New York Jets Fans Should Have Hope...

New York Jets Fans Should Have Hope…

That’s a great question actually. As someone who’s watched his grandfather suffer through being a Jets fan, I don’t know why I do the same. I kind of went back and forth between his team, the Jets, and my dad’s team, the Dolphins. My dad stopped watching football, and now I’m a Jet fan for life. In my opinion, I actually picked a good time to do it, because there’s something here with this current Jets iteration. 

Now why would I say something so crazy and outlandish like “The New York Jets actually have a Bright Future”? It’s because if you ignore the history and current ownership of the team, the situation actually is pretty good. The team has three first round picks this year (via themselves, the Colts, and the best pick from the Cowboys or the Packers). After the Packers, Cowboys, and Colts all had Week 1 difficulties, there’s a chance one or both of those picks will be high up in the draft. The roster features a good amount of young talent, whether it’s budding weapons like Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson, quality young linemen in Armand Membou and Olu Fashanu, or defensive cornerstones in David Bailey & Will McDonald IV. That’s just the tip of the iceberg in terms of talent. If this team was named the Dallas Cowboys, the Jets would be glazed so hard ESPN could open up a Krispy Kreme. 

What Are The Issues Holding the Jets Back?

Obviously, there’s a lot. Coaching is still questionable, Geno Smith is assuredly not going past a season or two as the Jets starter, and the defense will likely need some work even if the personnel has greatly improved from a season ago. The biggest difference is that our current general manager in Darren Mougey seems to be making smart moves, which is something the Jets have not seen in a long, long time. The Jets had a clear hole in the safety room, so they made a smart trade to grab veteran Minkah Fitzpatrick. The team needs a quarterback that can actually run an offense behind a quality offensive line, so they get Geno Smith on a discount. The team could use more beef up front, and they trade for T’Vondre Sweat. It just feels like the decisions made this offseason actually made sense for the first time in a while. 

This general manager has a chance to make more smart moves with the extra draft picks and the estimated $100 million plus in cap space in 2027. I’m confident that these moves will be made. The future franchise quarterback will assuredly be drafted in the 2027 draft, and if the Jets decide none of those options are suitable, they have the cap space to bring in someone else. In the coaching department, there will always be new candidates available that they Jets can throw money at.

This is very much a show progress or you’ll be shown the door season for Aaron Glenn, and the fact that Frank Reich is the most “future interim coach” offensive coordinator hire of all time makes Glenn’s firing far more likely. If the Jets can finally get the quarterback position right, they will have a young and talented team around him to get somewhere. For the first time in a while, I have hope.