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

It's safe to say that the NY Jets fell well short of expectations in 2023. A team that had legitimate Super Bowl aspirations entering the season saw their hopes evaporate when their star quarterback went down with a torn Achilles just four plays into the season.

The Aaron Rodgers injury was undoubtedly a significant blow to the Jets' chances of competing in 2023, but his absence wasn't the only reason the team underachieved.

A number of players on the roster also fell short of expectations and contributed to the Jets' underwhelming 2023 season. Some of those players didn't even finish this year with the Jets.

From free-agent busts to underachieving veterans, let's take a look at five Jets players who fell short of expectations for the team in 2023.

5. Mecole Hardman, WR, NY Jets

When the Jets signed Mecole Hardman last offseason, they promised the speedy wide receiver an expanded role in their offense. This was the same Mecole Hardman who had played more than 50 percent of snaps for the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs the year prior.

Surely this meant the Jets had a large role lined up for Hardman then, right? Not exactly.

The two-time Super Bowl champion quickly fell out of favor with the Jets' coaching staff and found himself plummeting down the depth chart. In total, Hardman would appear in just five games for the Jets, hauling in one catch for six yards before being traded back to Kansas City.

The Jets instead chose to rely on the likes of Randall Cobb and a host of undrafted receivers to fill Hardman's place. So much for that "expanded role" the team envisioned.

4. Carl Lawson, DE, NY Jets

The Jets could have released Carl Lawson this past offseason and saved $15 million with absolutely no dead cap penalty. Instead, the team restructured his deal, pushing over $6 million in dead cap to 2024 because they believed in the former Cincinnati Bengals standout.

Lawson dominated his first summer with the Jets before suffering a torn Achilles in training camp. He stayed healthy throughout 2022, but it was clear that he was still a step slower than his pre-injury self.

The Jets banked on Lawson returning to form with another year removed from his Achilles injury. Unfortunately, Lawson would suffer a back injury prior to the season, and he never fully recovered.

Lawson appeared in just six games and was a "healthy" scratch for much of the season. It's a travesty that the Jets never got to see a fully healthy Carl Lawson during his time with the team.

3. Dalvin Cook, RB, NY Jets

The Jets gave Dalvin Cook the most guaranteed money of any free-agent running back this past offseason with the idea that he would serve as a complement and expensive insurance policy to young running back Breece Hall this season.

Hall was still working his way back from a torn ACL, and the Jets hoped that Cook could provide much-needed running back depth despite all signs pointing to his obvious and inevitable decline. The Jets ignored the warning signs and paid for it.

Cook was abysmal in 2023. The former Pro Bowl running back averaged a dreadful 3.2 yards per carry and finished dead last in RYOE/attempt — one season after ranking last among all running backs in total RYOE (rushing yards over expected).

Anyone who watched Cook's 2022 film and paid attention to the analytics should have expected a season like this out of the former second-round pick. The Jets didn't, however, which means he fell well short of his team's unrealistic expectations.

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.