Jets 2022 NFL season preview: New York to be AFC surprise package?
As the New York Jets bid to return to the NFL Playoffs, the franchise has spent the offseason bolstering the weapons at quarterback Zach Wilson’s disposal.
Zach Wilson doesn’t have to be the next Joe Namath. Not for the moment. It will be enough if he can replicate what Mark Sanchez did.
Jets haven’t been to Playoffs in over a decade
Sanchez is the last quarterback who managed to lead the New York Jets to the Playoffs, in 2010 - and, ahead of his second year as a starting quarterback in the NFL, the expectation is on Wilson to ensure his franchise ends that postseason drought.
In 13 games, the second overall pick in the 2021 Draft completed just 55.6% of his passes, throwing for just nine touchdowns, 11 interceptions and a 3-10 record.
Wilson, however, showed his athleticism in a 52-yard rush to the end zone against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 16, becoming only the fourth rookie quarterback since 1950 with a touchdown run of at least 50 yards.
Jets bring in new options at wide receiver, tight end
Jets general manager Joe Douglas spent the offseason adding to, and upgrading, the weapons at Wilson’s disposal: he recruited wide receiver Garrett Wilson in the first round of the 2022 Draft and signed tight ends C.J. Uzomah and Tyler Conklin.
Garrett Wilson joins the Jets’ young wide receiver corps, led by Elijah Moore (second round, 2021 Draft), who led the team last season with five touchdowns.
The backfield will also have new faces with second-round pick Breece Hall, who will share duties with Michael Carter.
Carter (964 yards) and Moore (592) were one of two pairs of rookies with at least 500 combined yards in the NFL last season.
Defence also boosted by new recruits
Robert Saleh came to New York with a reputation for building a solid defence in San Francisco, but in his first year as the Jets’ head coach, the disappointment was huge as the team finished bottom of the major defensive categories, including total yards and points per game.
Douglas has also bolstered the team defensively, bringing in rookies Ahmad ‘Sauce’ Gardner and Jermaine Johnson, in addition to free-agent signings D.J. Reed, Jordan Whitehead, Jacob Martin and Solomon Thomas.
Gardner is the kind of cornerback that Saleh likes for playing man-to-man defence; he’ll line up on the other side to Reed and next to safety Whitehead on the Jets’ revamped perimeter.
With the return of Carl Lawson - who impressed in training last year and then tore knee ligaments in the offseason - the Jets’ front line looks promising, with rookie Jermaine Johnson and veterans Quinnen Williams and John Franklin-Myers, the team’s co-leaders in 2021 with six sacks each.
The Jets have a brutal schedule, particularly in the first nine weeks before their bye week: they have to face Baltimore, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Miami, Green Bay, Denver, New England and Buffalo.
Will they be able to compete with some of the best teams in the NFL? That will depend on Zach Wilson and how quickly the new pieces fit together on both sides of the ball.
Don’t count the Jets out as one of the surprise packages in the AFC in the 2022 season.
New York Jets
Record in 2021: 4-13
Stadium: MetLife Stadium
Super Bowl titles: 1
Head coach: Robert Saleh
Offensive coordinator: Mike LaFleur
Defensive coordinator: Jeff Ulbrich
New York Jets’ 2022 NFL season schedule:
| Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 |
| Baltimore | at Cleveland | Cincinnati | at Pittsburgh | Miami |
| Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 |
| at Green Bay | at Denver | New England | Buffalo | BYE |
| Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | Week 14 | Week 15 |
| at New England | Chicago | at Minnesota | at Buffalo | Detroit |
| Week 16 | Week 17 | Week 18 | ||
| Jacksonville | at Seattle | at Miami |