It’s unusual to think of good things when we talk about the New York Jets season predictions 2022. But this year feels different from the rest of them. For the first time in almost a decade, there’s a chance that the Jets are actually must-watch television.
Don’t get me wrong, the Jets are still a ways away from being a contender. But they added plenty of talent in this year’s NFL Draft and will feature some of the most electric prospects in the world.
Of course, hoping a team full of youngsters to make the playoffs could be a bit of a long shot, but we’ve seen crazier things happen. So, will they put an end to their drought this year? Let’s find out.
Jets season predictions 2022
It’s been a while since Jets fans had reasons to look forward to the season. The Jets schedule predictions 2022 have them as a much-improved team compared to last year, and for very good reasons, as they had one of the best offseasons in the league.
Most NFL season predictions claim they could surprise plenty of people out of the AFC East. But that would be easier said than done after the Miami Dolphins improved at nearly every position and the Buffalo Bills look like a Super Bowl-caliber team. With that in mind, let’s take a look at our predictions for Robert Saleh’s team.
Breece Hall wins Offensive Rookie of the Year
We kick off our New York Jets season predictions 2022 with perhaps the most exciting of all. It’s been a long while since they’ve had a game-changing offensive player in the backfield, but Breece Hall is the real deal. He’s expected to make an immediate impact, especially with a revamped offensive line, and he’s the kind of bell-cow RB that all coaches will kill for.
Hall’s lateral quickness and ankle-breaking skills have turned plenty of heads during training camp. The Jets are expected to rely heavily on him to take pressure off Zach Wilson‘s shoulders, and he also shows a lot of promise as a pass-catching back. He comes with an NFL pedigree and, barring injury, he should be on top of his class at the end of the year, according to most NFL award predictions.
Zach Wilson silence his critics
During his days at BYU, Zach Wilson looked poised to become a superstar, and he showed glimpses of great athleticism and a privileged arm during his rookie season. Nonetheless, there were also huge red flags. He was inefficient more often than not; he lacked pocket awareness and completed just under 60% of his passes while logging 9 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
But the Jets went to great lengths to improve their offensive line and add more talent to their receiving corps. They got arguably the best WR prospect in Garrett Wilson.
Wilson has gotten great reviews in the offseason thus far, and the talent is there. They’ve put him in a position to succeed, and we shouldn’t rule him out after just one season.
They won’t have the worst defense again
Robert Saleh was supposed to be a defensive guru and orchestrate a huge turnaround in New York. Nonetheless, they had a historically poor defense and ranked dead last in nearly every category last season. Needless to say, we don’t expect them to be as bad this year, and we predict they’ll rank somewhere near the middle of the pack.
Adding Jermaine Johnson II, Jordan Whitehead, Michael Clemons, D.J. Reed, and Ahmad ‘Sauce’ Gardner was a home run for the Jets. They’ll also get Carl Lawson back from injury. Saleh pretty much handpicked his defensive reinforcements, and he knows he’ll be judged by defensive improvement. He’ll enter the year in the hot seat, so we expect the defense to be a point of emphasis throughout the season.
Jets go over win total
Soon after the Jets’ schedule predictions 2022 were released, most oddsmakers have the New York Jets’ projected win total at over/under 5.5. Taking a look at the Jets season schedule, we feel comfortable stating two things. One: they’ll star in one of the best NFL games 2022 again — remember the Antonio Brown fiasco — and two: They’ll win at least six games.
While they’re not likely to get anything from the Buffalo Bills, they still have the personnel to give the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins a run for their money. At least once. They also have winnable matchups with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, and Pittsburgh Steelers.
They’ll miss the playoffs anyway
But let’s not get too carried away. Even if the New York Jets managed to win six games, that won’t be enough for them to reach the postseason for the first time in more than a decade. They’d still be the worst team in their division, and by a somewhat long stretch.
Then again, they’ll be fun to watch and will have a chance to upset multiple teams, just like in that shootout vs Tom Brady‘s Buccaneers.
The Jets are still quite young. This season will be the first sign of optimism and there are good things to come for the first time in a very, very long time. They have the money and the budding stars, so they only need another great offseason and more time together to end this drought finally. It won’t happen in 2022, though.