CBS Sports’ latest “triplets” ranking has the Jets near the bottom again, and this time the target is clear: Garrett Wilson, Geno Smith, and Breece Hall.
A nine-voter panel recently sized up every team’s quarterback-running back-pass-catcher trio, and the Jets landed at No. 29 out of 32. CBS Sports’ Jared Dubin noted that one voter had New York as high as No. 22, while another slotted them at No. 30.
“It feels like they’re being punished for Smith’s awful season in Las Vegas, which unfolded under horrendous circumstances in arguably the NFL’s worst offensive environment,” Dubin wrote.
The ranking put the Jets behind the Browns, Dolphins, and Titans, which is exactly why the result has drawn so much pushback. The source of the frustration is simple: it’s hard to buy that Wilson, Hall, and Smith belong near the bottom of the league when other groups were placed ahead of them.
The Cardinals, for instance, checked in at No. 26 with Jacoby Brissett, Jeremiyah Love, and Trey McBride. Love hasn’t played a game yet, and Brissett is a journeyman quarterback holding out. The Steelers were barely ahead of Arizona, and the Raiders were also placed above those teams, even though Fernando Mendoza was listed in the triplets despite Kirk Cousins being all but assured of the starting job.
That’s where the skepticism really kicks in. Wilson has topped 1,000 receiving yards three times in four seasons even with constant quarterback turnover, and Hall is coming off the best season of his career at just 25 years old.
The bigger point, though, is that this is starting to feel like a pattern with CBS Sports and the Jets. The outlet has been taking shots at New York all offseason, and the criticism has only sharpened as training camp approaches.
At this point, the argument has become almost absurd. The Jets could somehow go 15-2 and win the AFC East, and CBS Sports would probably still hand them a C+ and complain about the point differential. Meanwhile, the Cardinals could stumble to 3-14 and still come away with a B- for “showed progress.”
In Other News...
Jets Backup QB Battle Just Became A High-Stakes Two-Man Race
The Jets search for a reliable backup quarterback has settled into a tighter, more familiar kind of competition, with veteran Bailey Zappe and rookie Cade Klubnik now the names to watch for the QB2 job. New York had explored other options along the way, but the market thinned out and left the team weighing Zappes NFL experience against the upside Klubnik flashed before his spring work was slowed.
Klubnik still has the kind of arm talent and ceiling that can make a staff pause, but his availability was not complete during OTAs and minicamp because of a minor back injury. Zappe, meanwhile, offers the steadier profile of a player who has already been through the league grind, and that contrast is what makes this battle worth following as the Jets sort out who would be next in line if the position is needed. [Read more 🡒]
Geno Smith Just Entered A Defining Chapter Raiders Fans Know Well
The Jets are turning to a familiar face at quarterback, acquiring Geno Smith from the Raiders for the 2026 season and handing the 35-year-old the chance to lead the offense again. Smiths path has been anything but linear since his early years in New York, and his strong run with Seattle helped restore his standing around the league before his move to Las Vegas.
Now he arrives back in a place that knows his story well, but under very different circumstances. After a difficult 2025 season with the Raiders, Smith enters 2026 with plenty at stake, and the Jets are betting he can steady the position and show he still belongs as a starter in the NFL. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Fans Are Already Asking How Real David Bailey Can Be
The Jets used the No. 2 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft on Texas Tech defensive end David Bailey, a move that immediately put him at the center of their defensive makeover. He is expected to step in opposite Will McDonald IV and give New York a much-needed edge presence, with the front office also adding Joseph Ossai and Kingsley Enagbare in free agency to deepen a pass rush that suddenly looks far more dangerous than it did a year ago.
Baileys college production is part of why the excitement has come so quickly, and the early conversation around him is less about whether he can help than how fast he can become a difference-maker. For the Jets, a strong rookie season would already change the tone around the defense, but the bigger question is whether Baileys ceiling is high enough to make New Yorks investment look even smarter before the season is over. [Read more 🡒]