5 Things We Learned from Jets Minicamp

It seemed like no matter what decision Jets head coach Aaron Glenn made last season, it always ended up being the wrong one: whether that was on the field, or to reporters off it.

This year, the coach has been more subdued. Focused more on improving the roster on the field than winning the day through soundbites. He's looked like a coach who has learned from his many mistakes the year prior.

The last month of workouts has seen Glenn begin to slowly rebuild his image with Jets fans. Of course, those same fans need to see wins on the scoreboard before they go all-in with Glenn again.

But improvement is important. Learning from mistakes are important as well. To this point, Glenn has shown that. And he's helping himself as we get close to training camp now.

Jets' Offense Will Be Player-Driven

We asked every major Jets' skill position player about their thoughts on the new-look offense led by Frank Reich. Every single answer focused on the player-empowerment that the scheme brought forth:

“This is probably one of the offenses that I’m going to look back on in a few years and love the most," Garrett Wilson said. "It’s really player empowering, receiver empowering, skill position empowering. You can tell Frank has been around the block a bit."

Breece Hall, AD Mitchell, and Geno Smith all acknowleged that fact as well. New York is focused on allowing players to adjust on the fly and take what the defense gives them to make plays. It's a forward-style way of thinking that allows the Jets' best players to do their job.

And could be in line for a significantly different look than over the last few years.

Linebacker Weakness Is Overblown

Before offseason workouts, many Jets fans made it clear that the team's linebacker room was not good enough heading into the 2026 season. Part of that was due to Jamien Sherwood's down year last season, Demario Davis' age, and the lack of a true backup option behind both of them.

In reality, though, the Jets' linebacker need appeared overblown, especially during minicamp.

Sherwood made several quality plays in coverage, Davis looked like he hadn't lost a step, and former fifth-round pick Kiko Mauigoa even looked like a quality backup option for the unit during practices. The Jets can also rely on Marcelino McCrary-Ball to help with that depth as well.

Davis' leadership was on full display throughout the last month. So long as he stays healthy, there should be no true concern over the position group going forward.

Live by Geno, Die by Geno

In four of the last five seasons, the Jets have used three starting quarterbacks over the course of the 17-game slate. Much of that had to do with injuries. Sometimes, it had to do with poor performance. Whatever the reason, New York cannot afford to have that happen in 2026.

Geno Smith is a good quarterback. He's not going to walk in and be the savior of the organization. He doesn't have the arm or decision-making prowess for that.

But more importantly, the Jets do not have a consistent and competent backup quarterback on their roster at the moment to quell those concerns. It truly will be "live by Geno or die by Geno," depending on his overall health and whether the team has a backup quarterback they can trust.

Glenn made it clear he was going to allow the backups in Bailey Zappe, Cade Klubnik, and Brady Cook to continue to compete for the job. As of this moment, though, no one has stood out. And it puts more pressure on Smith to be available to play all 17 games.

Be Prepared for Anything on Defense

When Glenn was a play-caller in Detroit, his scheme was simple: throw surprise blitzes all over the field and trust that big and athletic corners could hold their own in man coverage.

Things are expected to be different for the Jets this season, but Glenn's ideas about holding a "multiple" scheme have already shown out. New York is not going to run a base defense of a true 4-3 or 3-4. Each week, they'll have different looks depending on their opponent.

Will the team be willing to blitz as much as Glenn was in Detroit? It's a safe bet. But more importantly, the Jets defense should be a lot better than last year's group.

The scheme alone seems a lot more put together and cohesive than last season at the very least.