Are Jets in Better Shape After Offseason Moves Under Mougey?

Jets rookie general manager Darren Mougey has now had a full free agency period and NFL draft to help turn around the 5-12 New York Jets.

While we’ll have to wait until the games are actually played to find out if the team is better or worse, there are a few spots where the answer is quite obvious, and another spot or two where there is some debate.

First and foremost, there’s the quarterback position where there is an interesting discussion to be had.

I mean, is Aaron Rodgers a better passer than Justin Fields?  Especially as Rodgers looked better as the season went on?  Safe to say he is.  But it’s not that simple.

If head coach Aaron Glenn’s wish was to deploy an offense in which the quarterback is a dynamic runner that has to be accounted for, the Fields is clearly the better fit.

Having drafted Armand Membou to get a fifth starter in place, there is a world in which the Jets offense in 2025 will be more efficient than it was in 2024.  It will be due largely to running the football, where Fields excels.  So while Rodgers is the better passer, Fields may be a better fit.  Overall we think it’s fair to call this a slight downgrade at QB.  However, it’s not nearly as bad as it looks on the surface.

The position where the Jets may have done the most work this offseason is defensive tackle.  That’s not to say they did much upgrading.  Why is ,that?  Well, last year’s group was so bad that by adding this year’s crop, they’ve probably stayed about the same.  With a pair of undersized linebackers in Quincy Williams and Jamien Sherwood, stopping the run will be a challenge this year.  Well, unless of course they find a big run stuffer or two between now and September.

Wide receiver is a spot where one of the biggest downgrades took place.  And while it was largely beyond the control of Mougey, the team could have done more to address it.

Davante Adams was a top target for Aaron Rodgers last season but the team knew he wasn’t going to hang around once they dumped the future Hall of Famer in Rodgers.  In response to losing Adams, the Jets added journeyman receiver Josh Reynolds, whose career high in receiving yards came back in 2020 when he logged 618 yards.

Many expected the Jets to take a wide receiver with one of their top picks, but instead they waited until round four to select Georgia speedster Arian Smith; a wideout with a lengthy injury history who had a whopping TEN drops last year.  Projected to go in round seven or undrafted entirely, Smith goes to the Jets with pick 110.  This makes it hard to say with a straight face that the Jets got better at receiver.

Of all the downgrades we’ve seen this offseason, none is more obvious than that of cornerback DJ Reed.  One of the NFL’s better corners since landing with the Jets a few years back, Reed is now replaced by former Baltimore Ravens safety/corner Brandon Stephens.  Last season with the Ravens, opposing quarterbacks targeted Stephens 102 times and 108 times in 2023.  Over those two seasons he surrendered a over 1,700 yards according to PFF.

Now this one might ruffle some feathers, but take it in the spirit it’s intended.

Jets fans are largely excited about the arrival of rookie tight end Mason Taylor, who the team hopes will be their first legitimate receiving threat at the position since Justin Keller.  However, rookie tight ends (unless you’re name Brock Bowers), tend to start slow.  So as Taylor learns his way around the NFL, expect some hiccups along the way.  Hiccups that will mean that rookie Taylor is a downgrade from veteran Tyler Conklin.

This isn’t to say that when all is said and done Taylor won’t be better than Conklin, as many expect he will.  But in 2025?  Conklin should be the better player.  Especially in considering the fact that Conklin didn’t see nearly as many targets as he should have in 2024.

So while there are some upgrades such as what we hope will be a full season of Olu Fashanu at left tackle and Armand Membou likely outperforming last year’s tackles, there are a few too many downgrades to expect a big jump in wins this season.

That is of course, unless Aaron Glenn and his staff turn out to be light years ahead of last year’s staff, which could…or should, be the case.

The post Are Jets in Better Shape After Offseason Moves Under Mougey? appeared first on JetNation.com – New York Jets Blog & Forum. You can discuss this with other NY Jets fans on the Jet Nation message board. Or visit of on Facebook.

Source: https://www.jetnation.com/2025/04/30/are-jets-in-better-shape-after-offseason-moves-under-mougey/