Position at a Glance '26
The Jets made several offseason moves to bolster their defensive line for the 2026 season.
In March, the Jets acquired T'Vondre Sweat in a player-for-player swap with the Titans that sent Jermaine Johnson to Tennessee. Sweat was limited to 12 games with an ankle injury last season but in his rookie year (2024) he played in all 17 games and had 4 TFL, a sack and 51 total tackles. Sweat (6-4) brings noticeable size to the defensive line — he's listed at 366 pounds.
"Yeah, he's easy to pick out," head coach Aaron Glenn said with a laugh during OTAs. "It's a big man's game, it will always be a big man's game, and for us to be able to add large men that have the ability that those guys have, the agility that those guys have, it only makes us better as a team."
If the Jets use a 3-4 defensive front, Sweat will have a massive impact, but Glenn isn't set on just one defensive identity.
"We will be a multiple defense. So there will be elements of 4-3, there will be elements of 3-4," Glenn said. "When you look at it, you're in nickel like 70 percent of the time, so you're in four-down spacing for the most part. So once you go to base defense, there are a number of things that you can do. I love front variations, so you will see some four down fronts, you will see some five down fronts and you will see a lot of movement within that."
The Jets also added more size by signing interior lineman David Onyemata (6-3, 300), edge rusher Joseph Ossai (6-4, 253) and defensive end Kingsley Enagbare (6-4, 258) in free agency.
Onyemata is starting his 11th NFL season and just spent the past three in Atlanta after starting his career with the Saints. LB Demario Davis played with Onyemata in New Orleans and said "he's easily one of the best run defenders I've ever played with."
"You have to stop the run to be an effective defense, and you need guys who can do it," Davis said. "On the back end there's a lot more that goes into it, but up front you've just got to be a dog, and you've got to have enough dogs up front to get the job done. And when they snap the ball, it's just me vs. the man in front of me and when you have that mentality the technique, you know, you can find that, but that mindset — he's one of the ones that just has it."
Storyline to Watch
No. 31 will be a player to watch during training camp. Once the pads come on, we'll get our first look at the physicality of rookie David Bailey who was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Bailey's 14.5 sacks and 21.3% pressure rate at Texas Tech led the FBS last season. In his collegiate career, which started at Stanford, he had 29 sacks and 10 forced fumbles. The rookie edge rusher is an exciting new addition to the defensive line given the veterans around him.
"Obviously, the thing that I think we all know that stands out is his first step quickness and his ability to rush the passer," Glenn said at the end of minicamp. "We [didn't] have the pads on so the physical part of it we just couldn't see. But we do know this: the way he strikes the bag, his length, how strong he is…I'm looking forward to this player man."
The Jets also drafted Darrell Jackson Jr. in the fourth round and signed Nathan Voorhis as an undrafted free agent.
What They're Saying
Harrison Phillips, a Stanford alum, jokingly said he wants "to claim" Bailey as a Cardinal rather than a Red Raider while praising his early work during OTAs.
"I've really liked what he can do as an athlete on the field, not just with his hand down in the dirt, but the different varieties you can do with somebody who can also run and change direction at an elite level," Phillips said. "Obviously he can chase down quarterbacks, but there might be some other players he can chase down in space which really helps you. And our whole rookies in our room, we've got three of them, [Bailey, Jackson and Voorhis], and all three of them are wired the right way."
| Jets Player | Exper in '26 | '25 GP-GS-DNP-IA | '25 D-ST--Total Snaps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jowon Briggs | 3rd | 17 - 8 - 0 - 0 | 588 - 143 - 731 |
| Will McDonald IV(EDGE) | 4th | 15 - 14 - 0 - 0 | 649 - 82 - 731 |
| David Onyemata | 11th | 17 - 17 - 0 - 0 (ATL) | 634- 68 - 703 (ATL) |
| Harrison Phillips | 9th | 17 - 17 - 0 - 0 | 693 - 10 - 703 |
| Joseph Ossai | 6th | 14 - 9 - 0 - 3 (CIN) | 616 - 67 - 683 (CIN) |
| Kingsley Enagbare | 5th | 17 - 3 - 0 - 0 (GB) | 468 - 150 - 618 (GB) |
| T'Vondre Sweat | 3rd | 12- 12- 0 - 0 (TEN) | 381 - 59 - 440 (TEN) |
| BraidenMcGregor(EDGE) | 3rd | 12 - 0 - 0 - 5 | 265 - 103 - 368 |
| Eric Watts | 2nd | 4 - 1 - 0 - 1 | 103 - 32 - 135 |
| Tyler Baron | 2nd | 6 - 0 - 1 - 6 | 95 - 35 - 130 |
| Payton Page | 1st | 4 - 0 - 0 - 1 | 61 - 19 - 80 |
| Mazi Smith | 4th | 3 - 0 - 0- 6 (NYJ) | 54 - 6 - 60 (NYJ) |
| Kingsley Jonathan | 3rd | 1 - 0 - 0 - 0 | 17 - 8 - 25 |
| Jack Heflin | 2nd | 1 - 0 - 0 - 0 (LAR) | 8 - 7 - 15 (LAR) |
| Paschal Ekeji* | 1st | .................... | ..................... |
| David Bailey (EDGE) | R | .................... | .................... |
| Darrell Jackson Jr. | R | .................... | .................... |
| Nathan Voorhis | R | ................... | .................... |
*Ekeji is an International Player Pathway program signee
Finished '25 Season on IR: McDonald, Baron
Finished '25 Season on Practice Squad: Ekeji, Heflin (LAR)
Signed Reserve/Future Contract: Heflin, Ekeji
Draft Choices in '26: Bailey (Rd. 1, 2nd overall), Jackson Jr. (Rd. 4A, 103rd)
Undrafted Rookie Free Agent in '26: Voorhis
DL Trivia
Edge Will McDonald IV is attempting to lead the Jets in sacks for a third consecutive season after securing 10.5 sacks in 2024 and 8 last season. It would be a rare achievement on the Jets' annual leaderboard. McDonald would join Quinnen Williams (2020-22) as the Green & White's only D-linemen to do that since Mark Gastineau's legendary 4 seasons in a row leading the defense with a total of 60.5 sacks from 1982-85.
