Selecting the 2023 All Ex-Jets Team

There are some very good ex-Jets out there

Over the past few seasons, we’ve been putting together a team of ex-Jets based on how they had performed with their new teams during the year. Last month we recapped how ex-Jets fared during the 2023 season, so let’s now attempt to put together an all-former Jets team for 2023:

Quarterback – Geno Smith

Smith went to his second consecutive Pro Bowl as he led the league with a career-high four fourth quarter comebacks. While his numbers weren’t as good as last year, he did pass for over 3,600 yards and 20 touchdowns for Seattle.

(Last year: Geno Smith)

Running Back – Raheem Mostert

Mostert had a sensational season with the Miami Dolphins as he scored 21 total touchdowns and was voted to his first Pro Bowl. He rushed for over a thousand yards and a league-leading 18 touchdowns.

(Last year: Raheem Mostert)

Tight End – Trevon Wesco

Wesco saw more playing time with the Tennessee Titans in the 2023 season than he ever has before, albeit in a blocking role. He started 10 games but only caught one pass in over 400 snaps.

(Last year: Lawrence Cager and Eric Tomlinson)

Wide Receivers – Elijah Moore, Kalif Raymond and Braxton Berrios

Moore’s first year with the Cleveland Browns saw him post consistent numbers as a third option. He ended up with 59 catches, 640 yards and two scores and added another two catches in the postseason.

Raymond ended up with 35 catches, 489 receiving yards and a touchdown catch along with 75 rushing yards for the Detroit Lions. While his production was down from last year, that was still much better production than any Jets wide receiver apart from Garrett Wilson.

In his first year in Miami, Berrios caught 27 passes for 238 yards and a touchdown and rushed once for 11 yards, although he started off with 17 catches in the first six games and had just 59 receiving yards in the last 11 games. All three of these receivers were on teams that made the postseason.

(Last year: Greg Dortch and Kalif Raymond)

Offensive Line – Morgan Moses and George Fant at tackle, Chuma Edoga and Greg Van Roten at guard, Trystan Colon at center

In a year when the Jets were forced to elevate guys from the practice squad into the starting line-up on a regular basis, it’s frustrating to see how many former Jets made solid contributions. Moses and Van Roten in particular had outstanding years in full-time roles. Moses started 16 games for Baltimore, including two in the postseason, and Van Roten started all 17 for Oakland with no penalties.

Fant wasn’t supposed to be a starter in Houston, but injuries forced him to start 15 times, including twice in the postseason. He only gave up three sacks and had just three penalties.

Rounding out the starting five are Chuma Edoga at guard and Trystan Colon at center. The pair held up well as they started 10 games between them. Edoga actually played primarily at tackle with Dallas and Colon played most of his snaps at guard in Arizona but they did both play multiple roles.

(Last season: Morgan Moses and Conor McDermott at tackle, Oday Aboushi and Greg Van Roten at guard, Pat Elflein at center)

Defensive Tackles – Sheldon Rankins, Nathan Shepherd and Leonard Williams

Williams remains a fixture on this team, even though he missed a few games and had just 1.5 sacks when the New York Giants traded him at the deadline. He finished strong with the Seattle Seahawks though, and he ended up with 5.5 sacks.

The Jets let both Rankins and Shepherd leave at the end of the 2022 season and they each increased their production. Rankins had six sacks and a fumble return for a touchdown with the Houston Texans and Shepherd had career highs with 50 tackles and 3.5 sacks with the New Orleans Saints.

(Last season: Shelby Harris and Leonard Williams)

Edge Defenders – Jacob Martin and Frankie Luvu

Luvu once again could have been close to Pro Bowl consideration as he had career-highs with 125 tackles and five pass breakups for the Carolina Panthers. He also had 5.5 sacks.

We’ve opted for a 3-4 defense, so Martin gets the other edge spot. He had two sacks in just under 200 snaps in a pass rush role with the Indianapolis Colts. Other potential options to make the team if we went with a different formation would be Kwon Alexander, Jamal Adams or Shaq Lawson.

(Last season: Shaq Lawson and Jordan Willis)

Linebackers – Demario Davis and Blake Cashman

Davis and Cashman retain their spots as each had a productive year with over 100 tackles. Davis made the Pro Bowl and earned second team All Pro honors. He tied his career-high with 6.5 sacks for New Orleans. Cashman’s breakout year in Houston saw him ranked fifth overall at the linebacker position on Pro Football Focus.

(Last season – Demario Davis, Frankie Luvu and Blake Cashman)

Cornerbacks – Art Maulet and Corey Ballentine

Ballentine had barely played on defense since leaving the Giants back in 2020, but he improbably held up well when an injury crisis forced him to play almost 500 snaps for the Green Bay Packers. He ended up with seven pass breakups.

Maulet played a key role with the Baltimore Ravens again, making three starts and playing over 400 snaps in a nickel role. He broke up five passes and added two sacks and two fumble recoveries.

(Last season: Art Maulet and Rachad Wildgoose)

Safeties – Jason Pinnock and Marcus Maye

Pinnock had a productive year with 85 tackles, six pass breakups and two sacks. He also set a Giants record when he returned one of his two interceptions for a 102-yard touchdown.

Maye only started seven games for the Saints due to injuries and a suspension, but he was productive with 37 tackles and two interceptions. He will reportedly be a cap casualty.

(Last season – Jason Pinnock and Marcus Maye)

Kicker – Chase McLaughlin

McLaughlin missed just two kicks all year and one more in the postseason, with none of those costing the Bucs a game. He also made 7-of-8 from beyond 50 yards, including a 57-yard game winner.

(Last season – Jason Myers)

Punter – Braden Mann

Mann was the only ex-Jet to punt in the league this year, but he did deserve his spot as he averaged just under 50 yards per punt with a net of just under 44 for the Eagles. Both were significantly better than his career-highs posted with the Jets.

(Last season – Thomas Morstead)

Long snapper – Zach Triner

Triner earns the long snapper spot this year by virtue of the fact he tied his career high with three tackles in kick coverage for the Bucs.

(Last season – Patrick Scales)

Return Specialist – Kalif Raymond/Godwin Igwebuike

Raymond put up a solid average of 11.4 yards per punt return with a longest runback of 42 yards, while Igwebuike averaged a solid 25.6 yards per kickoff return with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

(Last season – Kalif Raymond/Godwin Igwebuike)

Special Teamers

Despite a slow start with just one special teams tackle in the first six games, Seattle fullback/linebacker Nick Bellore ended up making his second Pro Bowl as he ended up among the league leaders with 12 tackles in coverage.

Texans linebacker Neville Hewitt was even more productive, as he was tied for the league lead with 14.

Conclusions

This team seems to continue to get stronger from year to year, which shows that the Jets roster may have been better than they got credit for, if players that couldn’t make their team have proven they were capable of producing elsewhere.

The two key areas where the Jets were short of talent were on the offensive line and at wide receiver, and many of the players listed here could have done a better job than the players the Jets were forced to use instead at these positions.

To some extent the Jets need to do a better job of prioritizing where they need plenty of extra depth. However, the sheer volume of injuries, especially on the offensive line, would be difficult for any team to cope with.