NY Jets can maximize their D-line with one philosophical shift

Over the course of the New York Jets’ training camp, their most glaring holes seemed to be at tight end and on the defensive line.

After a series of cuts, trades, and waiver claims, the Jets have made a flurry of moves at those positions. The acquisitions of Harrison Phillips and Jowon Briggs appeared to resolve some of the issues at defensive tackle — until it was announced that Byron Cowart went on season-ending injured reserve. Claiming Jelani Woods off waivers gave the Jets a better option than Jeremy Ruckert for their No. 2 tight end spot.

But at edge rusher — crickets.

There’s still time for the Jets to make a move. Several players who were cut by other teams cleared waivers and are available as possible depth. Za’Darius Smith and Jadeveon Clowney are free agents.

But right now, the Jets’ edge rusher depth carries three players who probably would not make the majority of NFL rosters: Micheal Clemons, Tyler Baron, and Braiden McGregor.

Furthermore, the Jets may have gotten beefier against the run up the middle, but they are sorely lacking in the pass rush department. Cowart’s injury allowed Leonard Taylor III to make the 53-man roster after having been on the roster bubble.

Taylor has pass rush upside but is clearly not favored by the coaching staff. Phillips and Briggs are essentially run-only defensive tackles, while Jay Tufele has shown no run defense or pass rush upside in his NFL career thus far.

In other words, along the defensive line, the Jets are dangerously thin. Quinnen Williams is a top-five player at his position, Will McDonald is a dangerous pass rusher, and Jermaine Johnson is a well-rounded player but coming off an Achilles tear.

Behind them, there are several one-dimensional players, and the rest are barely rosterable.

So how can the Jets have a decent defensive line?

The answer is a notion the previous regime refused to entertain: play your best players — a lot.

Too few snaps

Robert Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich were married to their philosophy of rotating on the defensive line. Regardless of the talent of their depth players, they insisted on moving players in and out of the lineup. The idea was to keep the players fresh.

As a result, during their tenure, no Jets defensive lineman ever played 70% or more of the Jets’ defensive snaps in the games he played. The closest was Quinnen Williams, who played 69% of the snaps in 2023.

Incredibly, in his All-Pro 2022 season, Williams ranked 29th in snaps among interior defensive linemen (690), even though he played in 16 of 17 games. That ranking improved to 13th in 2023 (17 games) and 16th in 2024 (16 games).

However, it is almost inconceivable that one of the best two-way defensive tackles in the game over the past three seasons has not ranked in the top 10 in snaps at his position in any of those years despite staying healthy.

Team philosophies vary when it comes to defensive line usage, both from team to team and season to season. But most of the league’s top defensive tackles play a far larger percentage of their teams’ snaps than Williams ever has.

Take a look at the 2024 snap percentages of the top 10 defensive tackles as ranked by coaches, scouts, and executives in an ESPN poll.

1. Dexter Lawrence: 73%
2. Chris Jones: 83%
3. Jalen Carter: 84%
4. Jeffery Simmons: 81%
5. Quinnen Williams: 66%
6. Leonard Williams: 70%
7. Nnamdi Madubuike: 72%
8. DeForest Buckner: 71%
9. Vita Vea: 67%
10. Cameron Heyward: 71%

Immediately noticeable: Williams had the lowest snap percentage of all those players. Vita Vea was the only other one below 70%. The three players directly above Williams played more than 80% of their teams’ defensive snaps.

As for Dexter Lawrence, the Giants have scaled back his snaps somewhat in recent seasons (injuries have played a role), but in his breakout 2022 season (the same year Williams broke out), he played 82% of the snaps.

What was particularly perplexing about Williams’ relatively limited usage was the dearth of talent around him. Although Sheldon Rankins and Quinton Jefferson had their moments next to Williams, the Jets have not had much talent or depth at the position for years.

Saleh and Ulbrich simply decided to give some of Williams’ snaps to the likes of Solomon Thomas and Nathan Shepherd, to the detriment of the team.

Edge rusher rotation

In 2022, no Jets edge rusher played more than 60% of the defensive snaps. In 2023, only Jermaine Johnson hit that threshold (66%). In 2024, with Johnson injured and Haason Reddick holding out for the first half of the season, Will McDonald got there (66%).

John Franklin-Myers was one of the best edge run defenders in the league and one of the best interior pass rushers, yet the Jets played him on 57% of their snaps in 2022 and 55% in 2023.

Bryce Huff was perhaps the most efficient edge pass rusher, yet it took four weeks into 2023 for the Jets to deign to use him on more than 25% of the defensive snaps.

Johnson came into the 2023 season expected to be the third edge rusher in the rotation and stepped into the starting lineup only because Carl Lawson couldn’t stay healthy. The same applied to McDonald in 2024 (although with better reason due to his inability to stop the run). This despite using a first-round pick on both players.

Somehow, the Jets were content to give Micheal Clemons 35% of their snaps in 2023 despite having Johnson, Franklin-Myers, and Huff all providing excellent production.

Incredibly, following that season, they were so sanguine about their vaunted rotation that they let Huff walk and traded Franklin-Myers. While they brought in Haason Reddick to start, they figured they could increase Clemons’ role on the edge without a hitch. Such was the arrogance of the belief in their system.

Aaron Glenn’s tendencies

However, the Jets have a head coach who seems to have a core philosophical difference. His usage of Aidan Hutchinson screams loud and clear: my best players will play.

As a rookie, Hutchinson played 84% of the Lions’ defensive snaps. Quite a threshold, but Glenn wasn’t satisfied: he upped that to an otherworldly 91% in 2023. In 2024, Hutchinson played 81% of the Lions’ snaps in five games despite breaking his leg midway through the Week 5 contest.

The Jets don’t have an Aidan Hutchinson on their team. But they also don’t have a Za’Darius Smith to help take his place. If they want any prayer of receiving production off the edge, they’ll need to ramp up Johnson’s and McDonald’s snap counts.

Under Saleh and Ulbrich, 66% of the snaps was essentially the outer limit. With Glenn and Steve Wilks, that should only be the starting point. Despite Johnson’s return from his Achilles tear and McDonald’s struggles against the run, both players should see at least 73-75% of the Jets’ defensive snaps.

For Williams, that number should be even higher. The best defensive tackles in the game play 80% of their teams’ snaps. Williams is their only capable pass rusher in the middle, and at his best, he’s the best interior run defender in the game, too. He should be on the field on four out of every five plays.

Injury risk

Fans will undoubtedly link increased playing time with an increased risk of injury. However, there are two arguments against this way of thinking.

First of all, what’s the alternative? Outside of these three players, the Jets don’t have a prayer of a pass rush. They need to be on the field. Without depth, injury is simply a risk they’ll need to take.

More importantly, though, teams across the league frequently play their best defensive linemen at high rates. The Broncos’ Zach Allen led all interior defensive linemen in snaps in 2024 when he posted a second-team All-Pro season. T.J. Watt was the leader along the edge.

These teams don’t put their players in bubble wrap because there is no particular evidence that playing 75-80% of the defensive snaps will lead to a higher injury rate. Hutchinson’s broken leg would have happened to any player whose leg landed in that spot, whether they played 1% of the snaps or 100%.

As far as the argument of Saleh and Ulbrich about fresh legs, that’s all well and good when a team has decent depth. But even 50% of Quinnen Williams’ performance level is worth 150% of Jay Tufele, and 25% of Will McDonald is worth 200% of Braiden McGregor.

Will it work?

Even if Glenn plays Williams, Johnson, and McDonald at a very high rate, the Jets’ defensive line could still struggle.

Williams is coming off his worst season ever as a run defender. Johnson’s torn Achilles could decrease his effectiveness significantly as both a run defender and pass rusher.

McDonald’s struggles against the run may allow teams to consistently stay ahead of the sticks, limiting his ability to pin his ears back and rush the passer.

But, as stated earlier, the alternatives are far worse. Glenn and Darren Mougey simply did not fill out the defensive line well. Therefore, the Jets will need to go for broke for any chance of success in that area.