ESPN’s latest positional rankings left the Jets with only one player in the top 10, and even that came with a bit of a caveat.
Breece Hall was the lone New York Jet to crack the list, checking in at No. 10 among running backs in ESPN’s survey of more than 70 current NFL coaches, executives and scouts. Beyond that, the Jets took a hit: Garrett Wilson and Minkah Fitzpatrick both fell out of their position’s top 10 after landing there in 2025.
Wilson had been ranked ninth among wide receivers last year, while Fitzpatrick came in 10th among safeties. This time around, neither player even made the honorable mentions section, though both did receive votes.
Wilson’s slide stands out the most. A knee injury limited him to six games and cost him 10 total, which naturally dragged down his season-long numbers.
But before he got hurt, he was producing at a level that looked like a real step forward. Through those six games, Wilson posted career-best marks in receiving yards per game at 65.8 and receiving touchdowns per game at 0.67.
He was doing that in a run-heavy offense with Justin Fields, who was one of the league’s worst starting quarterbacks. And with Josh Reynolds as the Jets’ second-leading receiver at just 72 yards - less than one-fifth of Wilson’s 395 - defenses had every reason to load up on him.
There’s a clear argument that voters favored players who stayed on the field and piled up more volume in 2025. Still, Wilson’s omission feels harsh when the tape suggests he was playing some of his best football before the injury, not after it.
Fitzpatrick’s drop is harder to justify from a production standpoint, too. The eighth-year safety put together a strong all-around season, finishing with 82 total tackles, six passes defended, a career-high four tackles for loss, one sack, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble, one interception and one pick-two - an interception on a two-point conversion returned for two points.
His 81.8 overall grade from Pro Football Focus ranked sixth among 67 qualified safeties, a strong sign of how complete his game remained. He may not be piling up interceptions like he did at his peak, but Fitzpatrick still showed elite coverage ability. Among safeties with at least 10 man-to-man targets in 2025, his 38.5% forced incompletion rate in man coverage ranked second at the position.
In the end, both players may have been hurt by the same thing: not enough flashy counting stats to stick in voters’ minds. Wilson missed too much time to make a lasting impression, while Fitzpatrick played 14 games but didn’t have the interception totals that helped top-10 newcomer Calen Bullock stand out.
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