New York Jets General Manager Joe Douglas has been commended by the fanbase during his three-year tenure for his offseason transactions that have seemingly not fully lived up to expectations on the field – but that may be over. That week 5 game against the Miami Dolphins may just have been the coming-out party fans have been waiting on for many of the Jets rookies from the highly touted 2022 draft class, namely running back Breece Hall (no. 36 overall) and cornerback Sauce Gardner (no. 4 overall) who set the tone early and often in Gang Green’s 40-17 win.
Sauce Gardner immediately made his presence known with a near-sack on quarterback
Teddy Bridgewater's first dropback of the game, resulting in an intentional grounding penalty and subsequently a safety to put the Jets out in front. More abiding, the hit sidelined Bridgewater for the remainder of the game, adding to the list of Miami QBs in concussion protocol, and limiting the Dolphins to their rookie third-string QB Skyler Thompson. Sauce followed that up with his first career interception not long after, much to the relief of the fanbase who had been eager to see the rookie secure his first INT since they heard his name on draft night. Gardner had sky-high expectations before ever even playing an NFL snap and thus far has lived up to all of them. The 22-year-old rookie has fared well in his newfound New York spotlight, already drawing comparisons to club legend Darrelle Revis while inking some lucrative endorsement deals with the likes of Buffalo Wild Wings. The Jets secondary has been starving for a difference-maker ever since Jamal Adams was traded to Seattle, and it looks like Sauce has had no issues stepping right in and appeasing that hunger quickly.
Joe Douglas traded up 2 draft positions to draft running back Breece Hall at 36th overall. Seen as a smart move from the jump, Hall had still yet to have “that” game through the first four weeks of his rookie campaign. That is until yesterday when he put up 100 yards receiving and 97 on the ground including a touchdown against Miami. Hall has finally given Jets fans hope that they may have found a reliable running back for years to come – something this team has longed for many years.
It's not all about this year's rookies though. Looking back a couple of draft classes, Quinnen Williams looks to be coming into his own as he led the pass rush yesterday with six pressures and recorded a sack for the third straight game. Coach Robert Saleh’s usage rate of Williams had been questioned early on in the season and he has proven that he should be on the field for the majority of defensive downs. Williams also had one huge fumble recovery that was accompanied by a forceful stiff-arm of one Tyreek Hill much to the chagrin of Jet fans everywhere.
This brings us to the quarterback position. After missing the first three weeks with a knee injury sustained in the preseason, quarterback Zach Wilson has not necessarily blown the doors off the place – but, he has done enough to win two games and has his team above .500 in October for the first time since 2017. Wilson led a fourth-quarter comeback in Pittsburgh in week 4 and had 0 turnovers in the week 5 win. Wilson may not exactly be filling up the stat sheet just yet, but his ability to extend plays and avoid the pass rush brings a certain explosiveness to the offense that backup Joe Flacco simply cannot offer, making the Jets a substantially better team with Wilson at the helm.
This doesn't even cover everyone as there are plenty more young pieces to this Jets team that are giving fans reasons to hope for the future. Rookie receiver Garrett Wilson who was taken 10th overall this past draft and has shown glimpses of exceptional open-field moves as seen when he grabbed two touchdowns in week 2’s improbable comeback against the Browns, not to mention DJ Reed who alongside Sauce Gardner has helped limit teams ability to throwing on the Jets’ secondary through the first five games. If you told Jets fans that their team would be 3-2 after five games, three of which were started by Flacco, they would have all taken that offer. With some AFC teams not looking as advertised like the Broncos or Raiders, there may be some room for the Jets’ developing rookies and sophomores to surprise the league this year. Even if that isn't the case though, there is one certainty: for the first time in a long time, these are not the “Same Old Jets."
Written by: Kyle Coreth,
October 10th, 2022