Jets' Secondary Issues Could Be Solved Without Position Battles

New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn hasn't been shy about his philosophy coming into training camp. If there are quality players at one position, there's going to be an open competition.

It doesn't matter if one of the players has superior tape to the other. It doesn't even matter if the organization invested prior draft capital or free-agent money in another. So long as Glenn is the head coach, position battles will reign supreme in Florham Park.

Of course, not every position battle is made equal. Last season, the Jets opened a camp battle for the starting center position between Joe Tippmann and Josh Myers. Despite Tippmann being the clear winner early in camp, Gang Green kept the battle going.

The same may happen this year, with two roles in the secondary being the prize for certain Jets' players.

Should Jets entertain CB2 battle in training camp?

New York, before the offseason, inferred that they needed to address the seriously failing secondary standard from last year. The Jets finished among the worst teams in the league against the pass (216.1 yards per game allowed) and were the first roster in NFL history to fail to record an interception throughout the season.

Enter safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and cornerback Nahshon Wright: two players who have either made a Pro Bowl or an All-Pro team due to their ability to force turnovers.

In the case of Wright, though, his standing on the team (even as a Pro Bowler) is not guaranteed. New York appears comfortable forcing him to battle former third-round corner AZ Thomas for the right to start.

Is that the right call, though?

There's nothing wrong with healthy competition. Wright performed well last season, but he's on a short one-year deal to prove his high interception total wasn't a simple fluke. Thomas comes into his second season as a relatively high draft pick. It makes sense for the Jets to give him a shot.

But there has to be a limit to the competition. During OTAs, it appeared that Wright was the best corner on the Jets' roster due to his 6'4" size and breakneck speed. It's something New York has lacked over the last few years.

Should Wright excel early in camp, the position battle Glenn hopes to see operate throughout August should be cut short. On defense, continuity and reps are very important. Taking some away from an expected starter would be a disaster for a team in real need of immediate success.

And it's not just at corner either.

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Fitzpatrick won't have to worry about competing for starting time. He's too valuable, and on too rich a contract for the Jets to even think about putting him on the bench.

No, the big postion battle is regarding who will play beside Fitzpatrick.

Former New York Giants box safety Dane Belton will get his chance to prove himself capable of being a starter. Meanwhile, former fourth-round pick Malachi Moore will need to bounce back after an inconsistent rookie campaign.

Then there's Andre Cisco. Originally brought to the team to be an every-down player, injuries cost him a majority of the 2025 campaign. There was speculation the veteran wouldn't be back entering free agency after speaking out on his desire to play for a contender.

As the market dried out for him, though, Cisco had an offer on the table. To return to the Jets with another chance to start.

Despite all the struggles that Cisco showed both on tape and with injuries, the Jets are more than comfortable with him being a starter, or at least competing for one. It doesn't matter if the team brought in a player like Belton to compete for a starting job.

Cisco will get the same chance as everyone else.

It highlights the positive and negative aspects of Glenn as a head coach. The principal idea of creating training camp competition is good. Theoretically, it will force good players to perform even better.

The problem is that it sometimes gets in the way of logic. By all accounts, Belton was a better player than Cisco in 2025. At cornerback, Wright was clearly better than Thomas. But the team is going to go through these battles anyway.

Even if obvious winners make their cases early enough.

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