In all fairness THEY went to the Super Bowl and we are just hoping that our guys can share crayons or not toss sand at each other while in the sand box together.
To be completely fair, they were hoping the same thing in offseason 1 of the mcvay experiment though.
I think it all depends on the defense. If the D can get back to playing like it did a few seasons ago, then I think this could be a playoff caliber team. With the new offensive additions and the natural maturation of Darnold, there should be enough offensive production to win, provided the D can keep the opposing score down. P.S. Having an improved offense will help the defense. When you can score, and play with a lead, it puts pressure on your opponents offense and limits what they can do. It also keeps the defense off the field for longer stretches.
The Jets can make the playoffs in 2019. What we need to get that done are luck on injuries, a step forward by Darnold and a significant decline by the Pats. All are possible.
If the Chiefs loss Hill I think we may have a chance. If you believe NE is the clear winner of our division I think we are the clear No. 2 in the division. I no longer think it will take 11 wins to get a wild card in the AFC. Lots of parity. We have a reasonable schedule. We can make a jump. The Ravens, Steelers and Chiefs may be in a hard decline. The AFC West and South will be a lot of split wins and losses. We need to go at least 4 and 2 in the division and we have a great shot.
For me, it all depends on Darnold. This team will go as far as Darnold's play has improved. If he play's like a top 15 QB, I think this is a playoff team. If he plays like a bottom 5 QB, it's not.
Ideally, Darnold takes the year 2 leap that many QB's have experienced in recent years and we land at least 3 impact players from the draft who give us more young talent.
The Bills have Josh Allen as their franchise QB prospect. That's like a 90% chance of 2 wasted years and start over.
I'm not convinced our playoff odds are better in 2020 than 2019. QBs usually have their greatest improvement from Year 1 to Year 2, plus our 2020 schedule will be harder. That's because the Dolphins will be better, the divisions we'll play will probably be better, and we'll likely finish out of the AFC East cellar, meaning we don't automatically draw two last place teams. The only advantage we'll have in 2020 is if Mac suddenly figures out how to draft better, or if the Pats finally fall off.
My guess is the Pats, Browns, Colts, and Chiefs win their divisions. We'll finish second and compete for a wild card with the Ravens, Texans, and Chargers. Those teams are probably better than us, but our easier schedule will give us a chance to oust them.