The ESSENTIAL Football Show 2025 Cap Space: $20.1 million
2026 Cap Space: $53.1 million
2027 Cap Space: $212.5 million
2026 Draft Picks: Own Picks, Rounds 1-4, 6, plus 4th and 7th Rd comp picks, plus DEN 6th, BAL 6th, BUF 6th
After four seasons of mostly great defense and perpetual problems on offense, the Robert Saleh era is over, and the Aaron Glenn era is upon us.
It’s not an unfamiliar position for Jets fans, who have seen multiple builds of this team fail in recent decades, but it is frustrating to see them strip to the studs to start from scratch once again; whether or not it would have all come together had Aaron Rodgers not torn his Achilles in 2023, nobody can say, but between the exciting young skill players on offense and a defense in the midst of a dominant run, there was at least reason to hope it could all click.
The expectations are very different in the first year under the leadership of Glenn and their new general manager, Darren Mougey, as it’s clear that the Jets aren’t focused on a quick fix. They’ve rolled the dice at quarterback with a bet on Justin Fields, and they brought in free-agent Brandon Stephens to replace D.J. Reed, who departed for Detroit in free agency, but beyond that, New York’s offseason was more about clearing out the old than bringing in the new.
It’s a different mindset to embrace, but for a team shifting from contending (or trying to) to a rebuild, the Jets aren’t in bad shape. The offensive line rebuild got a final parting gift from former general manager Joe Douglas, who drafted left tackle Olu Fashanu in the first round last season despite the presence of veteran tackles Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses. Fashanu got plenty of playing time as a rookie, and the returns were generally positive; if the Jets hit on Armand Membou, the 7th overall pick in the 2025 Draft, the team will have a pair of young bookends to build the offense around.
Beyond that, there is significant flexibility, and it will be interesting to watch which way the Jets take things as Glenn and Mosby put their stamp on this team.
Quarterback
Starter: Justin Fields
Backups: Tyrod Taylor, Adrian Martinez
Running Back
Starters: Breece Hall
Backups: Braelon Allen, Isaiah Davis, Kene Nwangwu
Wide Receiver
Starters: Garrett Wilson, Allen Lazard, Josh Reynolds
Backups: Arian Smith (4th Rd), Tyler Johnson, Malachi Corley
Tight End
Starters: Mason Taylor (2nd Rd)
Backups: Jeremy Ruckert, Stone Smartt, Andrew Beck (FB)
Offensive Line
Starters: Olu Fashanu, John Simpson, Joe Tippmann, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Armand Membou (1st Rd)
Backups: Carter Warren, Xavier Newman, Josh Myers, Max Mitchell
Offense Overview
There are rarely perfect options for a franchise quarterback to move into; all things considered, this looks like a pretty good landing spot for Fields, despite New York’s lackluster results on offense in 2024.
In addition to Fashanu and Membou, the rest of the line is solid, with right guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, who rounded back into form throughout 2024 after an Achilles ended his 2023 season, as the headliner inside. Joe Tippmann and John Simpson return at center and left guard, and to add depth, the Jets brought over Josh Myers, a four-year starter for the Packers at center, on a relatively modest deal.
Nor is the team short on talent; despite his utterly bizarre relationship with Aaron Rodgers, which is BY FAR the strangest situations I’ve tried to decipher on film, Garrett Wilson remains a heckuva talent at wide receiver, and if Fields’s results throwing to D.J. Moore in 2023 are any indication, there won’t be a lack of work for his top target. (Moore posted 96 receptions for 1,364 yards and 8 TDs in 2023, with tight end Cole Kmet posting 76 catches and running back Roschon Johnson finishing third in receptions with 34.) The running back room is also interesting - Breece Hall, Braelon Allen, and Isaiah Davis all had flashes last year, so there is clearly depth, and Hall has the potential to get back in the discussion as a top back if he can regain his explosiveness - while rookie tight end Mason Taylor should pace a room that also features a solid blocker (Jermey Ruckert) and a receiving option with some juice (Stone Smartt).
The receiver room gets thin after Wilson, but as his receiver breakdown from Chicago shows, Fields has a history of making that work (to some degree). It’s not perfect, but if the plan is for this team to play a run-heavy, ball-control style on offense, they have all the pieces to evaluate whether or not Justin Fields is the guy to lead them forward at quarterback after the 2025 season.
As to how that will go? My take is that it depends a lot on new offensive coordinator Tanner Engrstrand, who came over from the Lions with Glenn. Fields is not a “plug and play” quarterback; he is a rare athlete at the position who is still a work-in-progress when it comes to the full-field passing game. If the scheme allows him to play to his strengths more often than not, and they can have some success while continuing to feed in more advanced stuff to fuel Fields’s continued growth, then this move has all sorts of upside.
Defensive Tackle
Starters: Quinnen Williams, Derrick Nnadi
Backups: Byron Cowart, Jay Tufele, Phidarian Mathis, Leonard Taylor
Edge
Starters: Will McDonald, Jermaine Johnson
Backups: Micheal Clemons, Tyler Baron (5th Rd)
Linebackers
Starters: Jamien Sherwood, Quincy Williams
Backups: Francisco Mauigoa (5th Rd), Zaire Barnes, Jamin Davis
Safety
Starters: Andre Cisco, Tony Adams
Backups: Malachi Moore (4th Rd), Jaylin Simpson
Slot
Starter: Michael Carter II
Backups: Isaiah Oliver
Outside CB
Starters: Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, Brandon Stephens
Backups: Azareye’h Thomas (3rd Rd), Qwan’tez Stiggers
Defense Overview
The Jets defense is coming off a down year, and it’s hard to look at this group on paper and say they measure up to some recent depth charts, but there are still enough players to be competitive.
It starts up front, where the Jets have a blue-chip piece in defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. Unfortunately, there’s not much behind him; the rest of the defensive tackle room is filled with journeymen/rotational players, and none of them is likely to add much juice to the pass rush, even if they should be adequate against the run.
That makes the return to health for edge rusher Jermaine Johnson, who is recovering from an Achilles injury, all the more important. Will McDonald, another first-round edge rusher, has shown he has the quickness and instincts to pressure the quarterback, but he’s an undersized player, and it would go a long way if Johnson can return to complement him with a bit more size on the opposite side.
At linebacker, it’s possible this could be the last go-around for the Williams brothers, as linebacker Quincy Williams is entering the final year of his deal, and the Jets have already committed to linebacker Jamien Sherwood on a three-year extension. Quincy is coming off a down year, but there aren’t many linebackers in the league who run like him, and he could still move last season; if he can tighten up the details in recognition and tackling, Williams should have some options next year, whether that’s with the Jets or in free agency.
Williams won’t be the only one looking for a new deal, as Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, who put up two outstanding seasons out of the gate before a frustrating third year, is currently set to play 2026 on his 5th-year option. Gardner needs to rebound, but I think it’s fair to expect that; if he plays well out of the gates, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him sign an extension in-season. The market is already set, as Gardner’s draft classmate, Derek Stingley Jr., recently signed a top-of-the-market deal, and if Gardner is back to form, Glenn and Mosby will likely sleep better at night with him inked long-term.
The rest of the secondary is more of a concern. Michael Carter is a heck of a slot corner, and Brandon Stephens was serviceable starting for the Ravens, but you also get the sense that any regression from Stephens would drop him from “serviceable” to “mark”, and he won’t have the same help behind him, as the safety duo of Andre Cisco and Tony Adams might be the team’s weakest unit.
Defense is volatile in the NFL, and there is enough starpower here for Glenn to get the defense rolling in Year One, but I don’t expect a return to the dominant defenses they fielded under Saleh; the defensive line depth isn’t there yet, which makes it likely New York’s best-case scenario is above-average, rather than dominant.
Overall Outlook
At the end of the day, this is a fresh start for most everyone involved. It’s difficult to say how they will do in the W-L category out of the gate, but at the very least, their plan to install a run-heavy offense around the dynamic Fields should allow them to control time of possession and keep a defense lacking in depth on the sidelines.
Six or seven wins seems like the most likely scenario, but maybe that number gets bumped up to eight or nine if we know that Fields is going to play well enough to cement himself as the long-term starter. And if it all falls apart, the Jets can change direction at quarterback with a full year of their roster build under their belt.