The New York Jets have become a chic pick to make a legitimate run at unseating the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC, especially if Aaron Rodgers is able to stay healthy and upright for far longer than four snaps during the 2024 campaign.
Thanks to adding veteran receiver Mike Williams to an already explosive young collection of receivers, first-round rookie Olu Fashanu as well as potential future Hall of Famer Tyron Smith to the offensive line charged with keeping Rodgers upright, optimism is high surrounding the Jets.
“I like the Jets’ additions with Rodgers coming back,” an AFC South offensive coach told me recently, when asked which team improved the most this offseason. “They added two new offensive tackles, Haason Reddick on defense, and Malachi Corley is a really good run after-the-catch receiver.”
Is There a Bigger Threat to the Chiefs Than the New York Jets?
The big question for general manager Joe Douglas and the Jets is whether the offseason additions and a healthy Rodgers will be enough to emerge from being a middling AFC franchise to one representing the conference in the Super Bowl.
According to Judy Battista of the NFL Network, there’s just one problem.
Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.
“Cincinnati is one of the reasons I don’t see the Jets getting to the Super Bowl,” Battista writes for NFL.com. “The Bengals have shown that when Joe Burrow is healthy, they are a Super Bowl-caliber team. Burrow has spent the offseason getting bigger and stronger and focusing on nutrition in an effort to improve his durability, and he will undoubtedly be highly motivated to silence questions about whether he is injury-prone.
“If he stays on the field — and assuming the Bengals do not trade Tee Higgins — this is the only team that has consistently challenged the Chiefs’ supremacy. They’ll get another chance to knock off the champs this season.”
The last time Burrow was fully healthy, he led the Bengals back to the AFC title game, coming up just short of a repeat Super Bowl appearance.
Meanwhile, without Rodgers, the Jets limped to a 7-10 finish last season.
There’s a very real possibility that a healthy Burrow reminds the rest of the league just how dangerous the Bengals are.
Copyright © 2024
Leave a Reply