Now that the offense has been covered, it’s time to assess the Jets defense. This unit was even worse than the offense in 2025, which was incredibly disheartening considering how good the Jets defense had been in years prior. The Jets fired the defensive coordinator Steve Wilks after less than one season with the team. As a team, the defense let up 29.6 points per game, ranking 31st in the NFL per TeamRankings. They also ranked 25th in total yardage allowed per game with 355.6. Similar to the offense, you do not get to these numbers without bad players and position groups. With that being said, let’s grade the Jets defense.
*All statistics will be taken from Pro Football Focus (PFF) unless stated otherwise*
Defensive Tackle: C+ (Mid-season Grade: B)
This position group’s grade takes a hit mainly because of the loss of Quinnen Williams, who was having a good season for the Jets before being traded to the Cowboys. The team does have reliable starters though, despite the loss of the former All-Pro. Jowon Briggs has come along nicely as a two-way player and is lining up to be a big part of the defense in 2026. He ended the season with a 73.7 overall PFF grade along with 38 pressures and 4 sacks (both 2nd on the team). In run defense, he had 19 stops and only 2 missed tackles. Just check out the names surrounding Briggs on these charts. Good company!
Jeffery Simmons had an unreal season pic.twitter.com/49Bk397xfN
— Timo Riske (@PFF_Moo) January 7, 2026
Brigg’s teammate and fellow DT Harrison Phillips finished with a 76.1 run defense grade and 27 stops in the run game. The other reason this grade went down is because of the depth, which will be a trend in this article. The DT’s had 7 total sacks on the season and only one of them came from a player other than Briggs and Phillips. If the Jets can bring in a quality third DT in the spring, this group could be something.
EDGE: D (Mid-season Grade: C)
The Jets EDGE room was very underwhelming and this grade is a reflection of that. The main reason being because two former first rounders could not make a sizable impact in most of the Jets games in 2025. Will McDonald IV and Jermaine Johnson both had pass rush win rates of under 12%. Among EDGE players with at least 311 snaps, they ranked 39th and 47th in that category respectively. In terms of pressures, McDonald had 42 (41st) and Johnson had 35 (49th). These numbers are unacceptable. A team cannot survive with this type of play from players of such pedigree. The depth is also bad at this position, as their best depth piece is Michael Clemons. Adding another EDGE rusher to compete with the ones in place should be a high priority for the Jets in 2026.
Linebacker: D (Mid-season Grade: C)
Going into 2025, the duo of Jamien Sherwood and Quincy Williams had a lot of promise. Unfortunately, they lived up to just about none of it. Sherwood had a less-than-ideal year after being extended in the off-season. The issue was his pass coverage, which is something he had been consistently improving upon until his extension. He finished 2025 with a 46.1 coverage grade, a career-worst. He held his own in run defense though, ending with an impressive 81.0 grade and leading the team in run play tackles (68).
Jamien Sherwood!
pic.twitter.com/BmloZGyosq— SleeperJets (@SleeperJets) December 21, 2025
The even bigger issue was Williams, who was very disappointing in his contract year. He finished with a horrendous 45.5 overall defense grade, along with an even worse 35.2 coverage grade. He allowed 46 catches for 538 yards, and 5 touchdowns in coverage this season. One could assume that with him being a free agent in March that this is the end of his Jets tenure. Depending on the new coordinator and scheme though, he would be open to sticking around though. Regardless of Williams’ status, the Jets will have to hit on their new DC to improve the LB play.
Defensive Backs: C- (Mid-season Grades: Cornerbacks, A- and Safeties, C+)
Similar to the DT’s, this group’s grade suffered mightily after the Jets traded Sauce Gardner to the Colts. He had been having a very good season before missing Week 8 due to injury. The rest of the CB room showed flashes after his departure. Brandon Stephens improved his early-season play. He allowed 509 yards in coverage in 17 starts, which is much improved from his last two seasons as a Raven. He was also a rather capable tackler, registering 59 tackles, only 7 missed tackles, and a forced fumble. Azareye’h Thomas and Jarvis Brownlee Jr. showed flashes before succumbing to season-ending injuries. As for the safeties, the Jets really only have one right now in Malachi Moore. He had a solid year as a 4th rounder thrusted into a starting role. He may have had an overall PFF grade of 58.9, but he posted solid grades in run defense (70.1) and tackling (65.9). Coverage was the reason his overall grade was low, as he posted a 50.4 grade in that category. Moore should improve that number under a new DC and with another off-season under his belt.
The reason this grade ended up so low is because the depth was greatly exposed in the final few weeks of the season. The Jets were outscored by 23+ points in the final 5 games of the season, a first in NFL history. The scoring came almost exclusively through the air. The Jets defense allowed a total of 1,348 passing yards and 17 passing touchdowns in their last 5 games. Ultimately, those performances brought the DB’s down to a C-.
Main Image: Kayla Wolf – Imagn Images