NFL free agent David Bakhtiari issued a bold proclamation for the New York Jets’ 2024 season outlook.
Bakhtiari declared to ESPN’s Adam Schefter that the Jets will make the playoffs next season off of the strength of his former teammate Aaron Rodgers, saying this in part (h/t Justin Fried of The Jets Press):
“I really hope the most for the guy. I know that [Aaron Rodgers]’s fire is burning really hard with the Jets, especially with what happened to him… I’m expecting big things from him. I’m expecting him to put a lot on his shoulders and right the ship. I think for sure they will make the playoffs….I don’t think it’s wise for any betting man to say that Aaron Rodgers isn’t going to make the playoffs,” Bakhtiari said.
Aaron Rodgers’ playoff history indicates that the Jets will likely make the playoffs in 2024
The 32-year-old spent 10 years protecting Rodgers in the pocket from 2013-2022. The four-time NFL MVP led him to seven playoff appearances in eight full seasons where he was healthy. Overall, Rodgers has only had four losing seasons in his 16 seasons as a starter.
The California native has an abundance of weapons at his disposal to exploit in 2024. He has two wide receivers in Garrett Wilson and Mike Williams who have gone and could go for 1,000 REC yards concurrently in 2024 and a ball carrier in Breece Hall who could add six yards to his 994 rush yards from 2023 to gift Rodgers with a third 1,000-yard producer. On defense, the Jets have a four-headed monster in their secondary and a dynamic pass rush that added Haason Reddick to their mix.
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The Jets have an easy path a third of the way through the upcoming campaign
There’s no area where the Jets are bereft of talent. New York also has a weak strength of schedule to kick off the 2024 campaign, including matchups against the Tennessee Titans (Week 2), New England Patriots (Week 3), and Denver Broncos without Russell Wilson (Week 4). All of those teams finished below .500 last year
The Jets could very well win three of those first four contests to start the year. That would position them to make good on Bakhtiari’s prediction.
