The New York Jets came out of the 2025 draft with seven quality draft picks over the weekend.
From a first-round phenom in Armand Membou to late-round steals like Malachi Moore, the Jets feel confident that the 2025 class will be able to impact the roster immediately.
As good as the newcomers are, though, the weekend wasn’t kind to other players on the Jets roster. Some of them became major losers over the weekend.
Biggest Losers of Jets Draft
With every selection the Jets made, a player already on the roster had his standing on the team in question. Some of those concerns may be invalid, as depth is important for any roster.
With the players on this list, though, their standing on the roster may be in question because they have seemingly been replaced significantly.
Here are five Jets who came out worse following draft weekend.
Jeremy Ruckert
Ruckert’s time was already numbered before the Jets walked into the draft last week.
In three seasons with the Jets, Ruckert has totaled just 35 catches for 264 yards. As a former third-round pick, those numbers are inexcusable. It looks even worse when you realize that his run blocking may be even worse than his receiving acumen.
The second-round selection of tight end Mason Taylor shows Ruckert’s time on the field is coming to an end. He may not even make the 53-man roster.
Micheal Clemons
The previous Jets regime had hoped that the former fourth-round pick would end up being the natural replacement for John Franklin-Myers, whom they traded to Denver on the final day of the 2024 draft.
That never materialized. During his three-year career with the team, Clemons has taken more penalties (eight) than recorded sacks (7.5). He’s been a net-negative when on the field.
The draft selection of Miami edge rusher Tyler Baron is intriguing for New York. As a fifth-round pick, the Jets see a quality edge rusher with the potential to be a starting-caliber run defender.
That would make Clemons a waste of a roster spot at this point.
Brandon Stephens
When Stephens signed a three-year deal worth over $36 million this offseason, the belief was that he would be the team’s starting cornerback opposite All-Pro Sauce Gardner.
Now, that may not be the case.
The third-round selection of Azareye’h Thomas could end up pushing Stephens out the door at some point – if not in his first season, then perhaps in the offseason. There’s a chance the Jets could move Stephens to safety if Thomas shows promise, but that would mean New York paid an unproven safety $12 million per year – not exactly the best cap management.
Chukwuma Okorafor
Before the draft, the former Pittsburgh Steeler and New England Patriot was seen as a “penciled-in” starter for the Jets at right tackle. Following the draft selection of Membou, it doesn’t seem like Okorafor will be the starter heading into the season.
Okorafor can be a quality swing tackle with plenty of starting experience. But if he’s hoping to get playing time right away, the Jets would not have drafted a starting tackle with the seventh overall pick.
Quinnen Williams
Why would an All-Pro like Williams be on this list? Well, as great as Williams is as a defensive tackle, he hasn’t been provided a quality and dependable defensive tackle to work with on the field simultaneously.
Williams had a pass rush win rate that was good for fifth in the league last year amongst defensive tackles (13%). The unfortunate part of this was that he was also double-teamed at a startling 62% rate. Those numbers are higher than the likes of DeForest Buckner, Alim McNeil, and Ed Oliver.
The fact that the Jets did not draft a tackle is bad news for Williams. It results in his projected partner in the starting lineup being Derrick Nnadi, which is not ideal.
Even more double teams are coming Williams’ way in 2025.
