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New York Jets Rookies Are Helping Drive Early Season Success

By Jacob Schyvinck

Oct 9, 2022; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets running back Breece Hall (20) runs with the ball against the Miami Dolphins during the second half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 9, 2022; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets running back Breece Hall (20) runs with the ball against the Miami Dolphins during the second half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports /
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The New York Jets are off to a better start than most expected, and the 2022 rookie class has been helping drive that success.

Things weren’t looking great for the New York Jets as the season drew near. Second-year quarterback Zach Wilson got hurt in the preseason, and it was revealed he would likely miss the first few weeks of the season. Couple that with an AFC that got a lot better, and a playoff berth wasn’t looking good.

Through five weeks of the season, the Jets sit firmly in the playoff picture. At 3-2 with wins over the Browns, Steelers, and Dolphins, they’ve got a wild card berth on their mind. It won’t be terribly easy moving forward, with games in Green Bay, Minnesota, and Denver (tough places to play no matter how Green Bay and Denver are underperforming), two tilts with the Bills, and a finale in Miami, but the Jets are playing inspired football under second year head coach Robert Saleh.

A lot can be attributed to the success. Quinnen Williams has been playing lights out in his fourth season. The pass rush looks better. The secondary has been extremely difficult to navigate for opponents. Joe Flacco played impressive ball in wait of Wilson’s return. However, it’s hard to ignore how much the rookies have been a driving force for the early success of the New York Jets.

Take Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner for instance. He’s got six pass breakups on the season and recorded his first interception of his career against Miami on Sunday. He hasn’t been perfect against some tough receivers, but he hasn’t made things easy either. He’s transitioning well to recover, is playing physical, and isn’t allowing a free pass at the catch point.

Breece Hall has been ramping up to a breakout game, and he got in on Sunday. His patience combined with abrupt decisiveness is perfect for reading out and attacking between the tackles. His usage as a receiver has been the most surprising, but considering some of the highlights he had at Iowa State, it shouldn’t be out of the blue. His two catches went for 100 yards Sunday, and it’s unlikely that it’ll be the last we see of him pushing for 200 scrimmage yards.

Garrett Wilson has faded a bit since Wilson’s return, which isn’t totally shocking. Wilson has often preferred tight ends and Corey Davis, but as they get more reps, Wilson should be back in the driver’s seat for WR1 in the offense. Jermaine Johnson only had 83 total snaps entering Sunday, and unfortunately left with an injury after 15 on Sunday, but he’s been strong defending the run and should continue to develop as a pass rusher.

This rookie class could be a special one for the New York Jets, and credit to Joe Douglas and his team of scouts for executing their plan well. The results could come earlier than expected this season, but even if not, they are set up well for the near future.

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