The New York Jets made an overnight leap from pretender to contender when they acquired Aaron Rodgers in April. But expectations can only take the Jets so far. With training camp underway, New York will use the rest of its practice sessions and preseason games to formulate its best possible 53-man roster with an eye toward a Super Bowl run.
Let’s run through the Jets’ current 90-man depth chart and determine how they’ll get down to 53 players by the NFL’s Aug. 29 cutdown deadline.
New York Jets 53-Man Roster Projection
Quarterback
- In: Aaron Rodgers, Zach Wilson
- Out: Tim Boyle, Chris Streveler
Rodgers instantly became the Jets’ best quarterback in franchise history when they acquired him earlier this year. Expectations have soared in New York with Rodgers in town, and he’s committed to playing at least two seasons in Gang Green.
Wilson has been a disaster through two seasons, but he’ll stick around on the Jets’ roster thanks to his fully guaranteed rookie contract. New York can’t release him without taking on $15 million in dead money this year. The Jets are unlikely to keep a third QB on the active roster, but Boyle — who worked with Rodgers and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett in Green Bay — will probably end up on New York’s practice squad.
Running Back
- In: Breece Hall, Michael Carter, Israel Abanikanda, Zonovan Knight, Nick Bawden (FB)
- Out: Damarea Crockett, Travis Dye
The composition of the Jets’ RB room could be altered before Week 1. Free agent Dalvin Cook has been heavily linked to New York and took a multi-day visit over the weekend, but the Jets were reportedly miffed by his public tour, which included stops on Good Morning Football and The Dan Patrick Show.
Cook is an option for New York because Hall’s health status is still somewhat up in the air after he tore his ACL last October. Hall is currently on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, but head coach Robert Saleh recently indicated he could return to practice within a few weeks.
Carter and Knight both had their moments filling in for Hall last year, but neither looked like a legitimate foundational running back. They’ll retain roles in 2023 but will have to fight off Abanikanda, a fifth-round rookie who profiles as a home-run threat.
Bawden isn’t a roster lock, but Hackett deployed Andrew Beck as a fullback for the Broncos a season ago, while the Packers’ Hackett-Rodgers offense often used a FB, too.
Wide Receiver
- In: Garrett Wilson, Allen Lazard, Mecole Hardman, Randall Cobb, Corey Davis, Jason Brownlee
- Out: Irvin Charles, Alex Erickson, Xavier Gipson, Jerome Kapp, T.J. Luther, Malik Taylor
Wilson is dealing with a minor ankle sprain but is expected to return to practice this weekend. New York’s top four receivers appear to be set in stone, while Davis is likely to remain on the roster, even if he has to accept a pay cut before the start of the season.
The Jets cleared a roster spot by trading eternal disappointment Denzel Mims to the Lions last month, and Brownlee has become the clear favorite to take the last slot on the WR depth chart. The undrafted rookie free agent has consistently made highlight-reel plays during New York’s training camp, and it would register as a surprise if he doesn’t make the roster at this point.
Tight End
- In: Tyler Conklin, C.J. Uzomah, Jeremy Ruckert
- Out: E.J. Jenkins, Zack Kuntz, Kenny Yeboah
The Jets will bring back their top three tight ends from 2022. Conklin ended last year as New York’s second-leading receiver behind Wilson, while Uzomah is an overqualified No. 2 who will work in a blocking role.
Gang Green made Ruckert the 101st pick of the 2022 draft, but he didn’t do much during his rookie campaign aside from special-teams duty. He should be able to wrangle a larger role this season after managing just two targets last year.
Kuntz — the most athletic tight end in the history of Kent Lee Platte’s Relative Athletic Score database — was an extremely difficult cut, and there’s no guarantee he slips through waivers and onto the Jets’ practice squad.
Offensive Line
- In: Duane Brown, Laken Tomlinson, Connor McGovern, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Billy Turner, Mekhi Becton, Joe Tippmann, Max Mitchell, Wes Schweitzer, Carter Warren
- Out: Yodny Cajuste, Trystan Colon, Chris Glaser, Brent Laing, Adam Pankey, Greg Senat
After their offensive line succumbed to numerous injuries in 2022, the Jets are taking a different approach for the upcoming season: throw everything against the wall and see what sticks. Tomlinson and Vera-Tucker are locked into their starting jobs, but every other position up front is the subject of a training camp battle.
At tackle, Brown (currently on the PUP list) is competing with former first-round pick Becton, who is down to a career-low 350 pounds. Becton no longer seems to be an option on the right side, where Turner and Mitchell are battling for the No. 1 role. We’re slotting Brown and Turner in as the projected starters for now, but this could change as the preseason continues.
Second-round rookie Joe Tippmann was thought to be a candidate to start at center, but Saleh recently suggested the starting role will come down to an “ongoing battle” between McGovern and Schweitzer. McGovern has made 48 starts for the Jets over the past three seasons and should have the edge.
Defensive Tackle
- In: Quinnen Williams, Quinton Jefferson, Solomon Thomas, Al Woods
- Out: Isaiah Mack, Tanzel Smart, Marquiss Spencer
The Jets rostered four DTs for the majority of last season, and that’s the plan this year, too. New York lost Sheldon Rankins and Nathan Shepherd to free agency but quickly replaced them with Jefferson and Woods, giving the club viable rotational options up front.
Williams remains the star of the Jets’ front seven and is now the second-highest-paid interior lineman in the NFL after inking a four-year, $96 million extension in July. He’s topped out at a 60% snap rate for his career, though, so New York may need to rely on their reserve linemen more than other teams with a star defensive tackle.
EDGE
- In: John Franklin-Myers, Carl Lawson, Jermaine Johnson II, Bryce Huff, Will McDonald IV, Micheal Clemons
- Out: Deslin Alexandre, Ifeadi Odenigbo
New York seems to boast an endless wave of pass rushers every season, and 2023 won’t be any different. Franklin-Myers and Lawson, the latter of whom took a pay cut to remain with the Jets, should see the most snaps, but they’ll be pushed by every other member of the club’s EDGE depth chart.
Johnson and McDonald both come with first-round pedigree. The former should be ready for a more significant role after playing just a quarter of New York’s defensive snaps during his rookie campaign. Huff was among the NFL’s most productive pass rushers on a per-snap basis, while Clemons was a contributor as a rookie despite being a fourth-round selection.
Linebacker
- In: C.J. Mosley, Quincy Williams, Jamien Sherwood, Zaire Barnes
- Out: Claudin Cherelus, Maalik Hall, Caleb Johnson, Hamsah Nasirildeen, Chazz Surratt
We’re going relatively light by keeping just four off-ball linebackers on the Jets’ 53-man roster. Mosley and Williams each played more than 700 snaps a season ago. Given that New York deployed nickel packages on 65.1% of their defensive plays in 2022, they don’t need to retain a ton of LBs.
The Jets considered a reunion with free agent Kwon Alexander, but Sherwood is now the favorite to take over as New York’s LB3 following Alexander’s signing with the Steelers. If New York cuts corners at another position (or decides not to carry a fullback), Nasirildeen could make the club as a special teamer.
Cornerback
- In: Sauce Gardner, D.J. Reed, Michael Carter II, Bryce Hall, Brandin Echols, Justin Hardee
- Out: Craig James, Javelin Guidry, Derrick Langford, Jimmy Moreland
New York arguably boasts the best cornerback group in the NFL. Gardner was outstanding during his rookie season, and his dominant first-year performance might have forced observers to overlook Reed, who was highly productive after signing a three-year deal with the Jets.
Carter is an underrated option in the slot, while Hardee played more special-teams snaps (367) than anyone else on New York’s roster. Echols is suspended for the first game of the season, which means the Jets can keep another player on their roster for the opener before activating the veteran corner.
Safety
- In: Jordan Whitehead, Adrian Amos, Tony Adams, Jarrick Bernard-Converse
- Injured Reserve: Chuck Clark
- Out: Dane Cruikshank, Ashtyn Davis, Trey Dean, Marquis Waters
The Jets moved quickly to replace Clark — who suffered a torn ACL after New York acquired him from Baltimore — by signing Amos, who has 122 career NFL starts under his belt. Whitehead and Amos don’t represent one of the league’s best DB duos, but the Jets can’t be overly concerned about their safety room.
Adams, who joined New York after going undrafted in 2022, has been seeing time with the first-team defense during training camp and has intercepted Rodgers multiple times. He may have a legitimate chance to overtake Amos for a starting job, but Amos will have time to make up ground.
Bernard-Converse has transitioned from corner to safety since being selected in the sixth round of the 2023 draft. We’re penciling him in over Davis, whose salary is scheduled to get bumped to $2.7 million next season.
Davis, however, isn’t a vested veteran because he has fewer than four years of NFL service time, so the Jets could keep him on the roster for Week 1 while Echols is suspended without worrying about his salary becoming guaranteed. Plus, Bernard-Converse is currently on the PUP list — if he remains there into the regular season, Davis’ chances of making New York’s roster would significantly improve.
Specialists
- In: Greg Zuerlein (K), Thomas Morstead (P), Thomas Hennessy (LS)
The Jets are swapping out Braden Mann for Morstead, who fared far better in Puntalytics‘ metrics in 2022. Zuerlein will return for his second season in New York while Hennessy enters his seventh.
