By Jack Ryan ‘21, Sports Writer

It has been just over three weeks since the Jets and the Giants played their final games of the 2018-19 season, and so far nothing major has happened for either team. Of course, that excludes the signing of new Jets head coach Adam Gase, who was acquired by the Jets after being fired from his old head coaching job for the Miami Dolphins. This upset many Jets fans; NA student and specifically Jets fan Mateo Zoubek (‘21)  said, “Typical Jets… The team can’t do anything right. There was a reason he was fired from Miami.” The argument most people make about the hiring of Adam Gase is that if he was unable to succeed in the AFC East with the Dolphins, how will he be able to succeed in that same division with the Jets? The Patriots are the team to beat in this division, and if the Dolphins were unable to defeat them with Gase leading them, it is hard to imagine that the Jets will be able to with the same head coach.

As the offseason continues for the Jets, the team needs to revamp a couple of its positions if they want any hopes of being successful next season. Another major improvement that needs to be made, after locking in with Gase as their coach, is their wide receiver core. As their quarterback Sam Darnold progresses, he is going to need to surround himself with stronger receivers to get the job done. It will be difficult for this to happen through free agency or the draft this year, as there are simply no top tier receivers available, so the team’s best option is probably to make a trade. It’s hard to tell who will be available, but it is possible that if the Buccaneers go into revamp mode and want to clear some cap space, Mike Evans could be an option. As a top tier receiver in the league, he would be a good starting block for future developments of the team. The Jets also need some sort of running back the team can rely on, which they did not have this year with Isaiah Crowell and Eli McGuire carrying most of the load. If they were to attack the free agency world for this position, they might be able to land their hands on Le’Veon Bell, assuming the Steelers do not transition tag him. Bell is a strong offensive threat who will be able to elevate the Jets offense with both his running and catching ability. A strong, healthy Bell combined with a developed Darnold and a better wide receiver core would be a major improvement for the Jets offense.

Moving over to the New York Giants, there are many things that need to happen for them to be successful in the next couple years, beginning with their quarterback selection. Some believe their success begins with the 2019 draft, and the Giants should pursue a quarterback with their 6th pick, either drafting someone like Kyler Murray from Oklahoma or Dwayne Haskins from Ohio State. Both of these options are an upgrade from the current Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who proved this year at 39 years old that he is not the best man for the job. Although drafting either of these players would be better than Eli, there are many other fans who believe that the Giants should hold on to Eli for one more year and not draft a quarterback this year. This is because the 2020 quarterback draft class is much stronger than this year’s, featuring players like Jake Fromm or Tua Tagovailoa. Spencer Loh, a Giants fan, said, “I would prefer if they waited another year and got a better quarterback. Maybe draft a linebacker or a defensive lineman with the 6th pick, or even trade it away. I definitely don’t think they should panic and draft a quarterback though.” If they tanked next year with Eli and got the first pick in the 2020 draft, the team overall would improve drastically. Of course, this means that the Giants would have to indulge in another disappointing season much like this year, but it would make the team much better for the years to come. It all comes down to the decisions that the front office is going to make in the upcoming months.