NY Jets fall two spots in latest NFL power rankings

The NY Jets may have improved their roster in the 2020 NFL Draft, but that didn’t stop them from falling a couple of spots in the NFL’s latest power rankings.

The NY Jets have received near-universal praise for their 2020 NFL Draft class. Of course, it will be years before we could truly analyze the outcome and success of the draft, but at first glance, it appears to pass the eye test.

The Jets not only addressed some of their biggest needs, but they helped land players who all seem to fit into the current and future plans. And after some downright awful years of drafting under previous general manager Mike Maccagnan, a plan is all we could really as for.

Yet despite this praise from nearly every media outlet, the Jets apparently haven’t done enough to warrant a higher spot in the NFL’s power rankings.

Dan Hanzus of NFL.com recently released his post-draft power rankings and the Jets actually fell two spots from No. 20 to No. 22. Despite this, it appears as though Hanzus was a fan of the team’s draft.

Here is an excerpt from the passage.

“With Joe Douglas in charge, it feels like the Jets finally have a grown-up in the room. The GM has Super Bowl rings for his contributions to championship teams in Baltimore and Philadelphia, and his sensible approach to team building was on display in this draft.”

He went on to praise the selections of Mekhi Becton, Denzel Mims, and Cameron Clark before insisting that it was on quarterback Sam Darnold to “take the next step” in 2020 — something Jets fans have heard a lot of this offseason.

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Now, it isn’t the No. 22 ranking that seems off here. If anything, ranking the Jets as the 22nd best team in the NFL ahead of teams like the Los Angeles Chargers and Arizona Cardinals is probably a little generous.

But it is interesting that their draft class caused them to fall a couple of spots. However, this seems to simply be a product of other teams leapfrogging them with equally successful drafts.

The Denver Broncos, for example, jumped four spots up from No. 25 to vault ahead of the Jets. The Las Vegas Raiders also moved up a few spots to No. 19. Perhaps the Jets were just victims of circumstance.

Still, it is nice to see the Jets receive this widespread acclaim after a few terrible draft classes under Maccagnan, even if it hasn’t lead to an improved preseason opinion of the roster.

Whether Joe Douglas’ first draft class with the Jets will meet expectations remains to be seen. But for now, Jets fans could take solace in knowing that those around the league believe Douglas got it right.

As Hanzus said, the Jets finally have a “grown-up” in the front office.