Feels Like 69? The New York Jets Are Building Something Special
The New York Jets have been caught in a lull of mediocrity and disappointment for much of the past 50 years. Between bad draft selections and horrible free agents signings, the team has never been able to put it back together again. The Jets haven’t been to the Super Bowl since 1969 and much of the fanbase have become numb to the suffering the has been bestowed upon them year after year. Thankfully, a savior has come to save the Jets from their sentence of eternal misery. That savior is GM Joe Douglas and his front office. Douglas’ work thus far as GM has been tumultuous at times, but with the Jets starting 4–2 this season, everything he has done is starting to pay off in a big way.
Douglas was hired in 2019 and his first draft at the helm came in 2020. Douglas selected Louisville offensive tackle Mekhi Becton with the 11th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. This was Douglas’ first selection as Jets GM and it has been a somewhat tumultuous pick. Becton had a terrific rookie campaign, ranking 11th in the NFL in run blocking out of all left tackles with a 73.9 grade. The 6'7, 364 pound giant also recorded a 76 pass blocking grade that year. Unfortunately, Becton has injured his knee two seasons in a row now, leading many to label the rookie sensation as a bust. Becton has also struggled with weight problems. Nonetheless, Douglas clearly had an eye for talent.
Douglas followed up his selection of Becton with the selection of wide receiver Denzel Mims with the 59th pick. The talented receiver showed flashes at times, but hasn’t lived up to his selection. Mims has yet to record a catch this season.
After the first two rounds, Douglas would miss on numerous picks but would find value in safety Ashtyn Davis at pick 68 and corner Bryce Hall at pick 159. Davis has proven to be hard hitting and a good coverage safety, reinforcing what is now one of the most talented safety rooms in the NFL. Davis recorded 3 forced fumbles and 2 INT last season and has already recored another INT this season. Hall has been a reliable slot corner in his first two seasons, but has since fallen out of favor with the team. Hall will be a good trade chip for the team at this years deadline.
Douglas would also not have the prettiest free agency, but would end up signing center Connor McGovern and right tackle George Fant. Both linemen have been reliable starters and were the first veteran linemen to join Douglas’ team, forming the foundation of the line he has built.
Douglas still wasn’t done with the offseason. On July 25th Douglas would trade young star safety Jamal Adams to the Seattle Seahawks for safety Bradley McDougald, a 2021 first round pick, 2022 first round pick, and a third rounder in 2022. At the time, this trade was questionable from Douglas, since Adams was arguably the best player on the Jets and was still extremely young. Douglas didn’t view him as the building block everyone else did, and it paid off, although not immediately.
The Jets, led by Head Coach Adam Gase, would go 2–14 in 2020 and Douglas would trade QB Sam Darnold to the Carolina Panthers at the end of the season for a 2022 2nd round and 4th round pick. Douglas also fired Gase and replaced him with former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. Douglas had officially wiped out the previous regimes mistakes and used the offseason to continue building his vision.
Douglas would select his future franchise quarterback Zach Wilson with the 2nd pick in the 2021 draft. Douglas would also use the first rounder from the Adams trade to move up and select OG/OT Alijah-Vera Tucker with the 14th pick. Douglas furthered his offensive revamp by selecting slot receiver Elijah Moore with the 34th pick and running back Michael Carter with the 107th pick. Douglas shifted to defense in the back half of the draft, notably selecting stud corner Michael Carter II at 154 and depth corner Brandin Echols at 200.
In free agency Douglas would strike signing star defensive end Carl Lawson, receiver Corey Davis, interior defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, and veteran safety Lamarcus Joyner. Through just two offseasons, Douglas had nearly built his entire offensive line and had revamped his secondary. Although all these players have been key contributors to the Jets 2022 success, Douglas’ masterclass in building through the draft and free agency can’t be explained without the 2022 offseason.
After a decent rookie season from QB Zach Wilson, the Jets finished 4–13 and sat with the 4th pick in the NFL Draft. With this pick, Douglas made arguably his best selection of his tenure. The Jets took corner Sauce Gardner out of the University of Cincinnati. In college, Gardner never had a season where he allowed a passer rating of over 40 to an opposing team. Gardner who stands 6'3 is a freak of an athlete, who is air tight in his coverage. Douglas then selected stud receiver Garrett Wilson with the 10th pick (Pick received in the Adams trade), and traded up to choose defensive end Jermaine Johnson at 26. Douglas wasn’t done yet, he then selected running back Breece Hall at 36 and further solidified his line, selecting defensive end Michael Clemons at 117.
This master of a draft class came along with Douglas’ best performance in the free agency market. Douglas signed tight ends CJ Uzomah and Tyler Conklin to gain must needed safety blankets for Zach Wilson and signed secondary pieces Jordan Whitehead and DJ Reed to deals. Douglas’ final move was to finally finish his offensive line, signing former 49er Laken Tomlinson to be his left guard.
All these moves have culminated in the Jets 4–2 start. In my eyes, the best group Douglas has put together is his secondary, which has won the Jets some games. The Jets are currently trotting out corners Sauce Gardner, DJ Reed, Michael Carter II, Brandin Echols, and have Bryce Hall as depth. When the depth you’re not using is Bryce Hall, your cornerback room is pretty good. Gardner already has 9 passes defended and an INT, with Reed also recording an INT. Carter has 3 passes defended and grabbed an INT as well.
Behind the corners are safeties Lamarcus Joyner, Jordan Whitehead, and Ashtyn Davis. Whitehead has continued his success he had in Tampa, recording 33 tackles, 3 passed defended, and 1 INT thus far. Across from him, Joyner has recorded 29 tackles, 4 passes defended, and 2 INT. Joyner and Whitehead have allowed for Davis to come on in specific sets and he has performed admirably as well, recording 1 pass defended and 1 INT in his limited snaps.
Through six games, every member of the Jets starting secondary has already recorded an INT and between the five DB’s they have a total of 6 INT’s. What makes this secondary even more impressive, is that they are pretty young besides Joyner. Every member aside from Joyner is 25 or younger. The group is only going to get better.
The secondary wouldn’t be as effective as it is without the Jets getting a lot of pressure on the QB and stopping the run. Thankfully, Joe Douglas found a way to make that happen. Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams anchors the Jets defensive line with defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins to his left and defensive ends John Franklin-Myers and Carl Lawson containing the edges. Williams has been electric this season, recording 5 sacks and 4 TFL. Rankins has added 2 sacks and 3 TFL, with Carl Lawson recording 2.5 sacks. John Franklin Myers and Jermaine Johnson have done great splitting time on the other edge, each recording 1.5 sacks thus far.
A solid linebacker group consisting of CJ Mosley, Kwon Alexander, and Quincy Williams clean up the middle, with Mosley leading the team with 62 tackles. Mosley looks to be back to his Ravens form, something that has been missing in previous years due to injury.
With the young defense cleaning opponents up, the Jets offense hasn’t had to do much, but they have been very effective. Zach Wilson was absent the first 3 games, but the Jets still managed to go 1–2 with Joe Flacco at the helm. Michael Carter and Breece hall have split carries and both have found great success. Carter led the team in rushing Week 1 with 10 carries for 60 yards, while having 7 receptions for 40 yards through the air. Hall responded the next week with 7 carries for 50 yards. Both backs have proven to be tremendous on the ground and the offensive line leading them has been great as well. Despite the loss of George Fant and Mekhi Becton to injury, the Jets have found success through their depth built up by Douglas. This line has allowed for Hall to rush for 391 yards through 6 games and Carter to rush for 199 through that same span. Hall also has 218 receiving yards and Carter has 106. The two form a great tandem that is tough to match up too, with both being great on the ground and through the air.
Since Wilson has returned, the Jets are 3–0. Wilson has looked sub-par, but he opens up a lot more big play possibility than Joe Flacco had in the first 3 games. Wilson has a 56% completion percentage through 3 games, with 572 yards, 1 TD, and 2 INT. Despite these numbers, the Jets and Wilson have been helped a lot by their improved receiving core. Corey Davis leads Jets receivers with 351 yards and rookie Garrett Wilson has impressed with 290 yards and 2 TD. The improvement to the tight end room has also paid off with Tyler Conklin standing at 22 catches for 208 yards and CJ Uzomah tagging in a less impressive 5 catches for 35 yards. Slot receiver Elijah Moore also looks good when he gets the ball, recording 6 catches for 203 yards. All the while, Braxton Berrios contributes as a kick returner and gadget threat, throwing a touchdown to Zach Wilson against the Steelers.
Joe Douglas has built an extremely talented young team through quality scouting and calculated signings. With Elijah Moore now demanding a trade because of lack of usage, it’s crucial Douglas is able to satisfy his talented core so his masterpiece doesn’t fall apart.
While I recognized the Jets were building something very special, I don’t think anyone thought it would be coming together this quick. What makes this even more exciting for New York, is that most of these players are still developing, this is not the Jets full potential. If Zach Wilson can develop into a serviceable QB, this team could go very far in a couple years. If Wilson can live up to being the 2nd overall pick, this team will be Super Bowl champions by the end of the decade. The Jets won’t win the Super Bowl this year, but they sure are a good team. Great job Joe Douglas, and as a Patriots fan, I’m really scared of how good you are gonna make this team in a couple years.
