It takes a humble man to assess his past performance and come away with a simple conclusion: "It wasn't the best, obviously."

Those (and other) words of self-criticism came on Wednesday from Jets LB Jamien Sherwood, who -- it seems in the blink of an eye -- is preparing for his sixth season with the Green & White.

"There were areas where I need to improve, there were some good plays, there were some bad plays," Sherwood, 26, said. "I just felt for myself I definitely could be more consistent than I was. That's another thing that I do look for going into the season. That's just studying more, staying after practice more and just being a better teammate."

After playing at safety in college at Auburn, Sherwood came into the NFL in 2021 (drafted in Round 5, No. 146 overall) and was immediately switched to linebacker. He sustained a season-ending torn Achilles tendon after 5 games. He returned the next season and has played in all 17 games in each of the past four seasons. After signing a contract extension ahead of the 2025 season, Sherwood led the Jets with 154 total tackles, 53 more than the next-highest total (rookie S Malachi Moore). Sherwood last season added 8 PD, 2 sacks, 8 TFL and 5 QB hits while playing 98% of the snaps on defense and also taking 100 snaps on special teams.

Sherwood's candid self-assessment speaks volumes HC Aaron Glenn said on Wednesday.

"For him [Sherwood] to say that and what I know about what we've talked about ... for him to do the things that he's been doing this offseason to get himself into a position to where listen, I want to be one of the top linebackers," Glenn said. "The way these dudes are going about their business in all three phases has been unbelievable for the most part, and listen, I support that player.

"I think with Demario Davis being next to him, that's going to help him out a lot because he's still a young player and he is a player that came from being a safety to being a linebacker. So having somebody that's been in this league for a long time as Demario sitting right beside him, it could only help him. Any player that's self-aware and will critique themselves like that on a year-to-year basis, always good."

The 2024 season was Sherwood's breakout year when he led the league with 98 solo tackles (158 total) and had to step up after veteran LB C.J. Mosley played in only 4 games. Sherwood is excited for the opportunity to line up next to another Pro Bowl 'backer in Davis.

"It's been great," Sherwood said about having Davis around as OTAs draw to a close ahead of next week's mandatory minicamp. "I'll say the only thing I could say from last year -- we were a pretty young team -- so when there were times where I felt like I did need someone to lean on or felt like I needed a little bit more knowledge of something. I feel like for the last few weeks of OTAs and the offseason, like he's been there, and I'll say you can feel his presence and it's beneficial for everybody on the team, not just myself."

He added: "He's been tremendous for all of us."

Having Davis in his ear will be a new experience for Sherwood, as will having Glenn calling the plays on defense.

"The emphasis this year is details, so again, that's why I want to focus on that this year, but you know, he's very adamant on what he wants this year," Sherwood said of his HC. "And I feel like the practices that we strung together, you could tell that we've been listening to him, and we've been trying to get the job done."