The New York Jets addressed several key roster needs during the 2025 NFL draft.
However, the team did not select a defensive tackle, one of the team’s more pressing needs entering the draft.
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.
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.
Fatukasi, 30, started his NFL career with the Jets in 2018 as a sixth-round pick.
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’ defensive line and posted a stellar 87.6 run-defense grade from Pro Football Focus, which ranked fifth among defensive tackles.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Should the NY Jets reunite with Fatukasi?
Absolutely not.
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.
Yes, there’s some appeal in a reunion given Fatukasi’s impact as a late-round pick in New York, but nostalgia alone isn’t enough. The Jets already signed Derrick Nnadi, who is expected to fill a similar role.
Like Fatukasi, Nnadi showed flashes as a productive run defender earlier in his career but has been on a downward trajectory in recent seasons. He offers a comparable frame and skill set, anchoring the interior at 317 pounds in the 1-technique role.
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’t make sense at this stage of his career.
