The Jets’ linebacker picture just changed, and it opens the door for one of the roster’s quietest names to make some noise.
Mykal Walker is expected to miss 2-3 weeks, which essentially wipes out the rest of the summer for him. That leaves New York with a thin window to sort out its third linebacker job, and it gives undrafted rookie Jaden Keller a real chance to grab attention in preseason Week 2.
Walker had been in the mix for the LB3 role after finishing the 2025 season strongly and turning heads in last week’s preseason opener. But with him sidelined, the Jets have a chance to get a longer look at Keller and Kiko Mauigoa, while Marcelino McCrary-Ball remains part of the competition as well.
Keller’s path here has been the kind teams love to uncover in August. He signed with the Jets in the spring after impressing at rookie minicamp, and he was one of only two players to earn a spot on the 90-man roster out of that group, along with veteran offensive lineman Landon Young. Since then, he’s kept showing up in the right spots through mandatory minicamp and training camp.
The Virginia Tech linebacker brought a productive college résumé with him, finishing 2025 with 50 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks and a forced fumble in 11 games. He also backed that up with strong testing at Virginia Tech’s pro day, posting a 9.70 Relative Athletic Score. At 6-foot-2 and 237 pounds, he ran a 4.50 in the 40-yard dash and added excellent explosiveness, agility and a sub-7-second three-cone drill.
That athletic profile has already shown up on the field. In the preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Keller logged two tackles, two stops and a 68.3 defensive grade at Pro Football Focus, and he did it without missing a tackle. The only catch was playing time: he didn’t enter until late and finished with 22 snaps because the Jets’ linebacker competition was crowded.
That competition has been tight enough that Walker’s absence matters. McCrary-Ball has already shown enough in regular-season action for the Jets to know what they have there, while Mauigoa, a fifth-round pick from last year, appears to have a firm grip on his roster spot after flashing as a rookie and contributing on special teams.
That leaves Keller with the clearest opening to climb. A 53-man roster spot would take a big finish over the next two weeks, but a practice squad role is very much within reach. For a player who entered the summer as a rookie minicamp invite, that would be a strong place to land.
Tonight in Pittsburgh, Keller gets another shot to keep building his case.
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