The New York Jets are in a state of flux as the new regime of Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey attempt to eliminate all signs of the previous brain-truss but also end a playoff drought that is almost able to get a driver’s license. And they are going to do it, with frankly a worse roster than they had last year.

With those lofty goals in mind, here are the top 25 players as I see them on the 2025 New York Jets.

One note on this list, I left off any rookies. It wouldn’t be fair to try and rank players on a team that have no NFL experience. We do enough of that in the pre-draft process that I don’t need to guess how they will be used and to what level.

You can find players 25-21 here.
You can find players 20-16 here.
You can find player 15-11 here.

So, without further ado, let’s get to the next group – players 10 – 6.

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10 – Will McDonald IV, Edge

There was a point last season where Will McDonald looked like he could be number one on this list.

McDonald played a minimal role in his rookie season, logging just 184 snaps. However, he showed potential in his small role, racking up three sacks, five quarterback hits, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery with less than 100 chances to rush the passer.

His second season was a tale of two seasons. Through the first seven games, he had eight sacks and looked to be on pace to devastate the league. But he managed just 2.5 the rest of the year (two of them coming in one game). McDonald will need to find a little more consistency and prove he isn’t just a one-trick pony.

His run defense needs to improve to make him an all-around player instead of a pass-rush specialist. He has the ability and mentality to do so.

9 – Jermaine Johnson, Edge

Jermaine Johnson had a rough rookie season. It would be hard to live up to the expectations set by fellow rookies at the time Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner who won offensive and defensive Rookies of the Year respectfully. But he came back in year two and recorded 7.5 sacks and earned a spot on the Pro Bowl. Year three was supposed to be his breakout, but Johnson went down with a devastating season-ending Achilles injury.

He’s been grinding over the past few months to work his way back to 100 percent by the time the regular season comes around. He expects to be back for Week 1 when the Jets host Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Last year’s defense collapsed after Johnson’s Week 2 injury, plummeting from 3rd in yards allowed (313.8/game) to 28th in points allowed (26.6/game).

I believe Johnson returning to his year two form will be one of the most important parts of this Jets defense’s chance for success.

8 – John Simpson, OG

Simpson quietly became the anchor for the offensive line last season and one of the leaders on the team. He signed as a free agent after spending time blocking for Lamar Jackson with the Baltimore Ravens, and now he gets a similar (albeit much worse) version of the running quarterback in Justin Fields.

Simpson hasn’t missed a game in two seasons and has even earned ironman status at guard, playing 99% of the snaps on offense in his season with the Ravens and 95% with the Jets last season. He even took part in 51 plays on special teams.

Simpson allowed just three sacks and 20 pressures. He also scored a 72.3 as a run blocker according to PFF.com, something he will see a lot more of this season.

7 – Quincy Williams, LB

Quincy Williams is a human missile. He flies around the ball and is never satisfied with simply tackling someone, he wants to make each hit a highlight.

In four seasons in New York, Williams has never failed to eclipse 100 tackles or 15 games started. He has tacked on nine sacks and 50 tackles for loss. It jumps off the screen that he is a game-breaker.

In new coordinator Steve Wilks’ system, Quincy could also see a lot more chances to sack the quarterback, further increasing his value. On 237 career pass-rush snaps, Williams has posted 48 pressures (20.3% pressure rate) and 10 sacks (4.2% sack rate). Expect those numbers to increase.

6 – Michael Carter II, DB

I expect casual fans will have an issue with Michael Carter II being this high on the list, but I’m not sure the Jets have a better player who does their job better than anyone else with the same job.

Carter is as close to a lockdown corner in the slot as you can get. He had a down season in 2024, but as I’ve said over and over, who didn’t? A lingering back injury he suffered in a Week 5 loss to the Minnesota Vikings followed him the rest of the season, limiting him to just 190 coverage snaps

He has proven over and over to be the best in the NFL at his job, but the problem is his job isn’t as highly publicized as others. The Jets locked Michael Carter up last off season to a three-year $30.75 million deal and assuming he bounces back from his injury plagued down 2024 season, he is still a steal at that price.

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Stay tuned for the next five names on the list coming out in the next few days.