With the Jets all but out of the playoffs, even with the impending return of Aaron Rodgers, the Jets and their fans do what they have done every year for the past decade plus. They start looking towards April and the NFL draft.

The Jets currently sit at 4-7 and in third place in the AFC East.

The Jets were supposed to look very different this year with Aaron Rodgers at the helm, but four offensive plays and no completions were all they got from the 39-year-old before the MetLife turf monster snapped his Achilles.

The absence of Rodgers lifted the veil off this team and showed a lot of issues throughout the roster that a QB of his ability might have been able to cover up. With those deficiencies in mind, let’s take a look at the biggest needs for the Jets in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Offensive Tackle

Honestly, if the Jets used every single pick they had in the 2024 draft on offensive tackles, it won’t be a wasted draft. The Jets keep biting at the offensive tackle apple in the draft and free agency, but they can’t seem to get it right. AVT has had two season ending injuries in three years. Mekhi Becton has been decent but has yet to play a full season and is set for free agency. Duane Brown was meant to be a one-year place holder and Max Mitchell is inconsistent at best.

If the Jets really want to compete with a soon to be 40-year-old quarterback, they need to give him a running game and keep him upright on passing plays. That starts at the offensive line.

Wide Receiver

The Jets have one of the best young wide receivers in the game in Garrett Wilson. And after him they have…nothing. Allen Lazard was a healthy scratch despite getting $44 million from the Jets this offseason.

You would expect his productivity to take a hit without his buddy Rodgers, but I’m not sure any player was more of a net-negative on the offense than Lazard this year between his drops and penalties.

Randall Cobb was a bust that I don’t think anyone including Rodgers really thought would pan out. After that you have raw, young guys that haven’t been able to show much.

The Jets need a clear number two opposite Wilson in order to open up the offense.

Guard

Sensing a theme so far? Protect and help your quarterback.

The Jets offensive line could use at minimum two new faces next season, but in reality it should be three. Laken Tomlinson can be counted on to play every game (which with this offensive line is no small accomplishment), but the problem is he isn’t very good when he does play.

With the offensive tackle position being a bigger need and Alijah Vera-Tucker being able to slide out to play tackle, the Jets could have a void at the guard position. Joe Tippmann looks like the real deal, but it’s still early to declare him the Jets center for the next decade.

Bringing in an interior offensive lineman can only help give the team options along the line and provide some depth when some inevitable injuries occur.

Safety

If there is one weakness in the Jets pass defense it is at the safety spot. The Jets have had a rotation of guys in at safety and they are all okay at best for the most part.

Jordan Whitehead, Adrian Amos, Ashtyn Davis and Chuck Clark are all set to be free agents at the end of the year, and it wouldn’t surprise me for the Jets to watch all of them sign with other teams. Tony Adams and rookie Jarrick Bernard-Converse are the only safeties signed for next season.

The Jets will need to look to improve the safety position to keep the defense as stout as it has been in 2023.

Quarterback

Just in case Aaron Rodgers is reading this, I do not mean in the first round. There is no reason for the Jets to hit the reset button early in the draft with Rodgers in the building. If the Jets find themselves in a position to draft one of the top two QB’s in the draft, they should look to get a haul of draft capital from a team willing to move up to get one. With that said, the Jets will need to address the quarterback room at some point in the 2024 draft.

There is nothing more the Jets need to see from Zach Wilson to know that he isn’t a competent backup nor is he the team’s future. Tim Boyle is neither of those things either.

The Jets need to get a QB in the building to be able to fill in when needed and to possibly avoid a complete tear-down of the roster once the 39-year-old Rodgers finally walks off into the sunset. Finding a guy that they can mold and learn from Rodgers should be one of the team’s top priorities this season.

---

The silver lining to the Rodgers injury was being able to hold on to their first-round pick. Had Rodgers played 60% of the snaps this season, that pick would have gone to the Green Bay Packers as part of the deal that brought Aaron to New York. The Packers now get the Jets second-round pick, which is no throw away pick, but at least the Jets keep their first.

Jets: Everyone keeps getting Aaron Rodgers’ potential return wrong

Why Aaron? After hinting at returning during the 2023 season since the devastating injury occurred four offensive plays into the season, Aaron Rodgers and the Jets are making good on what was thought to be a joke back in September when he tore his Achilles. Robert Saleh announced that the Jets have opened the 21-day […]

Featured image via Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports