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     The Jets have one of the most promising futures of any team in the NFL, however there are still a few glaring weaknesses which need to be addressed. I intend to point out some of those areas of need, and, at a later date, will discuss potentials players who can fill those needs. I am writing this article from the (optimistic) point of view that the Jets are going to be able to sign at least 2 of the 3 free agent wide receivers and Antonio Cromartie, so keep in mind that based on whether or not those two things come to fruition, WR and CB could potentially move very high up onto the Jets needs lists. However, assuming those deals are done, here we go with needs for now, starting at the top:

1.  The Jets biggest need right now is a Pass-Rushing Defensive End. This need pretty much speaks for itself; with the exception of a few games, Gang Green got little to no pass rush from their front three. Shaun Ellis, who has been a good player for the Jets for a long time, now may be reaching the end of his useful tenure as a player. Notwithstanding his monster game against the Pats in the playoffs, the Jets DE’s were awful in getting after the quarterback. Although bringing pressure through the blitz is one of the strong points of Rex Ryan’s scheme, the Jets need to find a player who can create pressure from the defensive end position.
2. Next in line on the Jets need list is Safety. Sure, Brian Leonard being out for the end of the season hurt the Jets a lot, and yes, Eric Smith and Brodney Poole did do a much better job during the playoff stretch, however, with all that aside, the Jets were getting burned by tight ends up the middle long before Brian Leonard went down. There were a couple games this year when the Jets run defense was playing great, and the cornerbacks were shutting down the wide receivers, but yet they got torched up the middle by the opposing team’s tight ends. That safety valve for the offense is something the Jets can’t allow if they want to have a truly dominant defense.
3.  Next up on the list is Nose Guard. Let me preface this by saying that for the majority of the season, Sione Pouha did a great job filling in for the injured Kris Jenkins. However, he completely vanished against the Steelers in the AFC championship, and that is probably a big reason why the Jets fell behind as bad as they did in the first half. He’s also not getting any younger (he’s already 32). How much longer can the Jets rely on a player who has only played a lot the past two years because Jenkins missed the past two seasons? Furthermore, there is some speculation that the Jets are going to bring Jenkins back, but how reliable can that be? Last year he was supposed to be healthier than ever, yet  he was lost again for the season on the first drive of the year. The Jets need to pick up a young NG and preferably one who is also capable of being a pass rusher, not just a run stopper.
4.  Offensive Tackle is up next. With the Jets saying goodbye to the aging vet Damien Woody, there is now a big hole at right tackle. Sure, Wayne Hunter did a more than adequate job filling in for Woody in the playoffs, but I don’t know how comfortable I feel with him as the starter for an entire season. Also, we can’t forget the fact that on those two pass plays that got stuffed at the goal line against the Steelers, it was Hunter’s failure to get down in a 3-point stance that tipped the plays off to the defense. The team have announced that they are moving Vlad Ducasse back to his natural position of right tackle, so that might be the solution as well, but we just don’t know how he will pan out, considering he was rumored to be good enough to start the season last year, and didn’t even dress for the majority of the games.
5. The Jets also need to find a blocking tight end, who can back up Dustin Keller, and whom is also a legitimate receiving threat. I have had enough of seeing Ben Hartsock and Matthew Mulligan on the field on passing downs! They aren’t fast, they can’t break away from defenders on their routes, and most importantly, they don’t have good hands. I’ve had enough of them dropping balls in big situations when they shouldn’t have even been on the field in the first place! If by some chance they do manage to actually catch a ball, they lack any ability to do anything with it after the catch. I call this the Dead-Fish Syndrome, the catch the ball and basically immediately go to the ground like a dead fish disease, and we need better than that.
6.  The last position on my Jets need list is Outside Linebacker. This is a need that could probably wait another year, but if the Jets do get a chance to, they should address it now. Bryan Thomas is getting older and slower, and we don’t know how much longer he will be an effective player. He had a drop in tackles this season, although he was one of the Jets sack leaders with 6, which is a problem in and of itself. A pass-rushing OLB would be the Jets #1 priority at this position, because a pass rush is their biggest need right now, but if they were able to find a player who could also stop the run, that would make a world of difference in becoming the dominant defense the Jets want to be.

     These 6 positions are not the only areas that the Jets could stand for an improvement in, but they are the spots that have the biggest needs. If the Jets could fulfill half of these needs, and particularly the ones at the top of the list, I see no reason why they couldn’t and wouldn’t be a truly dominant team once this season takes place

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