The NFL draft is closely watched by not only fans, but also the active players on each NFL roster.
Most active players will be affected by the incoming draft class in some way, shape, or form. Some players will have their roster spots or starting jobs threatened. Other players with more solidified roles may benefit from the addition of much-needed help alongside them.
Here are the top three New York Jets players whose futures will be impacted by the 2025 NFL draft.
1. Justin Fields
In many ways, the upcoming draft will have a major effect on Justin Fields’ 2025 season.
First and foremost, we need to see whether the Jets add another quarterback to the room – and, if they do, where in the draft they select him.
As things stand, Fields seems like a semi-lock to be the Jets’ starting quarterback. But if the Jets take a quarterback within the first two rounds and he lights the world on fire during the summer, would the Jets really hold him back in favor of a quarterback with a 14-30 career record? An early quarterback selection would certainly place more pressure on Fields to solidify himself as the starter.
If the Jets take a quarterback later on, Fields’ job is likely safe, but you never know if a Russell Wilson situation could arise, i.e., a late-round rookie quarterback proving himself as the clear-cut starter over a veteran free-agent pickup.
The draft is also important for Fields because he needs more pieces around him than the Jets currently have. If the Jets played a game today, they would trot out players like Chukwuma Okorafor, Jeremy Ruckert, Josh Reynolds, and Allen Lazard in starting roles. That… isn’t ideal.
Outside of Fields himself, the Jets spent extremely little money on the offense in free agency. The draft is their best shot at strengthening the supporting cast around Fields.
The 26-year-old came to New York because he believed the Jets offered him his best chance of starting, but he needs the right players around him if he is going to make that chance count. Fields will be watching the draft closely to see how much help Darren Mougey gives him.
Whatever offensive holes the Jets do not address on draft weekend, Mougey must plug them with free agent stopgaps after the draft. If the Jets are serious about their belief in Fields, they cannot allow him to enter the season with so many deficiencies in the depth chart.
2. Breece Hall
Breece Hall’s standing with the Jets’ new regime is already up in the air after Aaron Glenn grouped him with Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis at the owners meetings. New York’s faith in the 23-year-old will be put to the ultimate test if Ashton Jeanty is available at No. 7.
Jeanty will likely be the Jets’ best player available if he is still on the board. Taking a running back this early in the draft is usually a no-no, but Jeanty is exceptional enough to transcend common narratives about the value of the running back position.
Running back isn’t exactly a “need” for the Jets, with Hall, Allen, and Davis all in place at age 23 and under. However, the unit collectively posted poor numbers in 2024, mostly because of Hall’s down year.
If Jeanty is New York’s best player available, there isn’t enough proven production on the roster to stop the Jets from taking him, especially because the current regime did not draft any of the three aforementioned runners.
The main concern of selecting Jeanty would be over-investing in the running back position, which is arguably the least valuable position of the main 22 on offense and defense. The Jets traded up to draft Hall in the second round and used two picks on the position last year. No, those were not the moves of the current regime, but those are assets invested into this current roster.
Thus, you get the recent Breece Hall trade rumors. While these rumors are rooted in speculation rather than legitimate buzz, they make sense for many reasons, with one chief among them: If the Jets take a leap of faith by drafting a running back seventh overall, it would help them justify the investment if they recouped value by trading the most valuable running back on their roster.
Drafting Jeanty immediately diminishes Hall’s potential impact, therefore diminishing the overall net value of the Jeanty selection. By pairing the Jeanty pick with a Hall trade, the idea would be that New York can turn Hall into a fresh young player at a different, more valuable position on a four-year contract; this player would hopefully add more value to the Jets than an RB2 on an expiring contract. This would alleviate the burden that comes with taking a running back at No. 7 and adding him to a room that already has three draft picks committed to it.
But this is all contingent on New York viewing Jeanty as a substantial upgrade over the current running back unit. That would be the motive for selecting him. If the Jets love Hall and believe he can bounce back this year, they won’t put any thought into using the seventh pick on a running back.
We’ll learn quite a bit about the Jets’ feelings on Hall if Jeanty slides to No. 7.
3. Quinnen Williams
Unlike Fields and Hall, Quinnen Williams’ appearance on this list has nothing to do with his roster security.
Rather, the draft will be essential in determining the quality of support that Williams receives this year.
Since joining the Jets, Williams has not exactly played with the greatest talent on the interior. His best teammate was arguably Quinton Jefferson in 2023, a good pass rusher who struggled against the run. Sheldon Rankins had a similar season in 2022.
Other than that, Javon Kinlaw was a liability in 2024 (despite the absolutely baffling contract that Washington gave him). Rankins struggled in 2021 before turning it around in 2022. There isn’t much else to write home about.
Yet, if the Jets do not act, the 2025 season could offer Williams’ worst supporting cast yet. As of today, his supporting cast includes Derrick Nnadi, Byron Cowart, Leonard Taylor III, Jay Tufele, and Phidarian Mathis.
Despite being the focal point of the opposing team’s game plan on a weekly basis for five consecutive seasons, Williams has emerged as one of the NFL’s best defensive tackles – a testament to his elite-level talent. He has received particularly little help in the run game. Jefferson, Rankins, and even Kinlaw provided Williams with some help against the pass, but in the run game, Williams has received little support.
Without a second quality run-stuffer on the interior, teams have been able to send frequent double-teams at Williams while trusting that the other interior defender could be single-blocked. It’s resulted in the Jets struggling to stop runs up the middle despite having one of the NFL’s most talented interior run defenders. In 2024, the Jets allowed 4.6 yards per attempt on carries up the middle (per Stathead), the sixth-worst in the league.
The Jets could give Williams the most talented teammate of his career by drafting Mason Graham at No. 7 if he is available. The question, though, is whether Graham – a 296-pound three-technique – is an ideal fit next to Williams, who is also best suited at three-technique.
If they do not take Graham, the Jets would be wise to consider drafting a defensive tackle with one of their next two selections. There are many defensive tackle prospects projected to land between the second and third rounds; 11 defensive tackles rank from Nos. 22 to 91 on NFL Mock Draft Database’s consensus big board.
One of the Jets’ best players has been forced to shoulder an immense burden throughout his entire prime, limiting his potential impact. If the Jets fail to address this in the draft, Williams could face one of the most challenging seasons of his career.
