Coming off consecutive 7-10 seasons, the New York Jets had their hopes set on the postseason last year. That certainly didn’t end up being the case, as a 5-12 campaign served as a step back and led to massive changes in the offseason.
This time around, expectations are more leveled for both the fan base and media alike. While the franchise’s goal is to win championships, no one outside the building is realistically anticipating that. Finding the line between tangible improvement and long-term development is tricky, but a prominent pair of analysts seems to have done it.
The Jets got a compliment, albeit backhanded in how fans will see it, on July 9. In a “Football 301” preview for Yahoo Sports, Matt Harmon and Charles McDonald made the case for a better, yet still massively flawed New York team.
Rebound on Defense Could Make Jets ‘Annoying to Play Against’ in 2025
McDonald believes that unlike last year’s Jets team, this one will at least show a pulse.
“If you’ve got run game, you should have a good defense,” McDonald said. “That’s going to cause a lot of headaches and, who knows, maybe you can even upset a good team every now and then this season.”
Harmon focused on the defensive side of the ball. After building a reputation as a top-tier unit in previous seasons, the Jets struggled in 2024. Should some positive regression take place, that may have a domino effect on the rest of the squad.
“They were 17th in success rate last year, 21st in EPA/play on defense,” Harmon said. “It felt that way watching it, but you just kind of forget after the course of the summer that, oh yeah, that was an actively below-average defense by the end of the season cumulatively. Obviously, it really fell off once they fired Robert Saleh and promoted Jeff Ulbrich. That’s a unit that could return to being a top-10 form. That might be just enough for this team, again, not to be good, not to push for like a wild-card spot, but just to be annoying to play against.”
The development of cornerback Sauce Gardner is a perfect encapsulation of the defense as a whole. Gardner broke out as a rookie and seemed to be one of the very best corners in the sport. Since then, however, his play has declined in consecutive years. 2025 is massive for both Gardner and the defense, and he knows it.
New-Look Offense Is Key for New York in Reset Season
Another X-factor for the Jets is their offense. With Aaron Rodgers out and Justin Fields in at quarterback, a philosophical change is on the horizon.
That’ll have an impact on not just the signal-caller, but also players like running back Breece Hall and wideout Garrett Wilson. Harmon believes the shift will be positive.
“You can also see [Aaron Glenn’s] fingerprints on the offensive side of the ball, hiring Tanner Engstrand as a passing game coordinator,” Harmon said. “He’s an unknown variable but man, I just went back and charted Garrett Wilson for ‘Reception Perception.’ Almost anything is going to be better than the design of that offense last year, right? That was rough and, obviously, it’s what Aaron wanted. It’s going to be a lot more condensed this year, I would guess. I think they’re going to run the ball a hell of a lot better with Fields under center and, obviously, if Breece Hall is healthy.”
McDonald echoes a similar sentiment on the high side, albeit while acknowledging the floor of this group.
“There’s going to be some rough moments,” McDonald said. “Justin Fields probably is what he is at this point. I think Justin Fields could be the perfect quarterback for this build of the Jets as they try to transition to what’s next.”
The Jets can be annoying to face with even a slight improvement on offense. Playing spoiler isn’t the ideal role for an organization, yet it seems like the logical path.
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