brought back running back Breece Hall<\/a>, drafted two pass-catchers in the first round (tight end Kenyon Sadiq and wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr.) and tight end Mason Taylor should be better in his second season.<\/p>\nCompare that to what Smith had during an admittedly poor season with the Raiders in 2026.<\/p>\n
His wide receivers in Las Vegas: Jakobi Meyers (until the trade deadline), Tre Tucker, Jack Bech and Tyler Lockett.<\/p>\n
At tight end, Brock Bowers is a star, but he was banged up last season, missing five games.<\/p>\n
According to Pro Football Focus\u2019 grades, the Raiders ranked 28th and 30th in pass blocking and run blocking.<\/p>\n
Also, low bar, but Frank Reich should be an upgrade over Chip Kelly at offensive coordinator.<\/p>\n
Smith is in position to have a nice season, all things considered. The key will be cutting back on turnovers, considering he threw 17 interceptions and lost one fumble last year.<\/p>\n
Loser: former OC Tanner Engstrand<\/p>\n
About that supporting cast: The Jets moved on from Engstrand, now with the Falcons, after an inconsistent season for the offense. However, it would be unfair to blame that on him entirely considering what he had to work with versus what Reich is getting in 2026.<\/p>\n
Engstrand\u2019s quarterbacks were Justin Fields, Brady Cook and an aging\/injured Tyrod Taylor. Wilson only played in seven games (and still led the Jets in receiving yards). The Jets went into the year with Josh Reynolds, Tyler Johnson, Allen Lazard and Arian Smith as the next best options on the depth chart.<\/p>\n
Right guard Alijah Vera-Tucker was lost for the season in training camp. Backup running back Braelon Allen was lost for the season after four games. Mason Taylor required some adjustment to the NFL.<\/p>\n
It would be fair to say that Reich is being put in a better position to succeed than Engstrand was last season.<\/p>\n
Winners: RBs Isaiah Davis and Braelon Allen<\/p>\n
The Jets were always going to do what they could to bring back Hall. But Mougey and Glenn showed their confidence and belief in Davis and Allen by not adding any other running backs of consequence this offseason.<\/p>\n
Davis has been productive when given the chance, averaging 5.6 yards per carry on 73 attempts over two seasons. Allen has been a star in training camp and that hasn\u2019t quite translated to the regular season, though he appeared to be on the right track before getting injured against the Miami Dolphins last season.<\/p>\n
The Jets signed intriguing undrafted rookie Chip Trayanum, but he\u2019ll have an uphill climb to the 53-man roster. The only other running backs on the roster are fullback Andrew Beck, kick returner Kene Nwangwu and UDFA Sam Scott from Wyoming.<\/p>\n
Losers: CBs Jarvis Brownlee and Azareye\u2019h Thomas<\/p>\n
Both Brownlee and Thomas will get a chance to win starting jobs, at nickel and on the boundary, respectively. But the competition got a lot more crowded.<\/p>\n
Brandon Stephens is locked into one of the outside starting roles. The job opposite him will be a competition among Thomas, free-agent signee Nahshon Wright and second-round pick D\u2019Angelo Ponds. Wright had a league-high five interceptions for the Chicago Bears last season and Ponds was a star on a dominant Indiana defense. Ponds will likely also compete with Brownlee at nickel, though safety Minkah Fitzpatrick might wind up getting the majority of the reps at that spot.<\/p>\n
Both Thomas and Brownlee showed flashes last season but, due to injuries \u2014 Thomas played in 12 with five starts, Brownlee played in seven for the Jets \u2014 neither put enough on film to lock down starting jobs before the offseason. Brownlee needs to cut back on penalties (he had six with the Jets).<\/p>\n
If the Jets believed either deserves to be a no-doubt starter, they wouldn\u2019t have invested so heavily in the position this offseason.<\/p>\n
Winners: The pass rushers<\/p>\n
Perhaps no group stands to benefit from coaching changes this offseason more than the edge rushers and defensive linemen. The Jets hired back Karl Dunbar, who was the team\u2019s defensive line coach from 2012-14 and spent the last eight years on Mike Tomlin\u2019s staff helping to develop Pittsburgh Steelers stars like TJ Watt, Alex Highsmith and Cam Heyward.<\/p>\n
This group looks much better on paper regardless of coaching. No. 2 pick David Bailey and free-agent arrivals Joe Ossai and Kingsley Enagbare join Will McDonald at the edge, while the Jets also added T\u2019Vondre Sweat, David Onyemata and rookie Darrell Jackson to the duo of Jowon Briggs and Harrison Phillips on the defensive line. McDonald in particular stands to benefit \u2014 he didn\u2019t make much of a leap forward in 2025 after a breakout 2024 campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a blessing,\u201d Bailey said about working with Dunbar. \u201cHe\u2019s a great coach. He\u2019s done a great job teaching me already. He\u2019s already taught me a lot of things with my pass rushing and technique and just cleaning everything up. He\u2019s got two sides \u2014 he\u2019s a very fun, jovial guy but also a very stern coach who takes his job very seriously. I\u2019m grateful to be under him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Loser: EDGE Tyler Baron<\/p>\n
In the 2025 draft, the Jets traded up in the fifth round to get Baron out of Miami. Playing for one of the NFL\u2019s worst defenses, he was a healthy scratch for most of the season before succumbing to a season-ending injury in Week 14. Baron finished with nine tackles, zero sacks and zero QB hits in six games, and now that the Jets have loaded up with new pass rushers this offseason he\u2019ll be fighting to stick around on the 53-man roster.<\/p>\n
Winner: LB Jamien Sherwood<\/p>\n
Sherwood undeniably had a down season after a breakout 2024 that convinced the new Jets regime to sign him to a three-year, $45 million contract. Sherwood was misplaced as the team\u2019s defensive leader and green-dot captain on defense, and struggled without the guidance of C.J. Mosley behind the scenes. Bringing in veteran Demario Davis should help \u2014 now Sherwood can divert his attention to flying around and making plays without having to worry as much about getting his teammates set up.<\/p>\n
Most importantly for Sherwood, though: The Jets didn\u2019t bring in any real competition for his starting job, which could have led to him potentially being traded away. If the Jets had taken Arvell Reese at No. 2, or Texas Tech\u2019s Jacob Rodriguez in the second round, it might have been a different story. Now, Sherwood will get a chance to prove himself again in a new defensive scheme with Glenn calling the plays.<\/p>\n
Loser: TE Jeremy Ruckert<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to label Ruckert an offseason loser considering he just signed a contract extension (two years, $10 million) in December. But the reality is the Jets have now used a second-round pick (Taylor) and first-round pick (Kenyon Sadiq) on players at his position in the last two offseasons. Ruckert will still play a key depth role this season, primarily as a blocker, but his playing time will inevitably decrease if everyone stays healthy.<\/p>\n
Though I wouldn\u2019t be surprised at all if the Jets run 13 personnel \u2014 three tight ends on the field \u2014 occasionally in 2026.<\/p>\n
Winner: WR Adonai Mitchell<\/p>\n
If it wasn\u2019t clear how Glenn and Mougey felt about Mitchell already, their actions in the offseason provide the ultimate vote of confidence: The Jets have essentially added zero competition for Mitchell\u2019s role.<\/p>\n
Yes, they drafted Cooper in the first round, but Cooper is primarily a slot receiver, even if he can play on the outside too. Mitchell is locked in as the Jets\u2019 \u201cZ\u201d receiver opposite Wilson, and he brings size (6-2, 205) and skill as a downfield weapon that the Jets don\u2019t currently have elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Perhaps Mougey still plans to add another wide receiver, but for now Mitchell feels pretty locked into the No. 2 wide receiver role. The only other receivers on the roster are Arian Smith, Quentin Skinner, Irv Charles, Jamaal Pritchett and a few undrafted rookies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The New York Jets\u2019 offseason program is in full force. Their two-day rookie minicamp ended on Saturday and…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":788474,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,405,403,5287,5226,5225,5228,5227,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-788473","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-city","11":"tag-new-york-jets","12":"tag-newyork","13":"tag-newyorkcity","14":"tag-ny","15":"tag-nyc","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-united-states-of-america","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","20":"tag-us","21":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116555321613515168","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=788473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/788474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=788473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=788473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=788473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}