The Bengals were on the Jets' 44-yard line in the second quarter already up, 10-3. But that lead was extended when Joe Flacco found WR Tee Higgins for a deep touchdown — Azareye'h Thomas was in coverage.

"I made a dumb rookie mistake," Thomas said on "The Official Jets Podcast." "I looked back way too early and lost the receiver, and I was having a good game up to that point."

That was Thomas' "welcome to the NFL moment." It wasn't because that was the first touchdown ever scored on the cornerback, but because of his response.

"I had two choices: sulk in it, to cry about it and fold," Thomas said knowing the play would make an ESPN highlight. "Of course I had all of that going through my head, but when I got scored on, I felt indescribable peace. I knew they weren't catching another ball."

Everything changed in that moment for Thomas. When he was drafted No. 73 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, he walked into the Jets' facility for the first time with an incredible amount of pressure.

"For a while I was making football bigger than what it really was," Thomas said.

But after Higgins scored that touchdown, Thomas played with more freedom and now, as he prepares for his second NFL season, he feels much lighter.

"I walk into the building like I no longer have that weight on my back like I'm here to prove anything to anybody else," Thomas said. "I'm here to be my best self and a great teammate and continue to just get better."

'A Revolving Door'
When Sauce Gardner was traded to the Indianapolis Colts, Thomas' life changed. He was at 1 Jets Drive receiving treatment and didn't initially believe the news. While he always trained like a starter because he understood the NFL is like "a revolving door," the pressure he felt "to fill [Sauce's] shoes" mounted.

"In the league you have no time to dwell," Thomas said. "[The Jets] wouldn't have made that decision if they didn't trust me, if they didn't trust in the guys that we had so if they believe in me, how could I not have confidence and believe in myself."

He learned a lot from his older brother, Juanyeh Thomas, who is 2 years older and recently signed with Colts in free agency after spending his first three seasons in Dallas. AZ leaned heavily on his family as he grew more comfortable in his role.

"I'm gonna make my own shoes to fill," Thomas said. "I'm not Sauce, I'm not anybody else out there. I'm Azareye'h Thomas. I'm AZ Thomas."

'Audience of One'
Thomas feels more joy as this season approaches. Last year, everything moved fast and he struggled but it's different now — so is his jersey number.

"Last year I was putting unnecessary pressure on myself, worrying about what the outside world was saying about me and so this year my biggest motto was audience of one," said Thomas, who will wear No.1 on his back this season. "The number doesn't make me, I'm going to make the number."

Confidence, for Thomas, is "non-negotiable" and choosing this number is a symbol of that.

"It's a different type of pressure, a different set of expectations when you walk out there and you're number one," Thomas said. "If you're number one, you're number one and you got to play like it. But as I walk out there, I'm not thinking like that but of course it's in the back of my mind like I've got to perform, like I said though, that's a given.

"But I'm no longer walking out there with that baggage on my back because I know I'm playing for an audience of one."