Jets Midseason Report Card: Defense

Defensive Tackle: B

The Jets’ defensive tackle room was looking like a weakness for the defense coming out of the 2025 draft. Darren Mougey didn’t select anybody to help former All-Pro Quinnen Williams. Williams is having a good year thus far, specifically in run defense. Of defensive tackles with at least 211 snaps, he is PFF’s highest graded player in that category (90.8). He has lacked in pass rush, though. Williams is 20th in pressures (19) and has only recorded one sack.

As for the aforementioned depth issue, Mougey fixed that in the preseason. He made two savvy moves for Harrison Phillips and Jowon Briggs, who have both made an impact. Similar to Williams, they have both been great against the run but struggled in the pass rush. The success of these individual players doesn’t reflect on the stat sheet, though, as the Jets defense ranks 25th in rushing yards allowed per game (135.8). To me, this is mostly attributed to the lack of complementary football. We’re fond enough of this group to give them a B.

EDGE Rusher: C

This group has been really underwhelming. The Jets have had five players take snaps at this position this season. The starters are Jermaine Johnson and Will McDonald IV. The depth pieces are Michael Clemons, Braiden McGregor, and rookie Tyler Baron. These five players currently have four sacks *combined*, and are all posting PFF run defense grades under 59.0.

This is the main reason why the aforementioned run defense has struggled. The lack of pass rush is especially startling, as the starters are both former first-round picks who have registered over nine sacks in a single season in their careers. There’s really not much else to say here. The most immediate improvement the Jets’ defense can make is for these guys to play better.

Linebackers: C

This has been another pretty underwhelming group for the Jets’ defense. Just removed from a long-term extension, Jamien Sherwood has not been the player he was last season. He seemingly hasn’t adapted well to the new scheme, to the point where he was benched for a whole quarter in Week 8. The talent is still there, though, just give him time to continue adjusting.

His running mate, Quincy Williams, has been hurt for most of the season, so it’s hard to judge there. In his return game in Week 8, he made some good plays in the run game, but got picked apart in coverage. The third linebacker, rookie Kiko Mauigoa, has struggled as well. He played well against Denver, but has not stood out at all otherwise. Overall, this room has room to improve, but it is not putting quality stuff out there right now. It’s possible they don’t even stick together, with Quincy Williams being a subject of trade rumors.

Cornerbacks: A-

Moving to a positive note, the cornerbacks have been great for the Jets’ defense. On the outside, Sauce Gardner has been lights out this season once again. Out of corners with at least 263 snaps, Sauce has allowed the 12th fewest yards in coverage (170) and is tied for the second fewest receptions allowed (11). The reason for the discrepancy between the yards and catches was the big touchdown he gave up to George Pickens. On the other side, Brandon Stephens has come along nicely. He struggled in the Jets’ first three contests (PIT, BUF, TB) but has been electric ever since.

Azareye’h Thomas, the main depth piece on the outside, has impressed in his limited action. Other than the big touchdown he gave up to Tee Higgins in Week 8, he only allowed two catches for 24 yards, all of which were to the uber-talented Ja’Marr Chase. The biggest development in this room has been on the inside. Incumbent starter Michael Carter II had struggled to start the season. Darren Mougey saw this and swung a move for young Titans cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr. Brownlee has already taken over as the starting nickel, which caused the Jets to trade Carter II to Philadelphia. He is currently the Jets second-highest graded player on the Jets defense. This room has been exceptional.

Safety: C+

This room has been pretty much as advertised coming into the year. It was known that despite the pickups the Jets made at safety, it probably wouldn’t magically create elite play at the position. The incumbent starters were Tony Adams and Andre Cisco. After missing two games, Adams has lost his starting job to rookie Malachi Moore. Moore is promising, but he’s young, so he hasn’t consistently stood out.

The biggest issue for all three of these guys has been tackling. They have a combined 18 missed tackles, and each has a missed tackle percentage above 15%. You can see an example of the bad safety play here, as Cisco takes a bad angle and Moore misses a tackle, leading to this touchdown for Samaje Perine.

Overall, the Jets need way more from this position. With Adams returning to the lineup, though, due to Andre Cisco’s pectoral injury, I’m not sure that’ll happen this year.