Special Teams Roster Overview | All Systems Were Go, Many Ranked High

This third installment of our Jets roster overview focuses on special teams, which were especially outstanding in 2025 under the leadership of first-year ST coordinator Chris Banjo and ST assistant Kevin O'Dea.

Special Teams

The Jets' specialists excelled in many areas. Eighteen-year vet Nick Folk tied for the NFL lead in field goal accuracy. First-year P Austin McNamara was sixth in the league with a franchise-record 43.2-yard net average, was second in inside-20 punts (32), inside-10 punts (13) and unofficial hang time, enabling the cover team to rank third in allowing 6.3 yards per return.

Isaiah Williams placed second in the league with his 29.9 yards/return. Kene Nwangwu's 18 KO returns didn't qualify him for the NFL lead, but his 33.6 average led the league for all with at least 18 returns, and those two led the Jets to the No. 1 spot in the team rankings with 29.9 per return. Williams' 14.1 yards/punt return came in fourth among qualifiers and the Jets were sixth as a team.

Thomas Hennessy continued his unerring long-snapping and he leads all long-snappers from 2017-25 with 29 total ST tackles. And Will McDonald IV had the block of the year in Week 3 at Tampa Bay, ultimately becoming the only player in the league last season and the only player in Jets history to block a field goal attempt and return it himself for a touchdown. More of all of this, please, for Jets fans as the Green & White get prepared for the season ahead.

ST Trivia

Many facets of the Jets' special teams sparkled. One of the gems was K Folk, who set the franchise record and tied for the NFL individual title as most accurate field goal kicker with the 49ers' Eddy Piñeiro and led the Jets to the team FG accuracy crown by converting 28 of his 29 tries (his only miss was from 55 yards in a cold rain at MetLife vs. Atlanta) for a 96.6% success rate. And if he chooses to play again in 2026 (he could become a free agent or he could retire), Folk's next make from inside 40 yards will make him 100-for-his-last-100 in that category.