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 the regular season around the corner, New York will use the weekend 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
The Jets have too much talent at other positions to waste a roster spot on a third quarterback behind Rodgers and Wilson.
Still, Boyle worked with Rodgers and New York offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hacket in Green Bay. He won’t exactly be a hot commodity on the waiver wire, so the Jets shouldn’t have any problem transferring him to the practice squad, where he’ll be around in case of an emergency.
Running Back
- In: Breece Hall, Dalvin Cook, Michael Carter, Israel Abanikanda, Nick Bawden (FB)
- Out: Travis Dye, Zonovan Knight
Hall is expected to be ready for Week 1 after being activated from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. But if he’s not available, the Jets already have a replacement ready after signing Cook to a one-year deal with a $7 million base value.
Carter was rested along with the rest of New York’s key contributors during Week 2 of the preseason, meaning he’s likely a roster lock. That means the club’s final running back slot will come down to Abanikanda and Knight.
Breece Hall working off to the side during special teams drills. Still moving pretty well. #Jets pic.twitter.com/f5PCQakp3w
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) August 24, 2023
Abanikanda suffered a thigh contusion against the Buccaneers last week — head coach Robert Saleh said he’ll miss a couple of weeks. If he’s healthy, the fifth-round rookie should make the roster over Knight, who had a fumble and a drop in Week 2. If not, Knight could slide in while Abanikanda goes on injured reserve.
Bawden isn’t a roster lock, but Hackett deployed Andrew Beck as a fullback for the Broncos a season ago, and the Packers’ Hackett-Rodgers offense often used an FB, too.
Wide Receiver
- In: Garrett Wilson, Allen Lazard, Mecole Hardman, Randall Cobb, Jason Brownlee, Xavier Gipson
- Out: Irvin Charles, Alex Erickson, Jerome Kapp, T.J. Luther, Malik Taylor
Wilson, Lazard, Hardman, and Cobb are all guaranteed to make the Jets’ 53-man roster. After that, things get tricky.
Davis surprisingly announced his retirement from the NFL earlier this week, opening another potential vacancy in New York’s receiving corps. Brownlee has impressed enough throughout training camp and the preseason to lock down one of those spots.
If the Jets decide to keep six wideouts, Gipson — like Brownlee, a rookie undrafted free agent — should have the upper hand thanks to his returning abilities on special teams. But Taylor offers experience with Rodgers after playing for the Packers from 2019-22.
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, Mekhi Becton, Billy Turner, Max Mitchell, Wes Schweitzer, Joe Tippmann, Carter Warren
- Out: Trystan Colon, Chris Glaser, Grant Hermanns, Brent Laing, Adam Pankey, Greg Senat
After their offensive line succumbed to numerous injuries in 2022, the Jets took a different approach for the upcoming season: throw everything against the wall and see what sticks. New York took a multi-pronged approach up front, using free agency and the draft to add additional bodies, and the club’s starting five is finally starting to align.
Becton wasn’t previously competing for time at right tackle, but he’s essentially won the job after showing up to camp in shape and dominating in Week 2 of the preseason. After allowing multiple pressures in Week 1, Becton played 28 snaps against the Bucs, held up in pass protection, and earned the highest PFF grade of any Jets offensive player (85.0).
Mekhi Becton 💪💪💪💪 pic.twitter.com/jPRd94cp5H
— 𝙅𝙀𝙏𝙎 𝙈𝙀𝘿𝙄𝘼🛫 (@NYJets_Media) August 20, 2023
Meanwhile, the Jets officially activated Brown from the PUP list this week. He won’t play against the Giants on Saturday, but Brown is fully expected to be ready for the first week of the regular season. It would be a shock if he’s not at left tackle when the Jets kick things off against the Bills in Week 1.
Tomlinson and Vera-Tucker are locked in at guard, while McGovern appears to have held onto his starting center job. Tippman didn’t put up much of a fight over the summer, but Schweitzer was competing for the pivot role.
Defensive Tackle
- In: Quinnen Williams, Quinton Jefferson, Solomon Thomas, Al Woods
- Out: Bruce Hector, Jalyn Holmes, 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, Pita Taumoepenu
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, Chazz Surratt
- Out: Claudin Cherelus, Sam Eguavoen, Caleb Johnson, Nick Vigil
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. Sherwood and Barnes should have significant roles on special teams.
We’re penciling in Surratt as the Jets’ LB5, but he’s probably the 53rd man on the roster right now. Saleh gave Surratt a sideline shoutout on Hard Knocks during the Hall of Fame Game (“That’s my guy, dog!”), but the 26-year-old only recently returned to practice after suffering an injury in that contest.
Cornerback
- In: Sauce Gardner, D.J. Reed, Michael Carter II, Bryce Hall, Justin Hardee
- Suspended: Brandin Echols
- Out: Craig James, 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.
For now, we’re giving that extra roster spot to the linebacker group. But Moreland could potentially make the club after producing on 54 snaps against Tampa Bay.
Safety
- In: Jordan Whitehead, Tony Adams, Adrian Amos, Ashtyn Davis
- PUP List: Jarrick Bernard-Converse
- Out: Trey Dean, Nehemiah Shelton, Marquis Waters
Adams made the Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2022 and played just 118 defensive snaps but was impressive enough over the summer to beat out Amos for a starting job alongside Whitehead. Adams hasn’t played a single snap during the preseason, indicating he’s the clear starter in the back end.
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Amos could still see plenty of playing time, especially if New York regularly deploys a “big nickel” look with three safeties on the field. That’s how Gang Green lined up for the first snap of their preseason game against Tampa Bay.
Davis played the third-most special teams snaps on the Jets’ roster last season, so he’ll return for his fourth go-round in New York. Bernard-Converse hasn’t been available all summer and should stick on PUP into the regular season. Dean has flashed over the past several weeks and could make the roster if the Jets could light at linebacker.
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.
