7 NY Jets players who disappointed the most in the 2022 season

2. Laken Tomlinson, OG, NY Jets

Laken Tomlinson has been a bust of a free-agent signing for the Jets — there's no way around it. The Jets signed Tomlinson, a 2021 Pro Bowler, to a hefty three-year, $40 million contract with the expectation that he would be the team's best offensive lineman in 2022.

The reality couldn't have been further from the truth. Tomlinson finished with a 56.8 PFF grade — the worst of his eight-year career — that ranked 57th out of 78 qualified guards. His dreadful 46.9 run-block grade ranked 71st out of 77 qualifiers.

Tomlinson was one of the worst starting guards in football and arguably the weakest link of a Jets' offensive line that saw six different offensive tackles spend time on the IR in 2022.

Regression was expected given that Tomlinson was no longer playing alongside Trent Williams, but no one could have predicted this. The Jets are likely stuck with Tomlinson for at least one more season, and they better hope he improves in 2023.

We're not talking Trumaine Johnson levels bad here, but it isn't that far off.

1. Zach Wilson, QB, NY Jets

Who else could it have been? Zach Wilson is the primary reason that the Jets' 7-10 season feels more like a disappointment than a step in the right direction.

Wilson's failures and utter implosion in 2022 leave a black mark on what was mostly a positive year for Gang Green. Young players all across the roster proved themselves as franchise cornerstones for the foreseeable future, but while the likes of Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson soared, Wilson floundered.

From his preseason injury to his multiple in-season benches, there was no bigger disappointment on the Jets' roster in 2022 than Wilson. Wilson entered the season as the hopeful future of the franchise and will now be lucky to find himself as a third-stringer in 2023.

Zach Wilson's disappointment not only derailed a promising season for the Jets, but it threatens to derail the immediate future of the organization as well as the current regime. It doesn't get much more disappointing than that.