5 moves the NY Jets must make to compete for a Super Bowl in 2023

The NY Jets proved that they were ahead of schedule last season. The Jets jumped out to a 7-4 start and looked primed to break their decade-long playoff drought before a six-game losing streak to close the season derailed those plans.

They were never going to realistically compete for a Super Bowl last season, but the roster is undoubtedly stronger than most probably anticipated going into the year. The quarterback position, on the other hand — not so much.

Still, the Jets have a strong enough roster that, if they make the right changes this offseason, they could realistically compete for not only the playoffs but a Super Bowl title in 2023.

It's not farfetched, but it also won't be an easy task. Let's take a look at five things the Jets must do to establish themselves as legitimate Super Bowl contenders next season.

5. The NY Jets must address their DT depth

The Jets have one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL in Quinnen Williams, but when Williams was off the field in 2022, the team's defense struggled to produce at the same rate.

Nathan Shepherd and Solomon Thomas were two of the Jets' worst run defenders last season (despite what ESPN's questionable win rates might suggest), and with both set to be free agents, the Jets should absolutely take the opportunity to upgrade the position.

Sheldon Rankins put together a nice bounce-back season in 2022, but he too is a free agent. Even if the Jets bring back Rankins, they should consider targeting someone like Wisconsin's Keeanu Benton or South Carolina's Zacch Pickens in the middle rounds of the draft.

The Jets need another defensive tackle who can defend the run like Williams does. They need four reliable defensive tackles if they're going to rotate as much as they do. Shepherd and Thomas aren't going to cut it.

4. The NY Jets must add another offensive playmaker

The Jets' offense has quite a few playmakers with the two most prominent coming in last year's draft. Garrett Wilson proved that he can be the No. 1 wide receiver the Jets have been searching for and Breece Hall was one of the best running backs in football prior to his injury.

Combine them with a hopefully re-motivated Elijah Moore, a couple of starting-caliber tight ends in Tyler Conklin and C.J. Uzomah, and some good running back depth, and the Jets have a solid collection of skill position players.

That said, the Jets could really use another playmaker. Compare the Jets' skill position group to the rosters of most of the recent Super Bowl teams. The Jets have a passable group, but it's not at the level it could be.

Corey Davis is expected to be released, and Braxton Berrios might be as well. Moore's rollercoaster of a 2022 season leaves more questions about his status entering 2023. Conklin and Uzomah are fine, but neither is exactly a game-changing player.

Meanwhile, Michael Carter underwhelmed in 2022 and, while Zonovan Knight showed flashes, he regressed to the mean after a hot start. The Jets have two "sure things" in their skill position group, and one of those "sure things" is coming off a torn ACL.

The Jets need to add another offensive playmaker this offseason. The most obvious option would be to add another wide receiver given the expected changes at that position, but I wouldn't rule out the team adding a tight end or even a running back.

NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah recently hypothesized that the Jets could target a tight end early in the draft if the value is right. The bottom line is the Jets need some more offensive firepower.

Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall are an excellent young duo, but the Jets need more.

3. The NY Jets must fix the safety position

Aside from the quarterback position, there was no more evident weakness on the Jets' roster in 2022 than safety. Jordan Whitehead disappointed in his first year with the team, while Lamarcus Joyner proved to be one of the worst starting safeties in football.

Whitehead's Pro Football Focus run defense grade ranked 59th out of 82 qualified safeties as the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers draft pick frequently missed tackles and overran assignments. But Whitehead might as well have been Ed Reed in comparison to Joyner.

The Jets re-signed Joyner in the offseason after his first season with the team was limited to just nine defensive snaps due to injury. The hope was that Joyner could recapture his glory days with the Rams now that he was a full-time safety again.

That, somewhat predictably, didn't happen. Joyner missed a whopping 14.5 percent of his tackle attempts and was one of just four qualified safeties to finish with a PFF coverage and tackling grade below 55.0.

Joyner was one of the worst safeties in the NFL last season and will almost certainly not be back in 2023. Whitehead will likely return, but the Jets need to find a way to upgrade the free safety spot next to him.

Perhaps that could mean targeting high-profile names like Jimmie Ward, Jordan Poyer, or Jessie Bates in free agency. Perhaps it means using a top-50 draft pick on a safety.

Whatever the Jets choose to do, they absolutely need to find a solution. This was the one position holding the Jets' defense back last season.

2. The NY Jets must solidify their offensive line

It might not matter who the Jets have at quarterback in 2023 if they don't have an offensive line to protect them. The Jets' offensive line was decimated by injuries last season, and the belief of many within the organization is that the unit's struggles were largely a result of those injuries.

An unbelievable seven different offensive tackles spent time on the injured reserve in 2022, including the likes of Mekhi Becton, George Fant, Duane Brown, Max Mitchell, and Alijah Vera-Tucker (if you include him as a tackle).

Becton missed the entire season. Vera-Tucker's very promising sophomore campaign was cut short after just seven games. Fant played through a knee injury all season, while Brown did the same with a shoulder injury.

It was difficult for the Jets to find any sense of stability or continuity on the offensive line given the ever-changing pieces they were working with. That, more than anything, absolutely contributed to the team's struggles up front.

That said, the Jets need to address the unit this offseason. They need to figure out a plan at offensive tackle, first and foremost. Brown could retire, Fant is a free agent, and Becton has played one game since his rookie season. Drafting a tackle early seems likely.

The Jets must also figure out what the plan for Vera-Tucker is in 2023. Do they move him back to right guard? Do they keep him at tackle? It's an important offseason discussion that has been a little overlooked.

Center Connor McGovern is also a free agent, as well as veteran spot starters Nate Herbig, Dan Feeney, and Cedric Ogbuehi. The Jets might need to find a new center if McGovern walks.

There's a lot of uncertainty with the Jets' offensive line entering the offseason. The Jets need to formalize a plan and ensure that the unit is improved going into the 2023 season.

1. The NY Jets must land either Aaron Rodgers or Derek Carr

It's obvious, isn't it? The 2022 Jets should have been a playoff team. If they had even close to average quarterback play for most of the season, they absolutely would have been.

The Jets nearly made the playoffs despite receiving the worst quarterback performances of any team in the NFL last year. If there ever was a team that was a QB away from contending, it was the 2022 Jets.

We can sit here and discuss the other obvious roster needs. Yes, the Jets need to fix their offensive line. Yes, safety was a major concern last year. But in reality, one position can change everything.

If the Jets are able to land a good quarterback this offseason, those other roster flaws become a lot less noticeable. There are two legitimate quarterback options who can provide that for the Jets: Aaron Rodgers and Derek Carr.

For the sake of this discussion, let's assume Lamar Jackson isn't a realistic target for the Jets because if he is, he also fits this criteria. Jackson might be traded, but his timeline probably doesn't line up with the Jets.

Rodgers is the high-upside, swing-for-the-fences move with the goal of winning a Super Bowl within the next 1-2 years. The future Hall of Famer battled injuries last season and dealt with a poor supporting cast, but he still proved that he has plenty left in the tank.

Carr doesn't possess the upside that Rodgers does, but he's been a consistently top 12-16 quarterback for the majority of his career. He can get the Jets to the playoffs with an outside chance of competing for a Lombardi Trophy.

If the Jets are serious about not just making the playoffs in 2023 but competing for a Super Bowl, these are the only two feasible quarterback additions that could make it happen.