{"id":29998,"date":"2025-05-07T03:13:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T03:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/29998\/"},"modified":"2025-05-07T03:13:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T03:13:10","slug":"should-the-new-york-jets-reunite-with-foley-fatukasi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/29998\/","title":{"rendered":"Should the New York Jets reunite with Foley Fatukasi?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New York Jets<\/a> addressed several key roster needs during the 2025 NFL draft.<\/p>\n

However, the team did not select a defensive tackle, one of the team\u2019s more pressing needs entering the draft.<\/p>\n

That omission has prompted fans to explore the post-draft free agency market in search of a run-stuffing interior lineman the Jets could add ahead of the 2025 season. The team still lacks a dependable 1-technique defensive tackle to complement Quinnen Williams.<\/p>\n

One familiar name, Folorunso Fatukasi, remains unsigned, and fans have called on general manager Darren Mougey to consider a reunion with the former Jets day three pick.<\/p>\n

Fatukasi, 30, started his NFL career with the Jets in 2018 as a sixth-round pick.<\/p>\n

The UConn product only appeared in one game during his rookie season, logging three total snaps. However, in 2019, Fatukasi asserted himself as a key piece in the Jets\u2019 defensive line and posted a stellar 87.6 run-defense grade from Pro Football Focus, which ranked fifth among defensive tackles.<\/p>\n

He followed his impressive 2019 season with another highly productive year in 2020, logging an 86.2 run-defense grade, which ranked second among NFL defensive tackles.<\/p>\n

Fatukasi then spent one more season in New York (2021), where he played in 15 games (all starts), and recorded 46 total tackles (five for loss) with six quarterback hits.<\/p>\n

After four seasons with the Jets, Fatukasi inked a three-year contract for $30 million with the Jaguars, where he struggled to reach his impressive numbers in New York.<\/p>\n

Fatukasi spent two seasons in Jacksonville, posting 48 total tackles (five for loss) and five quarterback hits in 30 games (29 starts). He dropped to a career-low 41.4 run defense grade in 2022 and rebounded with a decent 60.7 mark in 2023.<\/p>\n

The New York native was released after the 2023 season and signed with the Houston Texans, where he spent the 2024 season. Fatukasi started 11 games for Houston before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury.<\/p>\n

Across 11 games, the defensive lineman registered 24 total tackles (four for loss) with three QB hits, while posting an abysmal 32.4 run-defense grade from PFF. It marked another career low and ranked No. 209 among 219 qualified defensive tackles.<\/p>\n

Should the NY Jets reunite with Fatukasi?<\/p>\n

Absolutely not.<\/p>\n

While Fatukasi brings the profile of a big-bodied interior run-stuffer with starting experience, his sharp decline in recent seasons, compounded by a significant shoulder injury last year, is part of why he remains unsigned after the draft. The Jets should not be the team that changes that.<\/p>\n

Yes, there\u2019s some appeal in a reunion given Fatukasi\u2019s impact as a late-round pick in New York, but nostalgia alone isn\u2019t enough. The Jets already signed<\/a> Derrick Nnadi, who is expected to fill a similar role.<\/p>\n

Like Fatukasi, Nnadi showed flashes as a productive run defender earlier in his career but has been on a downward trajectory in recent seasons.<\/a> He offers a comparable frame and skill set, anchoring the interior at 317 pounds in the 1-technique role.<\/p>\n

Fatukasi should be remembered fondly by fans as a fan-favorite day-three gem, but his time with the Jets is over. A reunion doesn\u2019t make sense at this stage of his career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The New York Jets addressed several key roster needs during the 2025 NFL draft. However, the team did…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29999,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2051],"tags":[11464,7,226,1917,255,2321,2097,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-29998","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-jets","8":"tag-foley-fatukasi","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-jets","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-jets","13":"tag-newyork","14":"tag-newyorkjets","15":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114464371966913522","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29998"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29998\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}