Fresh off of one of the most disappointing seasons in team history, Jets fans may be faced with the harsh reality of their teams results in 2025 being worse than those of 2024.  Why the cynical view?   Let’s count down the five reasons why.

5. Downgrade at cornerback:

Yes, Sauce Gardner will be back at his CB1 spot in 2025 where we expect a big bounce back year, but gone is DJ Reed.  While neither Gardner nor Reed played up to their usual standard in 2024, we don’t believe there is a cornerback on the roster who is ready to immediately step in across from Gardner and play at a higher level than Reed.

4. Lack of Targets for Justin Fields:

While the Jets rounded out their impressive young offensive line by drafting Armand Membou with the seventh overall pick in this year’s draft, the depth charts at wide receiver and tight end have close to zero proven players outside of Garrett Wilson.   Even with the immense potential of tight end Mason Taylor and wide receiver Arian Smith, having a more impactful and proven receiver to take the spot of the departed Davante Adams would have been a nice idea.

3. Not enough pass rushers:

It wasn’t that long ago that the Jets boasted one of the NFL’s deepest edge groups.  Last season they took a huge step backwards and did little to bolster the group this offseason.  Unless a surprise addition is made, they’ll have Will McDonald, a question mark in Jermain Johnson who returns from a ruptured ACL, and little else to speak of.

2. They can’t stop the run:

Statistically the Jets “weren’t that bad” last season as they allowed right around the league average at 4.1 yards per carry.  But we all know how stats can lie.  The Jets did turn in a few dominant performances against the run that greatly bolstered their overall numbers.  In reality, they allowed over 4 yards per carry 11 times and over 4.5 yards per carry eight times.  Having done little to fix the problem, and possibly having made it worse, there’s little reason to expect things to get better.

1. Inexperienced Coaching Staff:

Even if you love Aaron Glenn (and we do), you can’t help but be alarmed at the amount of inexperience on his staff.  Glenn, the rookie head coach, has gone out and added a slew of guys who have never held their current positions before, or who have no success in their chose role.

Charles London, the quarterback coach who will be key in the development of Justin Fields, is on his fourth team in five years.  He has no track record of having developed a quarterback since he moved over from coaching running backs from 2014-2020.

Tasked with growing the team’s young offensive line, Steve Heiden has never held the title of offensive line coach and is making the move from being the tight ends coach in Detroit.  And oddly enough, tight ends coach Jeff Blasko is transitioning over from being an assistant offensive line coach.

None of this guarantees failure for the 2025 New York Jets, but it sure does make improvement an uphill climb.