The New York Jets are widely viewed as one of the worst teams in football entering the 2025 season. One of the main reasons is their lack of depth along the defensive line, which includes both the interior and the edge.
Regarding the latter, New York is facing a concerning situation in terms of depth. The starting duo of Will McDonald and Jermaine Johnson is promising enough, featuring a pair of recent first-round picks who posted a combined 18 sacks and 117 total pressures across their most recent full seasons:
- 2024 Will McDonald: 10.5 sacks, 61 total pressures
- 2023 Jermaine Johnson: 7.5 sacks, 56 total pressures
This is all well and good, but things start to unravel as you dissect the situation.
First and foremost, the starting duo is not the sure thing that it might appear to be. Johnson is coming off a torn Achilles. McDonald is one of the weakest run defenders in the NFL. New York needs insurance in case things do not pan out as hoped for one or both players.
Worse, the Jets do not have anybody waiting in the wings to step up in a significant way. This is New York’s complete depth chart on the edge:
- Jermaine Johnson
- Will McDonald
- Micheal Clemons
- Eric Watts
- Braiden McGregor
- Tyler Baron
- Rashad Weaver
- Jamin Davis
- Ja’Markis Weston (UDFA)
Clemons has more penalties than sacks in his career, and ranked 181st out of 211 edge rushers on Pro Football Focus’ 2024 rankings. He is a liability, and with a $3.6 million cap number this year, he should not be on the Jets’ roster. New York can cut Clemons to clear $3.4 million of that number.
Watts, a 2024 UDFA, boasts intriguing upside as a run defender. There is a role for him on the team. However, he was a total non-factor in the passing game during his rookie year, and his development ceiling is extremely limited due to his poor quickness (5th percentile among EDGE in both the three-cone and shuttle).
McGregor is another 2024 UDFA who made the Jets’ roster. However, he only played 83 snaps in his rookie year.
Baron is a fifth-round rookie, so he should not be counted on in his first season. Weaver is a former fourth-round pick who is on his fourth team in five seasons; he has not recorded a quarterback hit since Week 15 of the 2022 season (21 straight games without one, comprising 366 defensive snaps). Davis is a wild card after converting from off-ball linebacker to edge rusher in 2024 and playing minimal reps.
This is bleak.
Sure, New York might not be gunning for a championship in 2025, but the Jets do not seem to be “rebuilding,” either. In the first year of the Aaron Glenn era, they want to compete for a playoff spot to begin reshaping the culture and standards in Florham Park.
In that case, they should not be complacent about the gaping holes that remain on their roster. Going into the season with a barren depth chart at such an important position would send the message that they are not truly serious about accomplishing those goals, and are okay with “punting” on 2025.
Luckily for the Jets, there are still some opportunities to strengthen their chances of competing in 2025, even with the NFL draft in the rearview mirror. The Carolina Panthers just presented them with an opportunity they would be remiss not to explore.
Jets should absolutely reach out to Jadeveon Clowney
The Panthers have released veteran edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Clowney, 32, would be a perfect stopgap player for the Jets’ situation. He would raise the team’s floor for the 2025 season while alleviating pressure from other players within the Jets’ unit, helping each of them have the best chance to succeed.
The most vital skill that Clowney would provide is his ability to set the edge at a respectable level. He has been rated as an above-average run defender in every season of his career and still did a decent job at age 31. According to Pro Football Focus, Clowney had a 63.4 run defense grade in 2024, which placed 54th out of 115 qualified edge rushers. He had 14 run stops and only three missed tackles against the run.
Johnson and Watts are the only trustworthy run defenders in the Jets’ edge unit, and both players have their own question marks. We do not know what Johnson will look like after his injury. Watts showed flashes in a small sample last year, but we do not know if he will maintain it, and his lack of pass rushing makes it a net negative to increase his snap count beyond a niche role.
This is a pressing issue for the Jets. As currently constructed, they have no choice but to give Will McDonald a heavy snap count that features early-down snaps, considering he is their best pass rusher by far (at worst, one of their top two pass rushers by far). It puts them at an immense risk of letting McDonald get pummeled in the run game on first and second down, which is what happened throughout 2024. They were forced to rely on him for three downs due to Johnson’s injury and the ensuing lack of depth.
Clowney is a reliable veteran edge-setter who can be trusted to hold the fort on early downs. He would give the Jets a fallback option if McDonald does not develop his run defense as hoped.
In a perfect world, McDonald improves his run defense and becomes a three-down star, but the Jets must be prepared for that to not happen. In that case, McDonald would be best-suited as a pass-down specialist, and the Jets would need someone capable of filling in for him on early downs. They don’t have that currently; Watts is too limited as a pass rusher to be worth a heavy snap count despite his advantage in run defense.
On top of his run defense, Clowney is still an effective pass rusher. He recorded 5.5 sacks, four pass deflections, and 44 total pressures in 14 games last season.
Barring a massive turnaround in McDonald’s run defense, Johnson is the only edge rusher on the Jets’ roster with two-way ability. Clowney would give them two, forming a starting duo that Glenn and defensive coordinator Steve Wilks can be comfortable with in all situations. It would allow McDonald, Watts, and the rest of the unit to slide into roles that fit their skill set.
If McDonald proves himself as a run defender, the Jets can roll with him as a three-down starter, and Clowney can be utilized as their No. 3 player in the rotation. There is no harm in bringing him into a unit that is sorely lacking reliability. He would not get in the way of anybody’s development.
Considering that Clowney chose to sign with the rebuilding Panthers last offseason, the Jets’ lack of championship expectations should not remove them from his radar. If they come to him with a reasonable offer, it seems realistic that he would entertain it.
In 2024, Clowney signed a two-year, $20 million deal with $12 million guaranteed. The Panthers saved $7.8 million in cap space by releasing him, but they will still be on the hook for $6 million in dead money this year.
Based on his previous contract and his production in 2024, the Jets should be able to snag Clowney on a one-year deal in the high-seven-figure range. Something in the $7-8 million ballpark feels reasonable. According to Over The Cap, the Jets currently rank 13th in the NFL with $27.18 million in cap space, so they have the flexibility to get it done.
Jets general manager Darren Mougey should already be on the phone with Clowney. If the Jets are serious about changing their culture in 2025, they need to actually win games, and it will be difficult to do that if they leave some of their gaping holes unaccounted for. Clowney would be a significant floor-raiser at a premium position where the Jets severely lack depth.
