The Jets built their edge group like it should be a strength. Two first-round picks.
A pricey free-agent addition. On paper, that’s the kind of setup that ought to give a defense real teeth.
Instead, the pass rush is becoming a problem that keeps getting louder.
New York’s edge room just hasn’t produced enough disruption, and that’s been a major reason the defense is struggling. Through Week 4, the Jets rank 29th in pressure percentage, and the lack of heat on opposing quarterbacks has put Aaron Glenn in a bind.
David Bailey, the No. 2 overall pick from this past draft, opened the season with a promising two-week stretch. He had two sacks and eight pressures through the first two games.
Since then, though, the production has dried up. Over the last two weeks, Bailey has managed just three pressures.
That’s a tough quiet spell for a starting edge rusher, even with only four games under his belt. There’s still plenty of room for him to grow, and the source material makes clear that improvement remains likely. But the last two weeks have exposed how far the Jets still have to go.
Will McDonald IV has hit a similar wall. In year four, he posted five pressures in Week 1, then has added only four more over the next three games combined.
Joseph Ossai gets a little more runway because of injury and the fact that he has played only two games, but the results haven’t been there either. The Jets’ major free-agent addition has not recorded a pressure and owns a pass-rush win rate of just 6.7 percent.
That lack of juice has pushed Glenn to lean harder on the blitz. The Jets are sending extra rushers 37.1 percent of the time, which ranks eighth in the NFL. But that adjustment hasn’t fixed the issue.
If anything, the blitz has been exposed, too. Tyson Bagent went 11-of-15 for 95 yards against it in Week 4. The week before, Jared Goff was a perfect 14-for-14 for 127 yards through the air against the blitz.
The bigger picture is pretty clear: the Jets did invest in this area. They gave the edge room the kind of resources teams expect to pay off.
Glenn has already changed course when his top rushers haven’t gotten home. Now the burden shifts to the players to actually finish the job.
In Other News...
Jets May Finally Get WR Help But One Question Still Looms
The Jets receiver room may be getting a little healthier soon, which comes as welcome news for an offense that has had to navigate injuries to key pass-catchers. Tim Patrick has now completed the required four-game absence and is eligible to return to practice, giving the team at least a chance to add some experienced help back into the mix after a stretch of uncertainty.
Omar Cooper Jr. is still a longer wait, since he remains on injured reserve and has to sit out at least one more game before his practice window can open. So while the roster picture is beginning to brighten at receiver, the bigger question for the Jets is how quickly that help can actually show up on the field, and whether Patrick will be ready to contribute right away once he ramps up. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Opponent Suddenly Has A Quarterback Issue To Sort Out
The Browns have opened the clock on a pair of injured-reserve returns, designating quarterback Dillon Gabriel and defensive tackle Kalia Davis to come back to practice. Cleveland now has 21 days to decide whether either player gets activated to the active roster, a timeline that adds another layer to a quarterback room already worth watching from afar.
Gabriels return is the more interesting subplot for Jets watchers because it forces Cleveland to sort out where he fits behind Deshaun Watson and backup Shedeur Sanders. Even before the Browns make a decision, the move hints at more quarterback evaluation work ahead, and any shuffle there is the kind of thing opponents keep an eye on as they prepare for a game plan. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Fans Just Got An Uncomfortable New QB Option
The Jets quarterback picture already has a few moving parts, and now another one has been dropped into the mix. NFL analyst Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report recently floated New York as a possible trade destination for San Francisco backup Mac Jones, putting a concrete price on the idea with a conditional 2027 second-round pick.
Jones has already bounced from the Patriots to the Jaguars to the 49ers, and he is currently sitting behind Brock Purdy in San Francisco. For the Jets, it is another reminder that the search for insulation behind Geno Smith is not necessarily finished, even with rookie Cade Klubnik in the building after being drafted in 2026 and getting preseason reps. [Read more 🡒]