Ranking the top 25 New York Jets players: The top 5 are all building blocks for the future

5- Jamien Sherwood, LB

Before free agency even began, Darren Mougey made sure to retain Sherwood. The linebacker agreed to re-sign with the Jets on a three-year $45 million contract. The deal includes $30 million guaranteed.

Sherwood, the fourth-year player out of Auburn and converted safety was one of the lone bright spots for the Jets in 2024. C.J. Mosley was the captain of the defense the last few seasons and when he went out last season with neck and toe injuries, the Jets found a budding star in linebacker Jamien Sherwood. Sherwood led the league in solo tackles for the Jets and led the defense to a third best yards/game in the NFL ranking.

The Jets were likely to have competition for Sherwood’s services if the young linebacker hit the market. Sherwood is going to be the quarterback of the new defense going forward.

4- Breece Hall, RB

There is a lot of talk about a backfield by committee with the emergence of Braelon Allen and even Isaiah Davis to some extent, but make no mistake, Breece Hall is the best running back on the Jets and probably the second-best player on the Jets offense.

Hall had a down year last year, in what was supposed to be a dominant year for the running back. A knee injury that affected the same left knee he had surgery on in 2022 to repair a torn ACL all but ended his season in Week 11, but he still tried to play through it. He missed only one game, but the injury lingered and impacted his performance for the rest of the season. Couple the injury with the mismanagement of the offense from the coaching staff to the quarterback and Breece was often running into a wall of defenders.

This year the Jets are going to focus on running the ball and even upgraded their offensive line with number 7 overall pick, Armand Membou to play right tackle. Breece will share the backfield more in 2025 with Braelon Allen, but I imagine the fresh legs and commitment to running game will have him looking more like his 2023 self.

3- Garrett Wilson, WR

The Jets locked up Wilson to a four-year contract extension before camp, and two years before they absolutely had to get a deal done. That is how much they think of Wilson.

He is the most dynamic offensive player the Jets have had in decades, and he is willing to stay with a team, who frankly, have wasted the early part of his career. This is the first wide receiver that the Jets drafted and gave an extension to since Quincy Enunwa. This is the best first round receiver the Jets have drafted since Santana Moss in 2001.

In his career, Wilson has played in all 51 games and started all but five of them in his rookie season. He has 279 receptions for 3,249 yards and 14 touchdowns. He has done all of that while catching passes from Zach Wilson, Joe Flacco, Tim Boyle, Trevor Siemian, Mike White, and yes, even Aaron Rodgers.

2- Quinnen Williams, DT

Quinnen is currently listed as the fifth best defensive tackle in the NFL by ESPN and the number 87 overall player in the NFL by NFL Network. Despite not jumping off the page with his statistics last season, Quinnen was still a dominant force on the defensive line, often eating double teams just to watch his teammates fail to make a play behind him.

Quinnen is truly one of the top defensive tackles in the game, whether he racks up the stats or not. He is one of the few players on the field that opposing offenses need to account for on every play and often with more than blocker. He is a force in the middle of any defense, but needs some help to truly shine on the stat sheet.

1- Sauce Gardner, DB

Sauce Gardner is now the highest paid corner in the NFL for a reason. He is one of the true elite shut down corners in the game. The former defensive rookie of the year, two-time Pro Bowler and two-time first team All-Pro had a down season last year on the leaderless and rudderless Jets.

Almost any other defensive back in the NFL would take his “down year” as one of their best. He doesn’t get a lot of interceptions, having only three in his career but that is because quarterbacks simply don’t throw at him. In three years, he has only given up three touchdowns.

In new defensive coordinator Steve Wilks’ scheme, there will be a lot more man-to-man coverage, and Sauce will likely get more opportunities to shine following the opponent’s number one receiver. Sauce will show he is worthy of being the top paid corner in the game.