NFL teams most likely to go from worst to first in 2021

NFL teams to watch out for in 2021: New York Jets

8. New York Jets

This is not great for the Jets.

There's a lot to like with New York with how Joe Douglas is putting this roster together, going from a coaching staff that lacked the ability to motivate players and gain schematic advantage, to a very capable group that will have their guys ready, while second overall pick Zach Wilson has the skills to be the franchise quarterback Jets fans have been craving since Joe Namath.

This really isn’t as much about this group than the other teams in that division – the Bills are coming off an AFC Championship game appearance and should be front-runners for the conference again, with an MVP candidate under center and close-to-elite pass-catchers and protection, while their head coach has a history of getting the defense to continually improve as the season progresses.

The Dolphins just won ten games, with their top-five QB Tua Tagovailoa looking to make a big jump and have added two of the top ten players in the draft.

The Patriots have spent as much money this offseason to improve the roster as we have ever seen under Bill Belichick, to go with getting a couple of players back from opt-outs and having a first-round quarterback ready to take over if Cam Newton can’t bounce back.

Michael Carter Jr. cuts his way through for his second TD of the half#Miami #NorthCarolina pic.twitter.com/M3sDoslPP0

— Sideline CFB (@SidelineCFB) December 12, 2020

Threats facing the New York Jets

So there are three teams that could easily all win double-digit games, and the Bills might be the conference’s number one seed when all is said and done.

The bar for Gang Green is so much higher than it is for the two teams ahead of them, even though you could easily see them winning the most games among the three.

They do have a clear plan offensively, building around the offensive line with top-15 picks in each of the last two years, and the run game under new OC Mike LaFleur, bringing along those Kyle Shanahan philosophies from San Francisco, adding more pieces to the backfield (which I discussed in my last article), while having the weapons now to punish defenses off play-action, with (basically) 1000-yard receiver Corey Davis from Tennessee and 34th overall pick Elijah Moore out of Ole Miss, who has been the star of OTAs in New York reportedly.

The defense still has some issues, with as unproven a cornerback room as we have in the league, but they could easily have a top-ten player at all three levels in Quinnen Williams, C.J. Mosley and Marcus Maye to go with much better game-planning.

Robert Saleh brought excellent motivational skills and teaching to the 49ers defense these last few years, and while he may not be able to be as diverse as he showed in 2020 coverage-wise, there won’t be any zero blitzes on third & long, with almost no time and the game on the line.

Quinnen Williams has been a stud vs. the run this season and is a solid power-rusher with really nice flashes. Very encouraged by what I've seen from him this year. pic.twitter.com/AUxmZ61fDq

— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) October 30, 2020

Once again, the Jets’ chances are this low because it's difficult to see the three other teams get bitten by injury, bad luck or anything else, and the Jets should be ecstatic about approaching .500 territory with a 28-54 record since that magical Ryan Fitzpatrick year.

They improved every single unit on offense in significant fashion, with quarterback being the only unproven commodity – and I personally had Zach Wilson as a top-five overall prospect – the defense is getting back C.J. Mosley in the middle who has the skill-set to take on a Fred Warner role, to go with signing a legitimate threat rushing off the edge finally in Carl Lawson.

Then, of course, the coaching staff should give them a major boost when it just comes to the vibe around the organization and their ability to teach and gain schematic advantages on a weekly basis. There is an uptick that we haven’t seen or felt coming from the Jets in a while and though it may not put them in position to challenge the rest of the division this year, expect continuous improvement on an annual basis.

Chance: 4-5 percent