The Jets may be stuck in a 2-5 hole, but the offense has started to give them something real to hang onto.
That’s been the bright spot in a season that’s gone sideways fast. New York has lost five of its last six, and the outlook looks bleak in late October. Still, while the bigger picture is ugly, a group of young playmakers has taken a major step forward and changed the look of this offense in the process.
Before the season, the only established weapons were Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson. Everything else was guesswork.
Adonai Mitchell and Mason Taylor had shown hints of ability, but not enough to say they could handle major volume. Braelon Allen was still trying to turn his imposing frame into consistent production.
And the Jets were hoping their two first-round rookie pass catchers, Kenyon Sadiq and Omar Cooper Jr., would make an early impact.
That hope has started to pay off.
Mitchell has missed four weeks with a finger injury, but before getting hurt he was already proving he could stretch the field and work well with quarterback Geno Smith. In two games, he caught 12 passes for 123 yards, and both outings went for more than 60 yards.
Sadiq had his statement game in Week 3 against the Detroit Lions, when he put up 105 yards and a touchdown on seven catches. That performance showed what he can do when the ball keeps finding him.
Cooper, though, has been the most electric of the bunch lately. After coming back from injury, the rookie has blown up over the last two weeks.
Against the New England Patriots in Week 6, he caught six of seven targets for 103 yards and his first career touchdown, a 48-yard strike. He also had a 14-yard touchdown erased by an unrelated penalty.
Then on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, he followed it up with five catches on five targets for 115 yards and another touchdown, including a 52-yard gain on the Jets’ first offensive snap.
Part of what makes Cooper so dangerous is the way the coverage is tilting toward Garrett Wilson and opening him up one-on-one. He’s making defenses pay.
According to Next Gen Stats, Cooper ran five routes against man coverage on Sunday. He was targeted three times, caught all three for 115 yards, and averaged 23.0 yards per route run - the highest mark of any player in a single game since at least 2018 with at least five routes.
What jumps out most is how complete his game already looks. He can win in space, but he’s also becoming a real vertical threat. For the Jets, having another weapon like that next to Wilson matters.
Taylor has been just as important in his own way. After a rookie season that hinted at more, the 2025 second-round pick has taken another step in 2026. As a rookie, he caught 11 of 14 contested targets, a 78.6% rate that ranked second among tight ends with at least 10 contested chances.
That trait has carried over into this season, and it showed up against Miami on Sunday. Taylor caught two contested touchdowns and added a two-point conversion, helping keep the Jets in the game. He was one of the most dependable players on the field for New York.
He’s also grown as a run blocker, which wasn’t one of his strengths coming out of college. In Week 6 against the Patriots, Taylor posted a 70.2 run-blocking grade at Pro Football Focus, the highest among tight ends that week.
Then there’s Allen, who has been one of the season’s biggest surprises. With Hall out since Week 3 because of a quad injury, Allen has been pushed into a much bigger workload than anyone expected. He’s handled it well.
Among 39 qualified running backs with at least 50 carries, Allen ranks third in yards after contact per attempt at 3.80, fifth in missed tackles forced with 26, and sixth in 10-plus-yard runs with 14.
At 250 pounds, Allen was supposed to be the bruiser who handled short-yardage work. Instead, he’s been forced into a bell-cow role and has played the best football of his career.
Even if Hall returns, Allen has made a strong case to keep a meaningful role in the offense.
The record is still a mess, but the Jets now have something they didn’t have when the season started: a young offensive core that looks a lot more dependable. And for a team trying to figure out what comes next, that matters.
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