General Manager Darren Mougey isn’t going to have an easy time putting together his 53-man Jets roster.  Several players have come from out of nowhere to make a valid case to hang around.  The defensive line and cornerback groups will be particularly difficult to work through, but we’ll give it our best guess here.

QB (2): Geno Smith, Cade Klubnik

Klubnik has done enough to earn the backup QB job.  This means there won’t be any need to use an additional roster spot on a signal-caller such as Bailey Zappe or Brady Cook.   One of those two may land on the practice squad, but that’s about it.  If this were a team with legitimate playoff aspirations, you make Klubnik your QB3 behind a veteran.  As it stands, that’s not the case.

RB (4): Breece Hall, Braelon Allen, Isaiah Davis, Kene Nwangwu

Hall is nursing a groin injury but is expected to be ready for Week 1 along with Allen and the similarly banged-up Isaiah Davis.  Nwangwu is a running back on paper, but a kick returner in reality.  Big year for Allen who needs to prove he can stay healthy and produce at the pro level.

WR (6): Garrett Wilson, AD Mitchell, Omar Cooper, Isaiah Williams, Tim Patrick, Arian Smith

AD Mitchell has dealt with his share of critics since dropping three passes in his Jets debut, but we’re expecting big things from him opposite Garrett Wilson this season.  Add Omar Cooper to the mix and this could be a dangerous trio.  Arian Smith makes it by the skin of his teeth, with his status as a draft pick allowing him to survive the roster cutdown.  Tim Patrick gets the nod as a proven vet but going with the younger option in Malik McClain, who we have going to the practice squad.

TE (4): Mason Taylor, Kenyon Sadiq, Jeremy Ruckert, Jelani Woods

Prior to the start of the season, we’d wondered aloud about Jelani Woods and whether or not his history with Frank Reich would give him a chance to stick.  Well, it certainly didn’t hurt the situation, and Reich now has a group of tight ends with what should be one of the highest ceilings in the league.

OL (9): Olu Fashanu, Dylan Parham, Josh Myers, Joe Tippmann, Armand Membou, Chukwama Okorafor, Max Mitchell, Xavier Newman, Anez Cooper.

One of the better young lines in the NFL; if we see Fashanu and Membou take another step forward, the Jets offense will benefit tremendously.  Also worth remembering that guard is a new position to Tippmann who we believe will have a monster year.

DL (9): Harrison Phillips, T’Vondre Sweat, David Onyemata, David Bailey, Will McDonald, Jowon Briggs, Kingsley Enagbare, Joseph Ossai, Darrell Jackson.

Sweat stands to be the most important acquisition on defense since Darren Mougey’s arrival if the 360-pounder can hit his ceiling.  Onyemata should work well with the likes of Phillips and Briggs to help fix what ailed the Jets run defense last season.

LB (5): DeMario Davis, Jamien Sherwood, Mykal Walker, Marcelino McCrary-Ball, Jaden Keller

Keller is the long-shot here, but with Davis’ age and Sherwood’s struggles last season, it may make sense to keep another linebacker in the fold, and Keller has had himself a good camp.  In the end, the Jets may opt to go with Kiko Mauigoa to avoid cutting a player who was just drafted last year.

CB (7): Brandon Stephens, Azareye’h Thomas, D’Angelo Ponds, Nahshon Wright, Qwan’tez Stiggers, Jarvis Brownlee, Jordan Clark

The Jets have had several players stand out at corner in camp, but you can’t keep ’em all.  We’re going with Jordan Clark in the final spot because he’s been outstanding thus far and has some versatility.  Mory Bamba could be headed to short-term IR.  Tre Brown and Samuel Womack have been good enough to justify a spot somewhere in the league and at the very least should land on the Jets practice squad.

S (4): Minkah Fitzpatrick, Dean Belton, Andre Cisco, Malachi Moore

Fitzpatrick is expected to be the best safety on the roster.  Belton has been one of the stars of camp and should be the other starter at some point this season.  Cisco is looking to bounce back from getting injured last season and has played well up to this point.  VJ Payne has been sidelined with an injury for most of camp, so we expect the Jets to place him on IR for the short-term.

Specialists (3): Jason Sanders (PK), Austin McNamara (P), Thomas Hennessy (LS).

If the Jets are smart, they’ll be turning over every stone in professional football to upgrade at kicker, but we’ll go with Sanders here for the sake of filling the spot.  McNamara is one of the league’s best, and Hennessy enters his tenth season.

The Jets had plenty of positive takeaways from their 17-0 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The victory was strong on both sides of the ball. Importantly, the top two QB depth-chart spots looked solid.

Initially, Smith came out firing, completing 7 of 7 passes for 65 yards. Then he capped it with a 13-yard TD to Jelani Woods. Who were the other standout performers?

Geno Smith caps a perfect first drive with a TD pass to TE Jelani Woods. Smith would finish the drive 7-7 for 65 yards. Great start for the @nyjets offense. pic.twitter.com/yxHXKzbg4Z

— Glenn Naughton (@JNRadio_Glenn) August 21, 2026

-Rookie QB Cade Klubnik played behind the second-string offensive line, so he was under more duress than last week. Even so, he was respectable in completing 10 of 14 pass attempts. He totaled 75 yards and had no turnovers.

Edge rusher Nate Lynn was signed just four days ago. He picked up two sacks to become this week’s version of Mo Bamba.

-Safety Andre Cisco intercepted a Will Howard pass early. The play might have been preseason, but it was a welcome sight.  Jets fans who didn’t see an INT last season crave their first real one this season.  Veteran DB Samuel Womack would get the Jets second pick not long after.

-Defensive back Jordan Clark played like a guy who would not be denied a roster spot.  He tied for the team lead with six tackles and also had a PBU.

-Little-known cornerback Tre’ Brown showed off excellent anticipation and speed in covering ground to make several tackles while offering tight coverage.  Some really good stuff from the guys fighting for the precious few roster spots on defense.

-The Jets couldn’t get anything going on the ground as Chip Trayanum’s 20 yards on six carries led the team.  Head coach Aaron Glenn expressed his displeasure with this after the game.for -Brady Cook came on very late in relief and hit Quincy Skinner on a 31-yard TD pass

-Another recent addition, wide receive Junior Bergen had one catch on a screen that he made the most of and picked up 44 yards.

The Jets will start week two of the exhibition season against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Keeping everyone healthy is priority number one. Next, focus on player evaluation; here are a few to keep in mind.

QB Cade Klubnik: The Clemson rookie had a solid start in week 1 against the Bucs and will look to build on that tonight.  Geno Smith is expected to start.  One he steps aside, it’ll be time for Klubnik again.  If he shows the same poise he did in week one and looks more accurate, it would be a nice development.

RB Chip Trayanum: Breece Hall has an injured groin and will miss the rest of the preseason.  That should mean Braelon Allen gets the start, but after that we should see a heavy does of Trayanum.

OG Anez Cooper: Cooper played far better than anyone anticipated in week 1 of the preseason.  He was the second-highest graded player per PFF and earned high praise from former NFL lineman Brian Baldinger.

.@nyjets @AnezCoop played the 2nd half v @Buccaneers and did not have one poor play…Was never on the ground and consistently moved big men. @CanesFootball #takeflight #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/ceH67OM02g

— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) August 18, 2026

Edge David Bailey: The second overall pick was so impressive in joint practices during the week that the Bucs used double teams against him when the game got under way.  Bailey more than held his own and showed the explosiveness that made him the second overall pick.  It would be surprising if we didn’t see him get a lot more run tonight.

WR Malik McClain: We saw McClain make a great heads up play on special teams in week 1 when he downed a punt inside the 1-yard-line on a full sprint.  Look for McClain to see some more targets tonight.

NT T’Vondre Sweat: No official word on whether or not Sweat will play tonight as he just started practicing this week due to injury, but it would be nice to see the 360 pounder in action with the starters for a little bit.

With Geno Smith on the sidelines nursing a sore ankle, rookie QB Cade Klubnik made is preseason NFL debut against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and looked impressive in doing so.

Klubnik would lead the Jets on a pair of scoring drives, going up 3-0 before Braelon Allen picked up a 31-yard TD run to put the Jets up 10-0.  Klubnic would finish up 5-7 for 56 yards.  Perhaps playing with a little bit of extra juice, Klubnik did have a couple of passes that were up and a bit off target but all things considered, it was a good day.

Some other noteworthy performances:

– Rookie cornerback Mory Bamba stole the show, picking up four PBU’s by our count, along with a big stop as a gunner on special teams.  He would leave the game for a short time to be checked for a concussion but cleared protocol and returned.

– Nathan Voorhis flashed against the run and again with a pair of pressures that got the QB off his spot on a couple of incomplete passes.

– It was a disastrous night for Bailey Zappe who threw a pick six on his first drive.  Not idea for a guy who wants to take the QB2 job.

– There was a second Zappe interception on the next drive but that one was on wide receiver Arian Smith who had the ball slip right through his hands and into the hands of a defender.

– Marcelino McCrary Ball was probably the best linebacker on the field.  He was all over the place early on and finished with a team high six tackles.

The Jets and Bucs met for a second consecutive day and things weren’t quite as testy.  After several fights on day one, this session saw far fewer incidents.  But who stood out?

– Edge rusher David Bailey was very impressive yet again, winning several battles in the trenches and coming away with a few would-be sacks.

– Cade Klubnik threw a beautiful deep ball for a 50-yard touchdown to second-year receiver Arian Smith.  Some say it may have been the best pass of camp for any Jets QB.

– Geno Smith went 10-17 on the day in 11-on-11s and did a better job of protecting the ball than he did yesterday when he tossed three interceptions.

– Aaron Glenn revealed that cornerback Qwan’tez Stiggers is in concussion protocol.  Stiggers passed out and temporarily lost consciousness yesterday.

– The Jets secondary got carved up by Baker Mayfield who, at one point, led the Bucs on a 65-yard touchdown drive.

– Wide receiver AD Mitchell stayed hot and scored a touchdown in 7-on-7s after getting open on a regular basis on day 1 but couldn’t do much as Geno Smith struggled with his accuracy.

– While cornerback D’Angelo Ponds has been out and won’t be back next week, Aaron Glenn anticipates an increased workload next week.

– Tight end Jeremy Ruckert had the catch of the day as he twisted and contorted to pull in an off-target throw early in the session.

– The Jets will face the Bucs at MetLife Stadium this Friday night at 7pm, where we’ll see if there’s any carryover from a chippy two days of joint sessions.

The Jets got together with the Tampa Bay Bucs  for a joint practice and here’s a rundown of how things went.

– There was a scary moment where cornerback Qwan’tez Stiggers momentarily lost copiousness on the sideline.  He was responsive before being taken away by ambulance.  He has since been released from the hospital and is back at home.

– Things were ugly early on for the Jets on offense. Geno Smith threw three interceptions, and Tampa Bay returned one for a pick six.  Not an ideal start for the QB.

– Tempers were flaring as there were three different fights on the day.  For the Jets, David Bailey, Armand Membou and Kingsley Anagbare were heavily involved.  Membou was eventually pulled off the field by coaches to avoid further incident.

– Bailey did more than just mix it up after the whistle as he had several high level reps against the Bucs OL.

David Bailey DEMOLISHED Luke Goedeke in his first 1v1. This guy is explosive off of the line.

And Will McDonald pulls out a spin move is his rep.

— JetNation (@JetNation) August 11, 2026

– Safety Jarius Monroe had an interception and safety Dane Belton made an excellent play on a PBU.

– Smith did bounce back and throw two touchdowns later in the day.  One went to Mason Taylor and the other to Garrett Wilson.

Geno Smith to Mason Taylor nice throw and catch. A’Shawn Robinson wasnt happy and another fight broke out (that’s three today).

Membou right there in the middle of it and he has since been pulled off the field.

— JetNation (@JetNation) August 11, 2026

– Undrafted rookie free agent Jaden Keller who has flashed a few times in camp already, had a huge hit on a run stop that got the Jets sideline fired up.  With so little depth at linebacker, Keller is a UDFA with a shot to hang around if he keeps making plays.

– The two teams are scheduled to have a second joint session tomorrow.  Whether or not that happens after all of today’s scrapping remains to be seen.

– The Jets also released their initial depth chart yesterday and there were some mild surprises:

With rookies and veterans all checked in at 1 Jets Drive, we’re now just hours away from the New York Jets first practice of the 2026 season getting under way.  JetNation will be present for every practice with wall to wall coverage for every session.

As is the case with every club, every season, the Jets will have battles up and down the roster on both sides of the ball.  Surprisingly, for a team that just had the second pick in the draft and isn’t expected to make much noise this season, Gang Green is set with their starters at almost every spot.  Most of the battles this year will be taking place for second and third-string jobs.

QB2: 

If the Jets decide to keep just two quarterbacks then you’d have to imagine Cade Klubnik will be given every chance to win the backup job.  If they opt to keep three QB’s so there’s an experienced backup on the roster, they may give Bailey Zappe the nod early on or even look to add another QB via trade or free agency.

WR2: We like AD Mitchell’s chances to win the job opposite Garrett Wilson with Omar Cooper Jr. Getting plenty of run as well.  If Tim Patrick stays healthy he could be WR4 with Isaiah Williams and Arian Smith rounding out the group.

ILB3/4: DeMario Davis and Jamien Sherwood should win the starting jobs but based on how Mykal Walker played at the end of last season, he may beat out incumbent Marcelino McCrary-Ball.  Kiko Mauigoa, one of Darren Mougey’s draft picks last year, should be safe.

Safety: This is one of the more interesting groups on the roster due to the presence of Minkah Fitzpatrick whose role is still unknown.  If he’s going to be used as a chess piece who goes between true safety, slot and in the box, it could impact who is on the field with him at the same time.  Malachi Moore was decent as a rookie last season and could win a starting job but don’t rule out Dean Belton who could be a sneaky good signing.  You could even make a case for seeing Andre Cisco winning a job.  Lots of questions, not many answers…yet.

CB2: His hefty contract all but guarantees Brandon Stephens a serious edge to win the team’s CB1 job while Azareye’h Thomas, Nahshon Wright and possibly D’Angelo Ponds could battle it out for the second spot.  If Aaron Glenn feels Ponds is far and away the best slot on the roster it may keep him away from the boundary, leaving Thomas and Wright to battle it out.

K: Jason Sanders will go head-to-head with Cade York and has to be the favorite as one of the leagues best kickers just a couple of years ago with Miami.

LS: Incumbent Thomas Hennessy should be the favorite to beat out undrafted free agent Garrison Grimes.  Unless of course Grimes was hand picked by special teams coach Chris Banjo.

Former Jets safety Jamal Adams took to social media to let the world know that he has in fact reached out to the Jets about possibly returning to play for the Green and White.  Is Adams hoping nobody in the organization or fan base can recall his last stint that ended with Adams shooting his way out of town?

And with training camp right around the corner, here are our top fifteen current Jets according to, well…us.

1: WR Garrett Wilson: The unquestioned top receiver on the roster, Wilson could be primed for a big season.  Say what you want about quarterback Geno Smith, but the guy likes to let it rip and throw the ball deep down the field.  With Wilson’s elite speed and additional help on offense to draw some coverage away, we may actually see a career year from Wilson.

2: LB DeMario Davis: Age is the only reason we didn’t have Davis at the top of the list.  Easily the most accomplished player on the roster and a top 100 NFL player, Davis can’t keep playing at this level at 37-years-old, can he?  We’ll give him the benefit of the doubt at this point which should place him at or near the top of this list.

3: RB Breece Hall: We’ve predicted several breakout years for Hall over the past few seasons as we keep thinking that at some point, the Jets will get an offensive coordinator who plays to Hall’s strengths.  It hasn’t happened yet, but could Frank Reich be the guy to finally help Hall top 1,500 yards from scrimmage?

4: RT Armand Membou: Membou was one of the best rookie offensive linemen in the NFL last season and expectations are high entering year two.  Membou has the potential to become a top five tackle in the league.

5: DT T’Vondre Sweat: This may not be a popular selection for those who haven’t watched all that much of Sweat, but given what we’ve seen on film from him and the importance he’ll have in this defense as the Jets look to play more 3-4, we believe that by season’s end, he’ll win over fans who have questioned his motor and ability.

6: DB Minkah Fitzpatrick: Fitzpatrick has seen a huge dip in ball production in recent years but we’re hoping that pairing up with Aaron Glenn, who has done some great work with safeties in the past, will help him become the player who had multiple seasons of five interceptions in the past along with excellent work in run support.

7: DT Jowon Briggs: Perhaps the single best “bang for buck” move Darren Mougey has made, trading a late day 3 pick for Briggs prior to the start of last season looks to be a steal.  An impact pass rusher on the interior who is also a very good run stopper, his emergence was one of the most encouraging developments of the 2025 season.

8: QB Geno Smith: The veteran quarterback returns to the Jets with a pair of 4,000 yard seasons under his belt, but also with a ton of interceptions.  If Smith can clean that up, the Jets could be a fun team to watch on offense for the fist time in a long time.

9: WR AD Mitchell: Mitchell seems to have popped onto plenty of radars in recent months, but if you go back and watch some of the work he did late last season, you’ll see why the Jets insisted he be included in the Sauce Gardner deal.  Good enough to be a number two receiver, look for a breakout season from Mitchell.  A projection some will surely disagree with, but we’ll see in time if we’re on the mark or out of our minds.

10: RG Joe Tippmann: Tippmann had a very good 2025 in his first season at guard and was rewarded with a brand new hefty contract.  Should he take the leap we expect in his second year at the position, the Jets offensive line will be even better than many anticipate.

11: LT Olu Fashanu: Fashanu did some very good things last season but wasn’t quite the force we expected him to be.  Still a player with the ability to be one of the better tackles in the league, Fashanu will look to dominate in year three in hopes of being next in line for a huge contract.

12: Edge Will McDonald: While some will point to McDonald’s dip in production as evidence of slipping from the previous season, the fact of the matter is that McDonald was much better than the box score indicates.

13: TE Mason Taylor: This is a fairly big projection once again, but we believe Taylor, along with many other Jets last season, was hampered by horrendous quarterback play.  With a year under his belt and a better group of skill players on offense, look for a significant uptick in production.

14: Edge David Bailey: We realize he may be much higher on this list by season’s end, but with no pro production to point to we’re keeping the two rookies on this list in the bottom two spots.

15: CB D’Angleo Ponds: As many have said, had Ponds been a few inches taller, he would have been a first-round lock.  But checking in at 5′ 9”,  he was there for the taking much later than that.  We believe Ponds will show himself to be worthy of a starting spot on the boundary, but may stick in the slot if the other corners on the roster are holding their own outside.

With Geno Smith entrenched as the New York Jets starting quarterback this season, some fans are starting to wonder if Gang Green should be looking to add a more established backup.  Bailey Zappe is currently viewed as the team’s second QB and rookie Cade Klubnik will get every shot to take that job out of camp.  But should a more proven veteran option be on the table?

For a team unlikely to make the playoffs, parting with any assets to deal for a quarterback who will do nothing to change the trajectory of the season would make little sense.  Even if it’s a late-round pick, what could that possibly bring in return.  The Jets would be better off letting their current backups battle it out and hope Klubnik wins the job.

However, if Darren Mougey and Aaron Glenn believe their team will make a playoff push and an more experienced backup would be desirable, here are the options they’d be looking at.

Cooper Rush: Rush is a free agent who some suggested the Jets may pursue in previous weeks and might be the best of a bad bunch.  The former Cowboy and Raven has a 9-7 record in sixteen career starts.

Anthony Richardson: The Colts former first-round pick has been given permission to seek a trade but he’s been terrible as a pro up to this point and the asking price for Richardson is unknown.

Jimmy Garoppolo: If Garoppolo is looking to return to the NFL, landing a backup job is the best he could hope for given his injury history.

Tanner McCkee: McKee is in a crowded QB room in Philadelphia and a deal would make sense if he were viewed as a possible long-term backup, but the reported asking price of a second-round pick should turn the Jets off if true.

Will Levis: A former second-round pick (33rd overall), Levis lost his job to first-round pick Cam Ward after starting just 21 games.  If he can be had for a day 3 pick Levis might be the best available option.  However, like all of the QBs mentioned above, he won’t change the trajectory of the Jets season.

JJ McCarthy: Another first-round pick who flopped in Minnesota after missing his first full season due to injury, there are some who believe McCarthy may be available via trade.  But if the Vikings don’t believe they can fix what’s wrong with McCarthy, can anyone?

In all reality, the best thing the Jets can do for themselves is to let Smith start the season at the top of the depth chart.  If he were to miss time for any reason, giving those reps to Cade Klubnik to evaluate him as part of the team’s future would be more beneficial than grabbing an injury prone veteran or a failed former pick who will have to start over with the Jets and has already used up valuable years on their rookie deals.

Fresh off the heels of a New York Knicks world championship, their first on over fifty years, Jets fans are asking once again; “When is it our turn?  When do we get to see our team win a ring?”.

A championship may never materialize, but in order for it to happen, the Jets will first have to snap their fifteen-year playoff drought.

While such a task is highly unlikely to happen this season, we thought we’d take a look at the key figures who would have to step up to make the playoffs even a remote possibility.  Some names blatantly obvious while some are less so.

As is the case with every team in the NFL, it starts with the quarterback.  If the Jets are hoping to even contend for a playoff spot, they’ll need Geno Smith to stay healthy while being closer to the player he was two or three seasons ago than the past two seasons where he threw a total of 32 interceptions.

If Smith is going to get back to being close to what he was in 2022 when he threw for over 4,000 yards while completing just under 70% of his passes, he’s going to need a receiver other than Garrett Wilson to step up.  If early indicators out of OTAs would offer any hints, AD Mitchell could be that guy.  As a pass catcher speed who has shown he can get open deep down the field, Mitchell could be the big play threat who opens things up for the tight ends underneath while making hit harder to double Wilson.

With a solid offensive line and backfield with Breece Hall expected to carry the load, there is the potential for the Jets to put up a lot of points.  But as is always the case, teams looking to win games have to win the turnover battle, which brings us to the next x-factor.

Having failed to intercept a single pass last season, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick becomes a huge figure for Aaron Glenn’s defense as the head coach takes over play calling duties.  Fitzpatrick has seen a significant dip in ball production with just two interceptions in the past two years, the Jets need something closer to the version of Fitzpatrick who intercepted twelve passes from 2020-2022.  If not Fitzpatrick, perhaps Andre Cisco can become the next safety to develop under Glenn.

Aside from needing somebody to step up in the secondary, the second level could also use a boost which is where veteran DeMario Davis comes in.  After opposing offenses ran the ball up and down the field last season, a player of Davis’ stature could go a long way bringing that to an end.

The Vegas odds makers have the Jets sitting at between five and six wins.  That’s the most likely outcome when the season comes to a close, but if a few players step up and elevate Gang Green on both sides of the ball, that unlikely playoff push won’t be as impossible as it seems.