After entering the season with playoff aspirations, the New York Jets were quickly brought back down to earth when Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles on the opening drive of Week 1. After that, Gang Green was stuck in purgatory.
From a surefire playoff team to not being able to find answers under center, to holding out hope Rodgers could make a miracle recovery and come back late in the season, the Jets never found a consistent flow.
With no flow and Rodgers keeping them handcuffed at the quarterback position, it’s no surprise the Jets missed out on the playoffs. Now, it’s time to turn their attention to the offseason and address needs on both sides of the ball to put themselves in a position to succeed next season.
Starting with the draft, the Jets should be using their No. 10 pick to take the best available offensive linemen. This past season, New York was tied for the fourth most sacks allowed with 64. Their offensive line was graded among the worst in the NFL and the first round of the draft provides ample depth for them to address that issue.
The top two offensive linemen are without a doubt Joe Alt from Notre Dame and Olumuyiwa Fashanu from Penn State. Each is projected to go inside the top 10 given how many teams are in desperate need of offensive line depth.
That leads the Jets to JC Latham of Alabama, who is notorious for churning out NFL linemen. At 6-foot-6 360 pounds, Latham would start from day one and provide much-needed support for Rodgers next season.
If the Jets want to continue to bolster their offensive weapons, they will have the chance to do so with Rome Odunze. In any other year where there was not a generational talent like Marvin Harrison Jr., Odunze would be at the top of all wide receiver prospect rankings. He shined on the brightest stage in college football this year, making a name for himself in the College Football Playoff Semifinal against Texas. While he struggled against Michigan in the National Championship, Odunze was spectacular throughout the season, racking up 92 catches for 1,640 yards and 13 touchdowns in just 15 games.
If the Jets want to build their offensive line later in the draft and specifically focus on surrounding Rodgers with weapons, Odunze is the way to go. With Garrett Wilson still on his rookie contract, the Jets have an opportunity to capitalize and fill the offense with explosive weapons for Rodgers and whatever quarterback may come in after him.
With a defense that was top three in terms of yards allowed per game last season and received very little help from the offense, the Jets can turn their attention to one side of the football and build upon the small victories of this past season.
If Rodgers is back to form with explosive offensive weapons along with a solid defense, the Jets may see the success they were expecting this past season.
