Way-Too-Early NFL Power Rankings: Where Do the Jets Rank Entering 2021?

The Jets are ranked 29th in ESPN's way-too-early power rankings for the 2021 NFL season.

Max Goodman | Feb 8, 2021

Now that the 2020 NFL season is officially in the rearview mirror, it's time to start looking ahead.

For the Jets, after a two-win campaign, next season can't come soon enough. The franchise as a whole can take a huge step in the right direction during Robert Saleh's first year as head coach with his new staff, plenty of draft capital (including the No. 2 pick) and cap space to spare.

Even if there's potential for the Jets to progress when games start back up this fall, these initial power ranking projections kept New York close to the league's cellar.

In ESPN's way-too-early power rankings, posted shortly after the Super Bowl on Sunday, the Jets came in at No. 29. That's technically two steps forward compared to their draft position this spring (finishing the season with the second-worst record). The only teams behind them in these rankings are the Lions, Jags and Texans, in descending order.

The beauty of this ranking, however, is that New York can jump ahead quite a bit depending on how this offseason transpires. As ESPN's Rich Cimini writes in this story, the Jets can either "trade for Deshaun Watson, who would be their best quarterback since Joe Namath," or "use their draft capital (four of the first 66 picks) to improve the roster, building around incumbent QB Sam Darnold."

NFL Experts Say Jets Aren't As Far Away From Contention As You Might Think

Option one adds a top-five quarterback, certainly an easy way to win more games next year, but limits how many draft picks Gang Green has at its disposal going forward. The latter choice puts faith in Darnold to lead this team back to contention, a 23-year-old that's struggled to develop over his first three NFL seasons.

Should the Jets be able to pull off a trade with the Houston Texans for Watson, who knows how many slots the Jets can ascend?

Either way, with general manager Joe Douglas and Saleh calling the shots, you have to figure that it's only up from here.

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Published Feb 8, 2021

MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Jets for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. He also covers the New York Yankees, publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Yankees site, Inside The Pinstripes. Before starting out with SI, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. While at school, Goodman gathered valuable experience as an anchor and reporter on NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. Goodman previously interned at MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman and connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.