The Aaron Glenn New York Jets era officially kicks off in eight days when the team faces former starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 7. The Jets finalized their roster with this week’s cut down to 53 players followed by some intriguing waiver claims.
Not much is expected from New York following a complete organizational tear down after last season’s implosion. It would be easy to predict that the Jets won’t snap their 14-year playoff drought or end their run of nine consecutive losing seasons.
But we’re digging a bit deeper here. With the 2025 regular season approaching, we’re offering three bold predictions for the New York Jets.
Fields over the field
Bold prediction No. 1: Justin Fields will lead the league in quarterback rushing yards.
This is not an endorsement of New York’s new signal caller. Based on insiders’ takes on Fields’ progress this offseason, the Jets could experience turbulence with the fifth-year passer at the helm. But in Fields’ first, and potentially only, year as New York’s starting quarterback, he will lead all QBs in rushing yards.
There’s a wealth of talented runners at the position. Lamar Jackson, Jayden Daniels, Jalen Hurts and Josh Allen have all rushed for over 760 yards in a season. And Jackson has dominated, leading all QBs in rushing each of the last two seasons and five total times in his seven-year career.
The thought of Fields surpassing the Ravens’ star as the QB rushing king seems unlikely but it’s not that outlandish. In fact, the last time Jackson didn’t lead all quarterbacks on the ground, Fields did. Despite a pedestrian season as a passer with the Bears in 2022, he racked up 1,143 rushing yards, easily leading the pack.
Fields also played a career-high 15 games in 2022. Assuming he avoids injury, the former first-round pick will get an opportunity to play the entire season in 2025. The team has no other realistic option at the position.
And given the lack of pass-catching talent beyond Garrett Wilson, the Jets are going to be a run first (and second and often third) offense this year. It’s the style of play Glenn – and just about every other rookie defensive-minded head coach – wants to adopt.
While New York has three running backs in line for carries, it will also feature plenty of designed runs for the quarterback with a healthy dose of scrambles mixed in.
Limiting Fields’ exposure as a passer will be part of New York’s game plan. The 26-year-old signal caller has never topped 370 pass attempts in a season. By comparison, Rodgers put the ball in the air 584 times in 2024. That’s not going to happen on Glenn’s watch. The team will likely encourage Fields to get what he can on scrambles rather than risking throws into tight coverage.
In addition to the game plan, the Jets’ offensive line should also work in Fields’ favor. While the unit has long been a weakness for New York, it may finally have turned into a strength. The Jets’ have three first-round draft picks on the o-line in 2025 (Armand Membou, Olu Fashanu and Alijah Vera-Tucker). And the group is stronger at blocking for the run than the pass.
Fields has the athleticism, opportunity and offensive environment to become the NFL’s QB rushing king this season. And while it may not be enough to secure his position as New York’s long-term starter, he could become the rare Jets quarterback to lead the league in something positive.
Hail, the sack king
Bold prediction No. 2: Will McDonald will lead the league in sacks.
The third-year defensive end could become the first Jets player to lead the NFL in sacks since Mark Gastineau did it 41 years ago. McDonald finished 12th in the league with 10.5 sacks in his sophomore season. That total represented a significant jump from his rookie year, when he posted three.
The 15th overall pick from the 2023 draft was on the field more last season. He saw his snap percentage increase from 19 in his rookie year to 66 in 2024. After displaying his pass rushing chops for the Jets, McDonald will resume his role as the starting left defensive end. And he could have another big leap in store for his third season.
McDonald is far from a complete player. Run defense is a major weakness in his game. But he can get after the quarterback. McDonald finished sixth in QB pressures last season with 38. He was ninth in hurries and he had the eighth-most quarterback knockdowns.
And McDonald demonstrated these elite pass rushing characteristics while playing on a compromised defensive line, starting opposite Michael Clemons. This season, the environment will improve. Fellow DE Jermaine Johnson is back from his Achilles tear and ready to resume his Pro Bowl career. Quinnen Williams will once again man the interior. But he’ll be joined by newcomer Harrison Phillips, who the Jets landed in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings.
It would stand to reason that the NFL’s sack leader would be tied to a strong passing offense as teams that put up a lot of points tend to create more drop back situations for their opponents. Those opportunities allow the defense to pin its ears back and go after the quarterback.
That connection between a team’s offensive strength and a player’s sack total proved true last year. The Cincinnati Bengals boasted the top passing offense in football and Trey Hendrickson led the league with 17.5 sacks.
However, that was the only instance in the last five seasons in which the sack leader played for the top passing offense. In fact, it was the only time in that span that the sack king was tied to even a top-12 pass offense. Good news for McDonald as the Jets are likely to fall out of the top 25 this season.
Hendrickson is the rare sack leader with a large disparity between his ability to rush the passer and defend the run. The All-Pro DE had a near 25-point difference between his pass rush and run defense grades in 2024, per PFF. The previous year, when he also recorded 17.5 sacks and finished second overall, the difference was nearly 40 points.
McDonald doesn’t have to become a complete defender to take the sack title. An upgraded line in 2025 could allow the 26-year-old edge rusher to do what he does best. With the interior and the right edge demanding blockers’ attention, McDonald could make another substantial leap and finish as the NFL’s sack leader.
Feel good about Woods
Bold prediction No. 3: Jelani Woods will have the second-most Jets’ receiving touchdowns.
OK, this is certainly a bold prediction. Woods hasn’t played since his rookie season in 2022. He missed all of 2023 with a hamstring injury and sat out last year after undergoing toe surgery.
On top of that, he just joined the Jets this week as a waiver addition after getting released by the Indianapolis Colts during the teams’ 53-man roster cutdowns.
However, the former third-round pick has shown a penchant for scoring during his brief time in the pros. Woods actually finished tied for second on the Colts with three touchdown receptions as a rookie. And he did it while starting just two games and playing 33 percent of offensive snaps.
Despite his late arrival to the Jets, Woods should be able to leapfrog Stone Smartt and Jeremy Ruckert on the depth chart – assuming he can stay healthy. As New York’s TE2 Woods could find himself in plenty of 12 personnel sets, especially near the goal line.
Fields is a quarterback who favors throwing to his tight ends. In every stop of his career thus far, with the Bears from 2021-2023 and with the Steelers in 2024, a tight end finished either first or second in touchdown receptions. And the position will factor heavily into the Jets’ passing attack.
Second-rounder Mason Taylor is slated to start for the Jets in his rookie season. Although clearly talented, the young LSU product didn’t show an affinity for scoring (touchdowns) in college. Taylor never had more than three touchdown receptions in a season with the Tigers. He finished his collegiate career with six total TD grabs.
The 6’7”, 253-pound Woods established himself as a significant red zone target in his senior year at the University of Virginia, reeling in eight scores. And he already has three touchdowns in limited time as a pro.
If Woods moves up to TE2 and stays healthy, he could become a safety blanket red zone option for Fields with his size and athleticism. Five touchdown receptions on 45-50 targets is feasible and would likely place him second on the team in that category.
