When the NFL special teams rankings come out shortly after the regular season concludes, the Jets should find themselves in the top five again, as they had been multiple times in the previous 25 years.

That's in large part because of the players whose skills have elevated the Green & White into the ST stratosphere — returners Isaiah Williams and Kene Nwangwu, specialists Nick Folk, Austin McNamara and Thomas Hennessy, and cover/return players led by ST captain Marcelino McCrary-Ball, Qwan'tez Stiggers, Isaiah Oliver, Andrew Beck, Mykal Walker and Kiko Mauigoa.

But the players take their cues from the coaches. Aaron Glenn came to the Jets' head coaching position espousing the importance of special teams and has continued through the season to tout his players and his staff, led by first-year coordinator Chris Banjo, who have made those special things happen.

"Banjo was one of my guys — I coached him for a number of years in New Orleans," Glenn told nyjets.com's Eric Allen on this week's Jets Gameday interview. "He was a true bigtime special teamer for us, a flag bearer. That's what I call the guys that say, 'I know what my role is on defense, but man, special teams is how I'm making this league.'

"He was one of those guys, very smart, highly competitive, and he's been around some really good special teams coaches. So once I got my opportunity to be a head coach, the thought in my mind was that he was going to be my special teams coordinator."

'Special Teams Is Huge for Us'
Glenn said another factor for all his coaching hires is compatibility, and Banjo has been quite like-minded with AG in making "teams" a coequal branch of the Green & White operation.

"Special teams is huge for us — we put in just as much time as we do on offense and defense," Glenn said. "I think that's one of the reasons our guys go out there and perform the way they perform, because it's not a deal where special teams is 'over here.' It's a part of the three phases that we want to make sure we do well."

Banjo said before Thursday's practice that Sunday's matchup in Jacksonville against the Jaguars' units will be a challenge "that we look forward to." But, he said, "I think we've been fortunate enough to go against a lot of good groups with good coaches. We're just more so focused on who we are, how we continue to grow, how we continue to compete, how we continue to put our best foot forward.

"What we've got to do is be us."

Numbers Tell a Compelling Story
The Jets being the Jets on special teams has produced gaudy numbers and achievements through the first 13 games:

■ Williams' 78-yard punt-return touchdown against Miami was his second PR TD in a month, following up on his 74-yarder vs. Cleveland in Week 10. And with the runback against Dolphins, he became only the third different Jet/Titan with two punt-return TDs in a season. Titan Dick Christy did it twice, in '1961 and '62, and Santana Moss had return TDs in back-to-back games in 2002. If Williams gets a third punt-return score, he would set the Jets' single-season record and would be the first NFL player with three PR TDs in a season since Patrick Peterson for Arizona in 2011.

■ Williams improved his punt-return average to 14.9 yds/return, fifth in the NFL, while increasing his kickoff-return average to 29.7 yards/return, third in the league. He is the only qualifying player through 14 weeks in the NFL's top five in both categories.

"I think right now he's playing like one of the best if not the best returners in the league, when you talk about him being a dual guy," Chris Banjo said. "We're really excited to have him."

■ Williams also had an 83-yard kickoff return against Atlanta, while Kene Nwangwu had his 99-yd KO-return TD vs. Cleveland. As a result, the Jets are averaging 29.8 yards/KO return and have an average drive start after KOs of their 34.8-yard line, both first in the NFL team rankings. Opposing teams have taken to kicking away from both returners, with the Falcons and Dolphins combining for six touchbacks, all six returned under the dynamic-kickoff rules to the Jets 35.

■ Nwangwu, with 13 kickoff returns, doesn't have enough to qualify for the NFL's lists. But lower the qualifying bar to one kickoff return for each team game, 13 returns to qualify, and Nwangwu's 35.1-yard average would easily be No. 1 in the NFL while Williams would drop one notch to sixth.

■ Williams, Nwangwu and Will McDonald IV (blocked-FG-return TD at Tampa Bay) give the Jets four return TDs, tied for third in the league. And with all four of the Jets' returns coming on specials, they're No. 1 in ST TDs.

■ P Austin McNamara didn't get much attention for his 72-yard punt Sunday, primarily because the Jets were trailing, 21-7, when he struck the second-quarter kick and it went for a touchback. Still, the punt tied for seventh-longest in franchise history and was the third-longest in a home game. A-Mac's gross average has improved to 47.7 yards/punt, 12th in the NFL, and his net has risen to 43.5, fourth, while the Jets 6.7 yards/punt return is No. 2.

■ Last but far from the least is K Nick Folk, whose overall field goal conversion rate since 2023 is No. 1 in the NFL, an unconscious 96.1% (73 -of- 76), as is his 50-yards-plus accuracy of 89.5% (17 of 19). In the past seven seasons he has converted all 96 of his FG tries under 40 yards. And this season, Folk's and the Jets' FG accuracy of 95.8% (23 -of -24) are both No. 1.

Another Jets ST Factor: Faking It
Special teams also includes fake kicks, and it should be no surprise that of the NFL's three successful fakes this season, the Jets have two — Breece Hall's 1-yard run on fourth-and-1 from their 37 against Denver and Isaiah Davis' 19-yard gain on a short-hopped toss from upback Malachi Moore on fourth-and-8 from their 25 vs. Miami.

"They were like, 'About time,' " Banjo said of his punt unit's reaction to the fake call. "It's something we've been working on for a while. We just wanted the right time, the right look. The pitch wasn't the best ... but I take that back — that's just how we drew it up."

The STC added about "Playoff Zay" Davis' perfect handling of the pitch: "Anything Zay does, it's hard for him to come out on the negative side of it. If he messes something up, it's pretty much because you're coaching wrong."

The coaching and performance on the Jets' special teams has rarely been wrong this season, and as AG stresses, they will be strong components of the team's success the rest of this season and beyond.

"I expect a lot of those guys, just like I do the offense and defense," Glenn said. "There's a huge belief that every time we catch a punt, every time we catch a kickoff, we're going to score. Every time our coverage unit goes on the field, they're going to make a tackle on a kickoff behind the 25, or the punt team is not going to let a return happen. And that goes for our specialists, too. Those guys are doing a hell of a job pinning kicks inside the 10, doing things like that.

"So all of it's coming together the way you want it. But listen, I expect more from those guys."