PFF Rank New York Jets Roster 21/32

Some people love the number crunching the guys at PFF do, some people prefer the old fashioned way of scouting "The eye-test". Personally I use them to complement any story or any preconceived opinion I've gained from watching football. Saying that, every year they use their algorithms and formulas to rank the NFL franchises in terms of roster strength. This year the Jets could be found at #21

21. New York Jets

2014 Ranking: 23

Top five players: Darrelle Revis, Sheldon Richardson, Nick Mangold, Damon Harrison, Muhammad Wilkerson

Starters who should be upgraded: Buster Skrine, Calvin Pace, David Harris, Quinton Coples, James Carpenter, Willie Colon, Breno Giacomini, Jeff Cumberland, Geno Smith, Tommy Bohanon

Analysis: As usual, it's the defensive line that will carry the Jets. They boast three very good starters in Wilkerson, Richardson and Harrison. They also added first-round rookie Leonard Williams to the mix just for fun. The secondary can match up with anyone, now that Revis and Antonio Cromartie are back in town.

Offensively, the quarterback situation gets the most publicity, and rightfully so. The Jets would love to see Smith take a big step forward in his third year, butRyan Fitzpatrick will be right there to push him for playing time. Fitzpatrick is coming off a quietly solid season in Houston, and if he wins the job, he'll have an intriguing set of weapons: Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker, Jeremy Kerley and tight end Jace Amaro. The offensive line has three subpar options surrounding an excellent center (Mangold) and a dependable left tackle (D'Brickashaw Ferguson).

Although I don't agree that the roster overall is largely quite average, middle of the road until proven otherwise, I find it hard to digest how this roster is only 2 places better than last season. I know the rankings were done before the season started, but if PFF believed the Jets roster of 2014 was the #23 best in the league, then I don't have much faith in the roster prediction for this year.

3 members in the linebacking core and 3 members of the offensive line need upgrading. It's hard to argue that the offensive line isn't an area of weakness, or that the linebackers are getting on a little bit, but personally I feel we have tried to upgrade that unit. We took Mauldin who apparently looks great in non-contact drills and a number of linebackers who could make the unit more athletic overall.

Again, I don't disagree that this team has a lot to prove, but I have so little faith in these rankings based on last years projections.

Other AFC East teams:

New England Patriots: #4

Buffalo Bills: #15

Miami Dolphins: #23