New York Jets: 4 Bold predictions for the 2017 season

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Dec 17, 2016; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles coaches against the Miami Dolphins during the third quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

3. The Jets will not finish last in the AFC East

The doomsayers seem to be everywhere: The Jets will be brutal in 2017. Gang Green will be vying for the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. They are destined for last place again in the AFC East. I have three friends that are knowledgeable Jets fans and not one of them thinks that New York will finish with more than five wins in 2017.

Even Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News is predicting a 4-12 record for the Jets this coming season. I respectfully disagree. I realize there is a lot of doom and gloom out there, but one thing I’ve learned as a long-time fan of Gang Green is that when expectations are very low, the Jets usually overachieve to some degree. Conversely, when expectations are high, the Jets always seem to underachieve.

With the influx of rookie safeties Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye, the Jets should vastly improve their defensive secondary from last year. Fellow rookie wide receivers ArDarius Stewart and Chad Hansen are both physical receivers that excel in YAC. Couple that with strong bounce-back seasons from Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson and a Pro Bowl campaign from Leonard Williams and I predict that New York finishes with a 7-9 ledger, good enough for third place in the AFC East.

So who places dead last? The Buffalo Bills will own that dubious distinction at 6-10.

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