It has only been a little more than a year that Darren Mougey has been general manager of the Jets. Yet over that limited span he has proven himself to be a keen evaluator of talent, an adept trader, aggressive in free agency while also crafting deals that make financial sense, at least in the short term.

Since the start of the League Year earlier this month, Mougey, who will turn 41 years old in less than 2 weeks, has gone about rebuilding the Jets' roster ahead of the 2026 NFL season. And second-year HC Aaron Glenn made several personnel changes on his staff prior to the NFL's league year.

"First of all, there's a lot of new coaches on the staff, [OC] Frank Reich, obviously, coming in," NFL.com analyst Brian Baldinger told senior reporter Eric Allen on a recent edition of The Official Jets Podcast. "Brian Duker coming in as defensive coordinator, a lot of new coaches."

In total, Glenn will be working with more than a dozen new coaches.

With Glenn planning to call the plays on defense, much as he did as the DC with the Detroit Lions, the defense took priority among Mougey's early moves.

"They rebuilt this roster," Baldinger said. "It needed to be rebuilt. I think that they got some good value with some real veteran players. Guys have been around a long time, obviously, [LB] Demario Davis back to the Jets for the third time, but they got a lot of guys, not just that are veterans, but guys who have been largely healthy and in leadership roles wherever they've been."

In addition to Davis, a 17-year veteran, that group includes New Jersey native Minkah Fitzpatrick, a safety acquired in a trade with AFC East rival Miami. Mougey then sent edge Jermaine Johnson to Tennessee for the young and promising DT T'Vondre Sweat. In rapid-fire fashion in the first wave of free agency, the Jets brought aboard edge Joseph Ossai, edge Kingsley Enagbare and DT David Onyemata (the latter two on team-friendly one-year deals).

In addition to Fitzpatrick, the defensive backfield was fortified with the signing in free agency of CB Nahshon Wright and S Dane Belton (each also on one-year deals).

And all those moves have come before the NFL Draft in about a month when the Jets have nine total picks, four among the top 44 selections (two each in the first two rounds).

"I think they really did their homework," Baldinger said. "They got guys at every level of defense that have been around a long time. They needed to rebuild this defense, starting with a new defensive coordinator. And think that's good because you got to build this the right way and leadership and how you practice and how you prepare, and how you become a professional. It's good to be able to model yourself after some of the guys, some of the guys they brought in. I think it's really, really good."

While the majority of the Jets' move addressed needs on defense, Mougey landed perhaps the best veteran QB on the market when he acquired Geno Smith in a trade with the Raiders. Then days later, the Jets went back to Las Vegas and signed guard Dylan Parham after O-lineman John Simpson and Alijah Vera-Tucker signed elsewhere.

"Dylan Parham was a good signing," Baldinger said. "He's a good player. He got hurt last year, missed some games. They had a new center, just a lot of changes." He added: "I'm sure they'll draft another guy. They re-signed Max Mitchell, who's been a good insurance policy. You got to kind of build off what we saw last year, and that was Josh Myers playing really well at center and Joe Tippmann going to right guard. And then the rookie [RT Armand Membou] played really well at right tackle. They had a lot of stability up there last year, they got a chance to work together. The quarterback play has got to get a lot better, but I'm anxious to see them working right now with Steve Heiden, the offensive line coach, and really kind of building that camaraderie that you've got to have."

For Baldinger, especially when it comes to the defense, the Jets have added proven players to compete with the team's holdovers.

"In one offseason and just in free agency and what they've done so far since the end of season ... now you've got a defense where you can see real competition taking place at a lot of positions on that defense right now," Baldinger said. "So that's always a good sign when you say, OK, who is going to be your starting safety? Who are your starting corners, who is going to be your rotation of the defensive line? They've got real competition right now."