5 NY Jets players who fell well short of expectations in 2023

2. Laken Tomlinson, OG, NY Jets

When the Jets signed Pro Bowl offensive guard Laken Tomlinson to a three-year, $40 million contract ahead of the 2022 season, most expected the former first-round pick to immediately slot in as a high-level starter for a Jets team that desperately needed offensive line help.

Unfortunately, the Tomlinson that the Jets saw in San Francisco hasn't shown up in Florham Park. His 2022 season was a massive disappointment, but there was optimism that he'd be able to turn things around in his second year with the team.

That didn't happen. If anything, Tomlinson may have been worse. Tomlinson led all offensive guards with 51 pressures allowed this season — three more than any other guard and nine more than the third-place player at his position.

He wasn't any better as a run defender, either, with a Pro Football Focus run-block grade of 49.6, which ranked 64th out of 80 qualified guards. The only silver lining is that Tomlinson appeared in all 17 games once again. Durability remains the only positive of his Jets stint to this point.

1. Allen Lazard, WR, NY Jets

Arguably the worst free-agent signing of the offseason for any team, and one of the worst in franchise history, has to go to the four-year, $44 million contract the Jets handed to wide receiver Allen Lazard last March.

Lazard was coming off a career year in Green Bay in which he finished with a career-high 60 catches for 788 yards as the Packers' No. 1 wide receiver. Drops were an issue for Lazard, but the hope was that he could be a competent WR2 with Aaron Rodgers throwing him the ball.

Instead, Lazard finished with just 23 catches for 311 yards — the worst numbers since his rookie season when he played one game. Lazard led the NFL in drop rate and found himself as a healthy scratch on multiple occasions.

When the likes of Xavier Gipson, Jason Brownlee, Irvin Charles, and even the corpse of Randall Cobb are playing over you, something has gone terribly wrong. No Jets player disappointed more in 2023 than Allen Lazard.