The New York Jets recently had their entire 2024 NFL season simulated and wound up finishing with just about as good a season as a new-look star-studded cast can have, save the ultimate crown.
ESPN projects a deep postseason run for the Jets
ESPN’s Seth Walder forecasted the Jets’ campaign using ESPN’s Football Power Index and had them reaching as far as the AFC championship game before losing to the eventual conference champion Kansas City Chiefs. Walder mapped out their road to that final destination by hypothesizing the team’s success and the individual catalysts who will lead their charge, as Kyle Newman of Jets X Factor synthesized:
“Walder’s simulation had the Jets finish the season 12-5, good enough to win the AFC East and earn the No. 2 seed in the AFC, behind only the 13-4 Chiefs,” Newman wrote.
“The simulation had New York finishing with the NFL’s best defense. Sauce Gardner led the way, winning Defensive Player of the Year. Offensively, the Jets were led by a strong season from Aaron Rodgers, who finished top-eight in ESPN’s QBR metric.”
Jets likely to improve to double digits in wins with Aaron Rodgers & other star additions
A 12-5 record for the Jets seems very realistic. They finished with a 7-10 record in 2023 without superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers for all but four snaps of their entire slate. Quantifying the impact that Rodgers will have on the team in and of itself is worth two to three games, on the kind side. Factoring in the addition of talented pass-catcher Mike Williams and standout rookie left tackle Olu Fashanu make double-digit wins all but a surety for Gang Green.
Sauce Gardner will be crucial for the Jets’ Super Bowl hopes in potential DPOY year
Further, the Jets are well within reason to come back as the NFL’s best defense again after owning that title in 2023. Even without standout linebacker Haason Reddick, who is set to miss the beginning of the upcoming slate due to his prolonged holdout, their defense will still be top-class, spearheaded by Gardner, who could very well win Defensive Player of the Year.
The third-year cornerback previously finished as high as No. 8 in voting for the award as a rookie in 2022. He also finished with a stellar 88.6 player grade from Pro Football Focus for 2023. He, along with D.J. Reed and Michael Carter II will have opposing wide receivers on lock in the secondary.
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The Jets will field arguably the NFL’s most talented roster on paper next season
There is immense talent everywhere you look on the Jets’ roster. Got a superstar quarterback? The Jets can say yes with Rodgers. Got two wide receivers that are proven 1,000-yard pass-catchers? Yes. Wilson and Mike Williams are those dudes. Can they get balance from their ground game with a dynamic 1,000-yard rusher?
Breece Hall is out to truck over anyone who will try to stop him from adding the six rushing yards he needed to achieve that milestone in 2023 next time around. The lines are stacked on offense and defense with All-Pro honorees the likes of 2023 Second-Team All-Pro LT Tyron Smith and First-Team All-Pro linebacker Quincy Williams. Plus, the secondary also has heralded safeties including Chuck Clark and Tony Adams, that leave few question marks about how ready they are to seize the Vince Lombardi trophy next winter.
The Jets will face a tall task in dethroning the back-to-back Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs led by Patrick Mahomes, but they have a great chance nonetheless.
