The wait is almost over. The 2023 season is nearly upon us and the New York Jets finally have a chance to back up their big push this offseason and prove they are ready to contend. With the season upon us, predictions for the season are coming from all over the place. We’ll run down some of those predictions here and how some of the media feels the Jets will fare in this pressure-filled season.
USA Today (Nate Davis): 12-5
Nate Davis of USA Today is quite high on the Jets, picking them to get to Las Vegas for Super Bowl LVIII.
They were in the thick of the AFC wild-card race well into December until the league’s worst quarterback play torpedoed them with a season-ending six-game losing streak. That won’t be the case in 2023 amid the arrival of Rodgers, coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, WR Allen Lazard and other former Packers who are implementing an offense that helped the four-time MVP to two of those awards in 2020 and 2021. A merely passable offense will be a boon to a defense that ranked fourth overall last year despite getting little help. The readiness of second-year RB Breece Hall (ACL) and a challenging schedule will likely be early obstacles. But plugging Rodgers into this situation seems more akin to Brady joining the Bucs or Stafford going to the Rams than the disastrous first year of Wilson’s marriage to the Broncos in 2022. If that proves remotely true, the Jets will have the best quarterback in club history (sorry, Joe Namath) and their first Super Bowl trip in 55 years.
Pro Football Network: 9-8
The betting experts at Pro Football Network love the Jets’ defense but question how elite Aaron Rodgers is.
This is the toughest win-loss record for me to predict this season, as no outcome would surprise me for the 2023 New York Jets.
Although their defense is one of the best in the NFL, the Jets had a very favorable schedule last season, facing seven backup quarterbacks. This season, besides the typical AFC East QBs, they’re facing Dak Prescott, Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, and Justin Herbert.
One sign of positive regression for this defense, however, is that they had just 17 takeaways last season, tied for the fifth-fewest in the NFL. Expect that number to go up with how talented this unit is.
The Jets do finally have hope at the QB position with Aaron Rodgers. But while Rodgers is a seismic upgrade over Zach Wilson, are we sure he’s still an elite quarterback?
After two consecutive MVP awards, Rodgers had a 39.3 QBR last season, by far the lowest of his career. He’ll also be turning 40 years old this season, giving us more reason to believe he’ll be worse, not better.
Tom Brady was a rare breed and has a lot of people forgetting how quickly quarterbacks can age. I’m not saying Rodgers can’t play anymore, I’m just not totally sold on him lifting this team into Super Bowl contention.
CBS Sports (Will Brinson): 10-7
CBS Sports’ Will Brinson says this Jets team could make a run like the 2020 Buccaneers and 2021 Rams.
The Jets could blow this out of the water a la the 2020 Bucs and 2021 Rams (and not a la the 2022 Broncos) if Aaron Rodgers‘ transition to the Big Apple is seamless. The schedule is brutal out of the gate — if the Jets are above .500 after six weeks they’re going to be a big problem.
Bleacher Report (Kristopher Knox): 10-7
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox is another one a bit weary of Rodgers at his age and thinks a postseason win would make a successful season for the Jets.
With future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers under center, the New York Jets are sure to be Super Bowl contenders, right? Well, maybe.
A defense that ranked fourth in both points and yards allowed last season will again be dominant, and Rodgers can’t be any worse than Zach Wilson was in 2022 (72.8 passer rating). However, there’s no guarantee that he’ll be drastically better.
Rodgers was just OK with the Packers last year, finishing with a 91.1 passer rating. He’ll have familiar faces in offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and receivers Randall Cobb and Allen Lazard, but he’s still joining a brand-new team and playing with a mostly unfamiliar roster.
And, once again, Rodgers only seems somewhat committed to working in the offseason.
The 39-year-old recently told the Pat McAfee Show that he’ll be at “more than half” of the Jets’ offseason workouts (h/t Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk).
The Jets will be playoff contenders, but it’s hard to envision them vying for the AFC’s top seed. There will be a war of attrition in the AFC East, and New York faces the sixth-toughest schedule in the NFL. Getting to the postseason and earning a victory should be seen as a win this season.
Fans will get plenty of opportunities to see the new-look Jets, who will have six nationally televised games this season.
Sports Illustrated (Conor Orr): 8-9
This one might ruffle some feathers. There aren’t many predictions of a losing season for the Jets but Conor Orr has that, including a 2-5 start. He also has the Patriots winning the division.
I think that 8–9 is just about the basement for this team. In the range of possible outcomes, being only one win better than they were the season before Aaron Rodgers came to town would amount to my “worst-case scenario.” I don’t think it’s possible under Robert Saleh to have an LOL Jets kind of season, but I do think New York is vulnerable at critical positions, and it is mounting its battle plans on the back of a 39-year-old quarterback who, yes, is exceptional and absurdly talented, but is realistically human like the rest of us. All of that said, do I feel extremely uncomfortable about this pick, in particular, after seeing that Jets defense in the preseason? You bet. This team could realistically win this division by a country mile. My hesitancy with this team is a combination of life in the spotlight, coupled with a season-opening slate that sees it take on the Bills, Cowboys, Chiefs and Patriots before a bit of a soft landing.
Fox Sports (Henry McKenna): 11-6
Despite the tough division and the age, Henry McKenna believes Aaron Rodgers will keep the Jets right in contention.
The New York Jets may have all the pieces in place, including quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but it’s an absolutely brutal year for their division. Josh Allen is going to push them in Buffalo. Tyreek Hill and company are going to push the Jets when they travel to Miami. And of course, Bill Belichick has a way of beating New York. But Rodgers will keep them in legitimate contention in 2023. They will win the games they’re supposed to win, which is more than you can usually say for the Jets.
