New York placed 25th. This puts them one spot ahead of the New Orleans Saints and one spot behind the Carolina Panthers.
The article listed off-ball linebacker as the Jets’ greatest position of strength, citing Demario Davis’ status as one of the best players in the league at his position, even at age 37. As for the biggest weakness, this one was no surprise: quarterback. Geno Smith was one of the worst starters in the NFL last season and must prove he can bounce back to his form with the Seahawks from 2022-24.
ESPN listed the Jets’ young pass catchers as the team’s biggest “X-factor”.
“Young pass catchers. Imagine a world where Adonai Mitchell fulfills his tantalizing promise while Omar Cooper Jr. and Kenyon Sadiq are instant-impact rookies. Suddenly, the Jets would be flush with talent. But none of those three players are guaranteed producers. If they all flop, things would revert to Garrett Wilson not getting much help.”
That’s a fantastic choice. The Jets badly needed pass-catching help this offseason, and they opted to rely entirely on the draft to get it. They are also still poised to count on two young players who are holdovers from last season, trade pickup Adonai Mitchell and 2025 fourth-round pick Arian Smith. This approach could pay immense dividends, or it could completely bust. New York clearly preferred the high-risk, high-reward route.
What do we think? Is the No. 25 spot a bit generous for the Jets at this stage? Or is their starting lineup more competent than some people think?
