The New York Jets are not getting a lot of love ahead of the 2025 season.
That theme continued in Bill Barnwell’s playmaker rankings for ESPN. “Each summer, I run through the NFL and sort each team’s rushers and pass catchers to see which teams have given their quarterback the best playmakers at running back, wide receiver, and tight end heading into the season,” Barnwell explained.
With that being said, Barnwell ranked the Jets’ group No. 27 in the NFL ahead of 2025. That ranking translates to the sixth-worst playmaker group in the NFL heading into this season.
The Jets Continue to Plummet in 2024 Versus 2025 Rankings
Last year in these same rankings, the Jets had the 12th-best unit. Now? 27th.
Life comes at you pretty fast.
“Garrett Wilson continues to plug on. Justin Fields will become the ninth NFL quarterback to throw passes in Wilson’s direction, and without Davante Adams in the mix, the Jets’ passing attack will go as far as Wilson can take it. He has officially inherited the role played by a college predecessor in Terry McLaurin, who managed to top 1,000 yards virtually every season, no matter who or what the Commanders mustered up at quarterback. McLaurin finally has his quarterback in Jayden Daniels; let’s hope Wilson either has his or finds it soon, because he would be a superstar with better quarterback play,” Barnwell said.
Justin Fields will be the 9th #Jets QB that Garrett Wilson has played with since entering the league in 2022.
Here are the other 8 quarterbacks:
🏈 Aaron Rodgers
🏈 Tyrod Taylor
🏈 Tim Boyle
🏈 Chris Streveler
🏈 Joe Flacco
🏈 Trevor Siemian
🏈 Zach Wilson
🏈 Mike WhiteGood… pic.twitter.com/LgoZJ6h5iM
— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) July 8, 2025
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Barnwell said Jets running back Breece Hall “isn’t heading in the right direction” after a down year in 2024.
A fair criticism. We can’t keep talking about the potential for Hall; he is heading into the final year of his rookie contract. It’s time for results, and people aren’t going to continue to blindly believe that it will click after three years of flashes until they see it.
“Nothing about the rest of the receiving corps suggests the Jets should expect to fling the ball around with success. Allen Lazard got off to a hot start last season, but after a midseason injury and the arrival of Adams, he was essentially being paid to run wind sprints down the stretch. (He also took a pay cut in April.) Malachi Corley, taken with the first pick of the third round a year ago, had 16 receiving yards. The offseason additions included veteran wideout Josh Reynolds, who was cut in midseason by the Broncos, and second-round tight end Mason Taylor, who plays a position where it’s often difficult to make an impact as a rookie, Brock Bowers aside,” Barnwell said.
Some harsh comments paired with a subtle Bowers jab, but all true. Wilson is a stud receiver, but everyone else has major question marks from the veterans to the youngsters in the room.
The Silver Lining in These Poor Rankings for the Jets
It’s hard to feel good about being ranked the sixth-worst playmaking unit in the NFL. However, if you were going to make the case for the Jets feeling better, you’d point to who they were ranked above.
Two of the Jets’ AFC East brethren finished lower than them in these rankings.
The New England Patriots were listed at No. 30, third worst in the league.
New England lost points for putting all of their eggs in the Stefon Diggs basket. He is a 31-year-old receiver coming off a torn ACL who also got into some off-the-field drama this offseason.
“There isn’t really a Plan B for the lead receiver without Diggs in the mix. Mack Hollins and Pop Douglas are complementary players. Rookie third-rounder Kyle Williams will offer some much-needed speed, but he’s not entering the league as a complete receiver who can win at all levels. Ja’Lynn Polk, a second-round pick last year, had an unbelievably bad rookie season, averaging 0.4 yards per route run. That figure ranks 147th out of 153 wide receivers taken with a first- or second-round pick since 2007,” Barnwell bluntly revealed.
The Buffalo Bills were higher than the Patriots, but still one slot behind the Jets at No. 28 in these rankings.
“This probably feels low for one of the league’s best offenses, but star quarterback Josh Allen has been removed from the equation. While general manager Brandon Beane might disagree, this is likely the least imposing group of receivers in the NFL on paper,” Barnwell said.
“Khalil Shakir continues to improve and averaged an impressive 2.4 yards per route run last season, but virtually every other Buffalo pass catcher failed to take a leap forward,” Barnwell added.
In other words, the Jets have a bad ranking, but it could be worse.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Jets Get Trashed for Having One of ‘Worst’ Playmaker Groups in NFL appeared first on Heavy Sports.