16. New York Jets
What the heck should we make of the New York Jets? I mean, this team has a very good defense, but they did re-tool their defensive line this offseason. They lost Bryce Huff and John Franklin-Myers. New York swung a trade for Haason Reddick, but he has not known up. The best part of their defense is actually a bit of a question mark at the moment
Offensively, what version of Aaron Rodgers will the Jets get? He’ll be coming off of a torn Achilles and is 40 years old, so it’s a huge concern. New York did bring in three new starters along the offensive line in Tyron Smith, John Simpson, and Morgan Moses, but with 60% of the line being new faces, that unit might not mesh immediately.
And the WR room has two new notable faces in Mike Williams and rookie Malachi Corley. There’s just a ton of variables with this team, so I am not sold on them being an elite team or even a very good team unless they can prove it and prove me wrong. Also, Rodgers was not great in his last full season in 2022.
15. Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts went 9-8 in the 2023 NFL Season with Gardner Minshew starting a majority of the season. Minshew is out of the picture and second-year QB Anthony Richardson is back and healthy, but Richardson has never really been an efficient QB, so there is a ton of unknown here. His handful of games in 2023 kind of still make him a rookie heading in 2024.
The Colts also had a shaky defense in 2023. If the defense figures something out and Anthony Richardson is not a disaster, Indy could again finish with a winning record. However, like the Jets, there are a ton of unknowns with this team.