Big Q and Who?<\/p>\n
That has been the title<\/a> of the New York Jets\u2019 defensive tackle room throughout the 2024 offseason. Not only did the Jets fail to sign an interior defensive lineman to a contract larger than the league minimum, but they also doubled down on that disregard in the draft.<\/p>\n Come six days before cutdown day, general manager Darren Mougey made a pair of moves to bolster the position. <\/p>\n First, he acquired Browns 2024 seventh-round pick Jowon Briggs<\/a>, exchanging a sixth-round pick for a seventh. He followed that up by bringing in the Vikings\u2019 Harrison Phillips<\/a>, sending a 2026 sixth-rounder and a seventh-round pick swap while picking up $3.7 million of Phillips\u2019 $7.4 million salary.<\/p>\n Trading for two players at the same position before roster cutdowns reshapes one of the Jets\u2019 thinnest positions. How does the defensive tackle room shake out after these moves?<\/p>\n Who\u2019s the second starter?<\/p>\n Quinnen Williams is one of the two best players<\/a> on the Jets. But it\u2019s still not clear who the starter will be beside him.<\/p>\n Entering training camp, it appeared that Derrick Nnadi was slated to be the second defensive tackle on early downs. He\u2019s in the league for his run defense, and although that has declined tremendously<\/a> over the last few seasons, it was what the Jets signed him for.<\/p>\n However, all reports coming out of training camp indicated that this is not the case. Nnadi\u2019s name has never been mentioned, and defensive coordinator Steve Wilks has praised Byron Cowart multiple times, including lauding his ability to defeat double-teams.<\/p>\n Therefore, the base assumption has been that Cowart would be the starter next to Williams.<\/p>\n The advantage of Cowart over Nnadi, Leonard Taylor, Jay Tufele, Phidarian Mathis, and Payton Page (the other defensive tackles on the roster at the time) is that he\u2019s far more balanced<\/a>. He\u2019s held up surprisingly well<\/a> as a nose tackle despite playing at 300 pounds, and he\u2019s also an adequate pass rusher.<\/p>\n Taylor is a promising pass rusher<\/a> who has also flashed in the run game<\/a>, but he can\u2019t play nose tackle and also has too many lapses in awareness against the run. The others have never shown any pass-rushing ability in the NFL.<\/p>\n There\u2019s one problem, though: Cowart has been battling an ankle injury and has missed several weeks. He returned to practice on Friday before the Giants preseason game but has not been seen since.<\/p>\n The two trades Mougey executed seemingly suggest that Cowart\u2019s injury may be serious. Although the Jets\u2019 defensive tackle room was thin at the top, they did not seem to need two new players.<\/p>\n Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that Cowart may go on injured reserve to begin the season. Wilks didn\u2019t seem to give that indication in his most recent press conference, but this is the most straightforward way to understand the need for both trades.<\/p>\n Phillips and Briggs both profile as run-first defensive tackles. Phillips has been a terrible pass rusher over the last few seasons, posting sub-5% pressure rates (the positional average is usually around 7.5-8%). Briggs played more than half his snaps against the run in 2024 and is also not a pass rusher, although he is a strong run defender<\/a>.<\/p>\n Phillips is listed at 6-foot-3 and 307 pounds, while Briggs is 6-foot-1 and 313. Phillips has played more traditional nose tackle, though, while Briggs has played primarily three-technique, both in college and with the Browns in 2024. The only year in which Briggs played real snaps at nose tackle was in college in 2022 with Cincinnati.<\/p>\n Therefore, if Cowart does miss time, it seems most likely that Phillips will play next to Williams on early downs.<\/p>\n However, calling Phillips the \u201cstarter\u201d likely isn\u2019t entirely accurate. When the Jets had Al Woods in 2023, he may have technically started many games opposite Williams, but he played just 32% of the Jets\u2019 defensive snaps over eight games. His role was that of an early-down run-stuffer.<\/p>\n The Jets could end up going with a rotation next to Williams depending on the down and distance.<\/p>\n Roster or cut?<\/p>\n The Jets suddenly have a bunch of names to choose from at defensive tackle. Outside of Williams, they\u2019re choosing between Phillips, Briggs, Nnadi, Tufele, Taylor III, Mathis, and Page.<\/p>\n The first question is how many defensive tackles the Jets will carry altogether. They went with four to start 2023 and 2024, but that was because John Franklin-Myers kicked inside on third down (2023) and Leki Fotu began the year on injured reserve (2024).<\/p>\n These two trades seem to make it more likely that the Jets will carry at least five defensive tackles, unless they truly want to replace most of their room. That\u2019s not guaranteed, though.<\/p>\n The question is whether they will carry four, five, or six defensive tackles, and who they will be.<\/p>\n Williams and Phillips are roster locks. Briggs seems likely to be a lock, as well, since it wouldn\u2019t have been worthwhile to trade a pick swap, even such a late one, for a player the Jets planned on waiving. The Jets seem to really like Cowart, which means his spot is likely safe.<\/p>\n Due to the trades, it makes sense that the Jets will carry at least five interior defensive linemen. Therefore, Nnadi, Tufele, Taylor, Mathis, and Page are either all on the outs or battling for one or two roster spots.<\/p>\n Page may have had an outside shot to make the roster prior to these moves, but he\u2019s virtually guaranteed to be on the outs. With Phillips and Briggs coming in, Nnadi\u2019s role was wiped out, making him a likely cut. Mathis seemed cut out for the same role, which also sends him packing.<\/p>\n Assuming Cowart ends up on injured reserve, there will be at least one, if not two spots remaining. The room will come down to Tufele vs. Taylor and how many players the Jets plan to carry.<\/p>\n Taylor has a more polished pedigree than Tufele, having shown promise in his rookie season as a pass rusher and run defender. However, all indications from training camp have been that Tufele is ahead of Taylor on the depth chart.<\/a> That led some to speculate that Tufele\u2019s roster spot is safe, while Taylor is on the bubble.<\/p>\n In my opinion, it would be a massive mistake for the Jets to even consider carrying Tufele over Taylor. Tufele has never posted a Pro Football Focus run defense grade higher than 47.2, and his career pressure rate is 4.2%. Other than one highly impressive game<\/a> against the Packers in the preseason, there is absolutely nothing on his profile that suggests he\u2019s a roster-worthy player.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Taylor had a 7.9% pressure rate in 2024, which is around the average for starting defensive tackles. He also had a 56.9 PFF run defense grade while flashing significant run-stuffing ability when his play recognition holds up.<\/p>\n