QBs are an obvious position of interest for Jets fans as the start of the unrestricted free agency signing period approaches. Wide receivers, too. But the Green & White have needs on the defensive side of the ball as well, some of which could be addressed via UFA signings. Here are 11 players mentioned by NFL pro personnel watchers as interesting additions for teams around the league.

Defensive Line

Edge Trey Hendrickson — A big edge-rushing name will be in the UFA pool. Hendrickson has had four double-digit sack seasons, the last three with Cincinnati, and 81 sacks and four Pro Bowl invitations in his nine-year career. But the Bengals did not tag him so he's in play. He also turns 32 in December and he's coming off core muscle surgery that limited him to seven games and four sacks last season.

Edge Jaelan Phillips — After being traded from Miami to Philadelphia in November, Phillips will be looking for his third team in half a year. And he'll find it with his production off the edge — in five NFL seasons, with his 6-5 , 265-pound frame, he's racked up 28 sacks, recovered 5 fumbles and even has an INT. He's overcome injuries in both '23 and '24 with the Dolphins, finished strong with the Eagles, and now is looking for a new home.

Edge Al-Quadin Muhammad — Aaron Glenn helped restart Muhammad's career after the then-sixth-year player didn't get on the field in 2023 and served an NFL suspension. Glenn got 9 games, 3 sacks and 5 QB hits out of him in '24. Then ater AG left for the Jets, Muhammad hung up 11 sacks and 20 QB hits for the Lions last season. He knows he's put himself in good position for free agency and some analysts call him one of the league's most intriguing UFAs.

IDL John Franklin-Myers — The Jets traded Franklin-Myers to Denver after the 2023 season. Could there be a FA reunion in '26? Might be tough since he has connections with former Jets head coach Robert Saleh, now the Titans' HC, and edge LB Jermaine Johnson, recently traded by the Jets to Tennessee for DL T'Vondre Sweat. Whoever signs JFM will get an eighth-year interior DL who continues to produce vs. the run and the pass (34 sacks, 100 QB hits in his career).

Linebackers

LB Devin Lloyd — Lloyd has been a top performer for Jacksonville for four seasons since arriving as a first-round pick (27th overall) in '22. He's always available (15-plus starts each year) and plays the run (100-plus tackles/season) and especially the pass — he had 5 of his 9 career INTs last season plus a career-high 10 QB hits, both most among LBs. The Jaguars have limited cap space, so their potential loss of a star LB could be another team's big gain.

LB Quay Walker — Walker brings explosion, playmaking and run defense to the LBs room. He totaled 100-plus tackles in each of his four Green Bay seasons — via NFL.com, his 4.9 tackles/game on designed rushes was 111th in the league. And he was a steady presence in the pass game, both in QB pressures and pass defense. Possibly Miami HC Jeff Hafley, Walker's DC with the Packers, will show interest in the Pack's former first-rounder, 22nd overall in '22.

LB Alex Anzalone — Anzalone arrived from New Orleans in Detroit in 2021, the same year Aaron Glenn took the Lions' DC reins, played through last season, when he turned 31, and has said he wanted to retire as a Lion. He has played well in a few different roles and last season, after giving up the green-dot helmet, still logged 16 starts, 95 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 6 QB hits and a career-high 9 PDs. The Lions just may feel they can't afford him and want to get younger at the position.

Defensive Backs

S Bryan Cook — Cook has been a versatile player in the Chiefs' deep middle ever since he arrived as KC's second-round pick in '22 and contributed that season all the way to the Super Bowl win. His next three seasons he moved into a starting role, had tame totals with 3 INTs and 13 PDs, but improved his tackle totals each year. He loves to hit, plays with confidence, and could be a nice safety teammate of someone like, say, Malachi Moore.

S Ar'Darius Washington — Washington is a five-year Raven, a former undrafted rookie free agent who was squeezed for playing time at a loaded Baltimore safety spot. He's undersized (5-8, 180) and coming off a torn Achilles last May that cost him most of the '25 season. But in '24 he stepped up with 10 starts, 62 tackles 2 INTs, 8 PDs and 5 TFLs. He will fit into some team's safety picture.

CB Riq Woolen — Woolen is coming off a Super Bowl victory with the Seahawks. He's also winding up a four-year stay in Seattle that went from the highs of an NFL-leading 6 INTs as a rookie in '22, to the next three seasons of 6 INTs combined and leading to a CB rotation role on the '25 'Hawks that cut his starts in half. Riq has been described as "polarizing," but also as a very good performer and interceptor for the team that lands him.

S Andre Cisco — Have the Jets seen enough or might they want to re-sign Cisco after his season-ending shoulder injury at Cincinnati? He was a one-year signing a year ago who looked good in the secondary in tackling and leadership, eager but not as dominant in pass defense (1 PD) before going down in the Game 8 win. But he's a hometown guy, with Queens and Long Island ties and his college career at Syracuse. If the shoulder checks out, he's still young, turning 26 in late March.