Despite coming off a poor 5-12 season, falling far short of the glory imagined when they traded for future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers, these New York Jets look ready to take the NFL world by storm. From the hiring of Aaron Glenn, the celebrated defensive coordinator from Detroit, to be the team’s 22nd head coach to the signing of Justin Fields, the hype around this team has steadily risen.
The pieces all seem to be coming together for a magical run for the Jets in 2025. If that happens, then these four players all were likely key to the team’s success and would almost certainly earn their first ever Pro Bowl award.
Justin Fields
For the Jets, it begins and ends with their likely QB1, Justin Fields. Despite streaky play thus far in his four NFL seasons, Fields has flashed plenty of glimpses of an elite quarterback. And, to be fair to Fields, he was never surrounded by the type of talent this Jets team currently has, nor did he receive much competent coaching while in Chicago.
If the Jets can finally unlock Fields and get him to his full potential, the sky’s the limit, and the early returns in OTA's are promising. Not only would he be a Pro Bowler, but an All-Pro award would likely be in play, as well.
Breece Hall
Despite somewhat of a down year in 2024, Hall is primed for a career year. By adding Justin Fields, one of the most dynamic running quarterbacks in the NFL, the Jets’ run game has the juice for an explosive season. On top of that, they greatly improved the offensive line, as well.
Don’t be surprised if Hall flirts with 2,000 total yards in 2025 give the improvements to both the O-line and quarterback position. The ceiling is truly sky-high for him.
Garrett Wilson
He may have been Rookie of the Year in 2022, but Wilson has somehow failed to win a Pro Bowl award despite starting his career off with three straight 1,000 yard seasons. And he did all that with mostly questionable quarterback play.
Now he has his old Ohio State teammate Justin Fields throwing him the ball, and they already appear to be recapturing that old chemistry that made Ohio State’s offense so electric in 2020. If Fields lives up to his potential, expect Wilson to be the main beneficiary of that which should be more than enough for his first Pro Bowl nod.
Will McDonald IV
When the Jets drafted McDonald in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, most analysts had little good to say about the pick, and his rookie season seemed to confirm those doubts. But McDonald silenced all the haters with a mini-breakout in 2024 in which he registered 10.5 sacks and 24 QB hits.
With the highly regarded defensive mind of Aaron Glenn now in New York, expect McDonald to have a true breakout season in 2025. I would not be surprised to see him hit 17 sacks this year. If he can get those numbers and lead a dominant Jets defense to the playoffs, he’s a shoo-in for his first Pro Bowl award.