Strongest and weakest position groups on New York Jets' star-studded roster

Anthony Fama

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Strongest and weakest position groups on New York Jets' star-studded roster image

The New York Jets' roster is, without a doubt, one of the most talented in the franchise's history.

Both sides of the ball include multiple young superstar players and veterans who have proven themselves in the NFL for quite some time. That being said, there are still some areas on the team that could use either some minor upgrades or more capable depth. No team is perfect as even the back-to-back Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs didn't have the best roster on paper over the last two seasons.

After the Jets announced their cuts on Tuesday evening, they unveiled a 53-man roster with hardly any weak spots. Here's an examination of Gang Green's strongest and weakest position groups.

Secondary Strengthens Dominant Defense

When you think of the Jets in 2024, the reason to believe they could potentially make a run at the Super Bowl is because of their defense. General manager Joe Douglas has done a fantastic job constructing what now is considered a top 3 defense in the NFL. A main aspect of this defense being so dominant is the secondary.

Head coach Robert Saleh preaches about being able to get home to the quarterback in his 4-3 defensive scheme, so the front 4 is considered the most important part of this Jets defense. However, the secondary is the final line of defense and if you don't have the guys to shut down the best WRs in the NFL, DBs going to get beat which will lead to opposing touchdowns. Having a good secondary is even more crucial for the Jets who are in the same division with top WRs such as Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.

Luckily for the Jets, Douglas provided the secondary with three premier CBs in Sauce Gardner, D.J. Reed, and Michael Carter II. 

Gardner is only heading into his third season with the Jets and is already a 2x First-Team All Pro and a 2x Pro-Bowler. The 24-year-old has allowed just 2 touchdowns in his career. Quarterbacks fear throwing Gardner's way as he saw only 3.4 passes per game last season.

His play reminds many of another shutdown corner who used to wear the Jets' uniform, Darelle Revis. He's not as accomplished as the Hall-of-Famer just yet, but Revis had his own island and it seems like now WRs are getting lost in the Sauce with Gardner.

What makes this secondary unit so special is that all three CBs spots are elite. Pro Football Focus ranked Carter II as the 9th best corner in the NFL and there's a case that he is the best nickel corner in the game right now finishing 1st in multiple slot corner categories.

The Jets signed D.J. Reed back in 2022 on a three-year deal and Reed has played well beyond his worth. Reed was tied for 13th in solo tackles (63) last season and his coverage has been phenomenal forcing 11 incompletions in three straight seasons. He hadn't even allowed his first touchdown of 2023 until week 15 when the Jets were well out of any playoff aspirations. 

As if the star power at cornerback weren't enough, the Jets added Minnesota Vikings' 2022 first-round safety Lewis Cine to their Practice Squad on Wednesday.

Receiving Corps Has Questions after Wilson

The weakest spot on this Jets team at the moment is the wide receiver room.

A key in determining these weakest positional spots on this team is the talent level and depth. The talent level is there when it comes to the receivers highlighted by stars Garrett Wilson and Mike Williams. Wilson is the better WR at this point and is on the verge of superstardom with QB Aaron Rodgers back in the mix.

Mike Williams on the other hand is a major wild card in this top-heavy room. Williams is coming off a brutal ACL injury he sustained last year and it's going to be difficult to dictate how his 2024 campaign could go, especially early in the season. Fortunately, Saleh announced that Williams will now be participating in team drills which is huge if he wants to get playing time week 1 versus the San Francisco 49ers. 

With Williams still limited, there's not much alongside Wilson if Williams cannot play for some reason. Allen Lazard and Xavier Gipson are the other two WRs with Lazard as the outside and Gipson in the slot. 

Lazard was as bad as you could be in your first season with a new team. He signed a four-year, $44 million deal and didn't put up nearly the same numbers as he did in Green Bay in 2022. He'd hauled in only 1 touchdown and caught 23 passes for 311 yards which are all career lows since he became a weekly asset in 2019.

Gipson now enters his second season in the NFL but wasn't all that great besides the historic overtime punt return for a touchdown versus the Buffalo Bills after Rodgers went down. His ability at WR nonetheless is a work in progress and he wasn't much of a factor last year with just 21 receptions for 229 yards. 

If Wilson were to go down for some reason, the outlook of this WR room would look immensely different which is expected after losing your WR1, but the drop-off after him is significant.

More New York Jets News:

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• Jets' former starting quarterback landing on Bills' Practice Squad

• Highly-touted undrafted rookie earns preseason plaudits in Jets' roster bid

• Ex-Jets' franchise quarterback dominates in Denver's exhibition win

Anthony Fama

Anthony Fama Photo

Anthony Fama covers the New York Jets for The Sporting News. He is a recent graduate of the University of Maryland, where he covered Terrapins football and basketball for Inside the Black and Gold. He also produces and hosts his own talk show on Spotify called 914 Sports Talk covering all New York sports.