Jets Projected 2024 Depth Chart: Where does the roster need help ahead of the draft

[LAD_Brooklyn]

By Zack Rosenblatt 

“The Beast,” Dane Brugler’s expansive guide to the NFL Draft, is here. 

The New York Jets have had a busy offseason, to say the least — and, no, I’m not talking about the brief moment when we had to consider the possibility that Aaron Rodgers might run for vice president.

Jets general manager Joe Douglas has been active in free agency and has completely revamped the depth chart in some spots, especially on the offensive line.

Ahead of the NFL Draft, where does the Jets roster stand?

Here’s a position-by-position look at their current depth chart.

Quarterback

Starter: Aaron Rodgers
Backup: Tyrod Taylor
Others: Zach Wilson

The Jets have the oldest quarterback room in the league between Rodgers (turning 41 in December) and Taylor (turning 35 in August), though it’s also the highest-quality room they’ve had in a long time. The Jets have a shot to make some noise with a healthy Rodgers — and the roster to still compete if Taylor has to play for an extended period of time.

If I’m predicting a few weeks from the draft, I think that Douglas selects a quarterback at some point, perhaps on Day 3.

As for Wilson: Douglas told reporters at the NFL combine in February that the team had given Wilson and his agents permission to seek a trade. It is now mid-April and the Jets are no closer to dealing him. If anything, they’re even further away considering all the quarterback movement around the league, especially young quarterbacks. Jets owner Woody Johnson insisted that the team would not cut him, though he was doing his part to make it seem like the organization still views Wilson as a valuable asset. The reality: The rest of the league does not and if the Jets are going to trade him at this point, they will likely have to attach a draft pick.

Running back

Starter: Breece Hall
Key backups: Israel Abanikanda, Nick Bawden (fullback)
Others: Jacques Patrick, Xazavian Valladay

It is mildly surprising the Jets haven’t yet added another running back, and now the free-agent market has dried up a bit. A few intriguing options are still available. Ezekiel Elliott, J.K. Dobbins, Kareem Hunt and Rashaad Penny top the list. Other less exciting veterans include Matt Breida, Latavius Murray, Boston Scott and Joshua Kelley.

At this point, a couple things are clear:

1. It’s the Breece Hall show, completely, though that’s not a surprise.

2. Douglas is at least going to explore drafting a running back at some point after the first round. If the value/fit doesn’t work out, then maybe he’ll dip his toes back into the free-agent market. He’s clearly not in a rush.

What the Jets do at running back the rest of the offseason might also be an indication about how they feel about Abanikanda. He barely played until late in the season — Jets coaches didn’t trust him in pass protection — but flashed some explosiveness in limited action (and in the preseason). He should be ready for a bigger role in Year 2. Whether that’ll be as RB2 or RB3 is the question.

The Jets need to add to a wide receiver room that includes Xavier Gipson. (Scott Galvin / USA Today)

Wide receiver

Starters: Garrett Wilson, Mike Williams, Xavier Gipson (slot)
Key backups: Allen Lazard, Jason Brownlee, Irv Charles, Malik Taylor
Others: Lance McCutcheon

The Jets are extremely high on Gipson — not so much on Lazard — but rest assured the team is not done adding at wide receiver. This is considered a deep and talented draft class of wide receivers and the Jets should be able to add a high-quality one at some point, possibly even in the first round.

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They’ll need to, even if they view Gipson as a surefire starter, since they can’t be entirely sure what they’ll get out of Williams, who is coming off ACL surgery and won’t even be ready for the start of training camp. The Jets coaching staff has been singing the praises of Brownlee but he was active for only seven games last season and caught five passes for 56 yards. They can’t exactly bank on him to fill in for Williams, though perhaps their $44 million receiver (Lazard) will be more useful with Rodgers back at quarterback.

Charles probably locked himself into a roster spot with his performance as a gunner when Justin Hardee was injured last season, especially now that Hardee has signed with the Browns as a free agent.

Tight end

Starter: Tyler Conklin
Key backups: Jeremy Ruckert, Kenny Yeboah, Zack Kuntz

There is much debate about whether the Jets should draft Georgia tight end Brock Bowers at No. 10 (if he’s there). It’s absolutely something they should consider, especially because of his versatility as a weapon. He’d pair nicely in lineups with Conklin and/or Ruckert and Rodgers surely would be happy with that pick.

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Whether the Jets believe they actually need a tight end depends on how they feel about Ruckert’s potential and whether he’ll take a major leap forward this season. Conklin is reliable, but Ruckert was banged up as a rookie and last year still had only 16 catches, though that was in a bad offense with poor quarterback play.

Yeboah should fight for a roster spot because of his role on special teams.

Offensive line

Starters: Tyron Smith, John Simpson, Joe Tippmann, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Morgan Moses
Key backups: Wes Schweitzer, Carter Warren, Max Mitchell, Jake Hanson
Others: Austin Deculus, Xavier Newman, Chris Glaser, Vitaliy Gurman, Obinna Eze

“I think a primary objective of the offseason was fortifying the offensive line,” Douglas said at the owners’ meetings. “I think that was goal one. I feel good about what we were able to accomplish there.”

This group, on paper, looks like it could be one of the better offensive lines in the league … if everyone can stay healthy. That’s a line that will be oft-repeated this offseason and it’s hard to argue with it considering the Jets’ personnel. Smith is arguably the best left tackle in the league when healthy (or close to it). But he has missed 37 games over the last four years and in 2023 the Cowboys limited his practice participation to get him through the season.

Also: Moses is coming off torn pectoral surgery and Vera-Tucker off Achilles surgery.

The depth looks questionable at best right now, though the Jets have spent all offseason singing the praises of second-year tackle Carter Warren, who started five games at left and right tackle in 2023.

“He missed all of OTAs, he missed all of training camp with injury. That’s valuable time, especially for a rookie,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said. “He stepped in and I thought did an admirable job. I’m not going to say it was perfect but you can see signs of his footwork, his strength, you feel like if you can put in an offseason and stay healthy and get stronger that he’ll take another jump. There’s a lot of promise in that individual. I like his mental makeup, his mindset. There’s hope with a strong offseason he can do something.”

No matter how confident the Jets are in Warren, they still need to fortify the offensive line. Schweitzer and Warren are the only two backups who should be viewed as roster locks. An offensive tackle — or a versatile lineman like Washington’s Troy Fautanu — shouldn’t be ruled out in the first round. And they’ll need others, too, whether in free agency or in the draft.

The Jets’ bad luck with offensive line injuries is surely in the back of Douglas’ mind.

Defensive end

Starters: Jermaine Johnson, Haason Reddick
Key backups: John Franklin-Myers, Will McDonald IV, Micheal Clemons
Others: Jalyn Holmes

I can’t say for certain which two defensive ends will technically “start” for the Jets, but the trio of Johnson, Reddick and Franklin-Myers will all play significant snaps — especially since Franklin-Myers can slide inside to tackle as needed. Johnson feels like a safe bet to start since he developed into a four-down defensive lineman, adept at both pass-rushing (seven sacks, 16 QB hits in 2023) and run-stopping, where he ranked 12th among edge rushers in run play tackles, per PFF.

Reddick is one of the NFL’s best pass rushers, coming off a “down” year with 11 sacks. He has at least 10 sacks in four straight years and I see no reason why that can’t continue with the Jets, especially in a contract year. His snap percentage will be interesting because if he gets 10 sacks and plays at least 67.5 percent of the snaps, the draft pick sent to the Eagles will turn from a 2026 third-round pick to a second-rounder. Reddick played 74 percent of the snaps for Philly in each of the last two seasons.

Franklin-Myers is not a star but he’s solid. His contract ($16.3 million cap hit) screams restructure.

McDonald needs to take a major leap forward in his second year and the hope is that he can fill some of the void left by Bryce Huff’s departure as a pass-rush specialist.

Clemons didn’t have a great second season but has made some plays on special teams and coaches love him.

Defensive tackle

Starters: Quinnen Williams, Javon Kinlaw
Key backups: Leki Fotu, Solomon Thomas
Others: Tanzel Smart, Marquiss Spencer, Bruce Hector, Manny Jones

The Jets are banking on the talented — though inconsistent/injury prone — Kinlaw building on his best season. He had 3 1/2 sacks and six QB hits in the first season playing every game. He’ll replace Quinton Jefferson as the starter next to Williams, though there will be a steady rotation with Thomas and Fotu, more of a run stopper. Jefferson played 49 percent of the snaps last year and even that number would’ve been smaller if Al Woods hadn’t gotten hurt.

Douglas could still add to this group for depth, and only Williams is signed beyond 2024.

Linebacker

Starters: C.J. Mosley, Quincy Williams
Key backups: Jamien Sherwood, Zaire Barnes, Chazz Surratt
Others: Marcelino McCrary-Ball

Mosley and Williams have a case as one of the best linebacker pairings in the NFL. Mosley was an All-Pro two years ago, and Williams last season. Mosley is certainly on the decline of his career but after a contract restructure is at least locked in through the 2025 season. It wouldn’t be the worst idea to find a linebacker to develop as his replacement at some point, though that might not come until next offseason.

Cornerback

Starters: Sauce Gardner, D.J. Reed, Michael Carter II (slot)
Key backups: Brandin Echols, Isaiah Oliver
Others: Tae Hayes

This is an elite group, with a superstar (Gardner), Pro Bowl-caliber starter (Reed) and one of the NFL’s best nickel corners in Carter. Echols is a solid backup capable of stepping up in a pinch — and plays an important role on special teams. Both Reed and Carter are in the last year of their contracts, so I wouldn’t rule out the Jets drafting a defensive back earlier than many might expect.

Safety

Starters: Tony Adams, Chuck Clark
Backup: Jarrick Bernard-Converse

This is clearly the biggest weakness on the Jets’ defense, though Douglas has never placed much value (financially or in draft picks) on the safety position. The Jets are extremely high on Adams, who stepped into a starting job last season. Clark is coming off a torn ACL but if healthy should be an upgrade over Jordan Whitehead. The Jets should be able to find a safety with starting potential in the third or fourth round if they want it, though re-signing Ashtyn Davis is still an option.

Special teams

Starters: K Greg Zuerlein, P Thomas Morstead, LS Thomas Hennessy
Others: K Austin Seibert

The Jets re-signed Zuerlein and Morstead, retaining their best kicker-punter duo in a long, long time.

It will be interesting to see how the Jets approach the kick-return spot with the new rules. I’m intrigued at the idea of putting Hall back there on occasion, though that’s obviously risky playing your most valuable offensive weapon in that spot and risking injury.

(Top photo of Sauce Gardner and Aaron Rodgers: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)

[Larz]

They have 5 picks to improve 5 positions in my mind 

OT

IOL

WR

RB

TE

 

QB is certainly a possibility as well but I don’t think it will be a top 100 pick personally 

 

I expect JD to trade both 7’s

[#27TheDominator]

@Larz

Is this what you are looking for?  The font makes it almost unreadable to me, but Brugler is pretty solid. 

[Larz]

25 minutes ago, #27TheDominator said:

@Larz

Is this what you are looking for?  The font makes it almost unreadable to me, but Brugler is pretty solid. 

Haha yes thank you 

[CTJetsFan]

8 hours ago, Larz said:

They have 5 picks to improve 5 positions in my mind 

OT

IOL

WR

RB

TE

 

QB is certainly a possibility as well but I don’t think it will be a top 100 pick personally 

 

I expect JD to trade both 7’s

I hope they don't trade the 7s. Gives them 2 shots to get 2 players they may view as PFAs without getting into bidding wars for them. May also be the spot to take a developmental QB.