Major Changes Jets Must Make After 4-6 Start to 2023 NFL Season

The New York Jets have been clinging to hope since Week 1 when they lost Aaron Rodgers to a torn Achilles. In Week 11, that hope of contending for a playoff spot took a major hit.

The Jets were taken to task 32-6 by the Buffalo Bills in a game where the defense finally broke and the offense couldn't get anything going. It was the kind of loss that can define a season if a team lets it.

It was an embarrassing loss to a division rival who hadn't been playing very well to drop their record two games below .500 at 4-6.

If the Jets are going to keep this from becoming a breaking point they have to make some changes. They already made an important one with the team turning to Tim Boyle at quarterback and benching Zach Wilson.

Here's a look at a few others that could help this team better compete in 2023 and beyond.

Make Israel Abanikanda the No. 2 Back

AP Photo/Rich Schultz

New York Jets running back Israel Abanikanda (25) in action against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during an NFL pre-season football game Saturday, Aug. 19, 2022, in East Rutherford, NJ. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)

Making a fifth-round pick the second back in the offense over a four-time Pro Bowler might seem outlandish, but it's a choice the Jets might need to make.

Dalvin Cook was signed to be the No. 1 back while Breece Hall finished his recovery from a torn ACL last season. Then the two were supposed to form a lethal one-two punch in the backfield.

Hall has lived up to expectations but Cooks has shown why the Vikings were fine with letting go of their former star player.

The blocking isn't great up front right now, but Cook is not doing well on metric that isolate his play. Yards created per touch (51st), juke rate (27th) and EPA (120th) are all measures that are trending way down for the veteran back, per Player Profiler.

Israel Abanikanda was finally brought up from the practice squad last week and is worth a look in a bigger role. He made his NFL debut last week after the Jets cut Michael Carter. The rookie took his first carry 11 yards through traffic to get a first down.

Abanikanda was one of the most explosive athletes in the draft class. The Jets need all they can in the running game to keep this offense going despite a bad quarterback decision. The 21-year-old back should be a part of that.

More Jeremy Ruckert

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Jeremy Ruckert

It's pretty simple at this point. The Jets offense is not working and they need to make changes if they want to see a different product on the field.

Tyler Conklin sees the most snaps of any tight end (68.9 percent) while C.J. Uzomah has been No. 2 in the pecking order at (37.7 percent). The Jets have the league's worst EPA when they are in 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end). But their EPA at least creeps up to 21st in the league in 12 (one running back, two tight ends) and all the way up 14th in the cases where they have three tight ends on the field, per 33rd Team.

It's a bit reductive, but the Jets offense has been better the more tight ends they have on the field.

The point isn't that they should live in three tight end sets, but it is that Ruckert should be move involved. The 2022 third-round draft pick saw 24 snaps to Uzomah's six last week against the Bills and answered with three catches and 25 yards on four targets.

That was good enough to be second on the team in receiving.

Getting more tight ends on the field should help with the run game and Ruckert has more upside than Uzomah.

Sign OT La'el Collins

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CLEVELAND, OHIO - OCTOBER 31: La'el Collins #71 of the Cincinnati Bengals in action during the first half against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 31, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images)

You can lay a lot of blame for the offense's woes at the feet of Zach Wilson. You can go ahead and dish out a heap of it for offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett too. But the primary issue for the offense is that it features one of the worst offensive lines in the league.

Wilson has not dealt with pressure well, but he has it in his face all the time. You'd like to see Breece Hall get more carries, but the line doesn't really get a ton of movement or open up lanes.

The Jets have a talent problem up front and injuries have only made the issues worse.

There aren't a lot of answers on the free agent market, but La'el Collins could be one of the few. The tackle started 15 games for the Cincinnati Bengals last season, while he didn't look like himself in that stint he still has a good track record.

The 30-year-old was released by the Bengals as he worked his way back from an ACL tear that ended his season last year. However, he worked out for the Jets back in October so there's reason to believe he could be in playing shape by now.

It's not an ideal scenario, but he's one of the few really talented linemen that are currently unemployed. Max Mitchell is ranked 72nd out of the 82 tackles PFF has graded and Mekhi Becton is working through an ankle injury right now.

The tackle picture doesn't get much more bleak so signing Collins could be the hail mary move that improves their outlook.