There exist plenty of reasons for New York Jets fans to be excited about the upcoming 2025 NFL season. Head coach Aaron Glenn seems to be the kind of coach who can turn a franchise around with a hard culture reset and no shortage of expertise. Quarterback Justin Fields has the athleticism and potential to pull off the kind of career renaissance we recently saw from Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield. Most importantly of all, superstars Garrett Wilson and Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner are now under contract for the long haul.
One thing that’s not full of promise for the Jets is their young core, with ‘young’ being defined as under 25-years-old. At least, it’s not full of promise according to ESPN’s Aaron Schatz. In a recent article for ESPN, Schatz ranked each team’s core of young players and he ranked the Jets near the bottom at No. 28.
Justifying this choice, Schatz writes, “The Jets ranked nice and high in our countdowns of young talent for a while, but eventually Wilson and Gardner had to grow up. Wilson turned 25 on July 22. Gardner almost qualified for our rankings but will turn 25 on Aug. 31. Instead, just like in Pittsburgh, the young talent for the Jets is now focused on the offensive line. Last year’s first-round pick, left tackle Olu Fashanu, is 22. This year’s first-round pick, Membou, is just 21. Center Joe Tippmann, in his third NFL season, is 24 years old.”
Schatz also gave credit to New York’s young running back duo of Breece Hall and Braelon Allen, as well as rookie tight end Mason Taylor, but it’s difficult to argue against his broader point. Wilson and Gardner kept the Jets high in these rankings in previous years, but they no longer qualify. Fields might have given them a small boost, except he’s 26-years-old.
That leaves the Jets with only a few key players who fit the bill, and most of them are offensive linemen, who typically need more time to adjust to the NFL.
This isn’t to say that the Jets will be bad in 2025 or that they have no hope for the future. As Schatz pointed out, Wilson and Gardner just narrowly missed the cut, and Fields could very well turn his career around in New York. But if this team is going to succeed in 2025, the youth will have to take a backseat to the vets.
