We have several new faces in the building for the New York Jets. They made a few trades this off-season to improve where they felt like they were falling flat and are hoping that it will lead them to the playoffs. We are going to solely focus on the players that are expected to start at their respective position.
New Faces on Offense –
QB Trevor Lawrence –
The Jets felt very comfortable with the progression of Bryce Hall the past two seasons, so much so that they traded away their premier corner Sauce Gardner. The Jets haven’t had much success with their quarterbacks the first two seasons. Zach Wilson and K.J Jefferson were expected to lead the offense, but the play calling never changed when Jefferson took over as the head signal caller. The Jets expected Jefferson to be able to run their traditional down field passing offense and ultimately he was unable to. Trevor Lawrence hasn’t had much success in PML. He has only thrown 21 touchdowns in two seasons and has thrown 51 interceptions. However, the Jets are committed to Trevor and they picked up his fifth year option in the pre-season.
HB Keaton Mitchell –
Breece Hall has been the Jets primary halfback for the first two seasons and while he eclipsed 1000 yards his rookie season and 900 rushing yards his second, he has a combined 19 fumbles in two seasons. He has more fumbles than he does touchdowns. The Jets felt like Breece couldn’t be a reliable back, so they targeted a quicker back in Mitchell in their pre-draft process. Mitchell turned out to have better physical attributes than they expected and he’s pre-season success has catapulted him ahead of Breece Hall on the depth chart.
New Faces on Defense –
ROLB Logan Wilson –
C.J Mosley had a favourable season statistically for the Jets last season and he even won all pro honours, however, in his last year of his current contract, he was being paid $21M and the Jets didn’t think he was worth all that money. They allowed him to test free agency and although they wanted to bring him back, he decided to sign with the Vikings. The Jets traded away their 3rd and 6th round selections for Logan Wilson. They really covet his secure tackling ability because they were one of the worst tackling teams last season. Wilson is expected to play alongside Roquan Smith in nickel packages. Wilson does have a rushing ability, but aside from blitzing up the middle, he is not expected to rush the passer from the edge this season.
CB A.J. Woods –
The productivity that Sauce Gardner had in New York is hard to replace, but the Jets wanted to target his replacement in the later rounds of the draft. Woods is a very raw talent, but his physical attributes are top notch. He is under 6 foot, but his 95 speed and 98 acceleration are great measurables, but he is expected to start in the slot for the Jets.
SS Terrell Burgess –
The New York Jets signed safety Vonn Bell in free agency last season and he racked up 95 total tackles and 2 interceptions, but he regressed slightly in the off-season. Terrell Burgess is a different style of safety. Bell has the coverage and hitpower whereas Burgess has the speed. It’s likely we will see a dual use for these two safeties, but Burgess is expected to see most of the playing time except on expected running downs.
