The New York Jets have spent years searching for reinforcements to place alongside Quinnen Williams.

Going into this year’s training camp, the search seemed as bleak as ever. Besides Williams, no other veteran defensive tackle on the Jets’ roster has surpassed three sacks in a season. They also didn’t select any defensive tackles in the past two NFL drafts.

Lacking proven veterans or promising youngsters, it has seemed like Williams might be forced to put the Jets’ interior defensive line on his back once again.

That still might be the case, but after Saturday night, things are looking a little bit peachier.

Williams missed the Jets’ preseason opener in Green Bay with a calf injury, as did Byron Cowart (ankle), who was listed as a starter on the Jets’ unofficial preseason depth chart. Their absences provided a golden opportunity for other players to step up – and boy, did they ever.

Two players stepped up with massive performances to provide hope for the Jets’ interior defensive line.

Jay Tufele

After generating plenty of buzz throughout training camp, Jay Tufele got the start alongside Derrick Nnadi, and the former fourth-round pick seized his opportunity.

Things started out poorly for Tufele, who committed an encroachment penalty on the opening snap of the game. But the 26-year-old quickly locked in.

On the ensuing snap, Tufele cooked Green Bay’s $77 million left guard, Aaron Banks, for quick pressure on Jordan Love. Tufele used a swim move to breeze by Banks with ease.

That was just the beginning for Tufele.

The USC product added 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery touchdown in just a single half of football.

Tufele’s solo sack was particularly impressive. He burst off the line with tremendous explosion (compare him to the Jets’ other defensive linemen on this play), cooked the right guard to the outside, and bent the corner for the sack despite his shirt clearly being held. It is an incredibly athletic rep for a 305-pound defensive tackle.

Tufele is a fascinating wild card in the Jets’ defensive line room. He was a fourth-round pick of the Jaguars in 2021 after posting five sacks in his final college season for the Trojans (2019). He dropped in the draft after opting out of the 2020 season.

While Tufele wasn’t an elite overall athlete (6.47 Relative Athletic Score), his 5.02 forty time at 305 pounds was solid. He also recorded 30 reps on the bench press.

Tufele struggled in Jacksonville, though, being waived in his second season as part of final roster cuts. The Salt Lake City native landed with the Bengals and played 30 games (five starts) over three seasons in Cincinnati.

In limited playing time, Tufele showed some decent pass-rush potential over his first two seasons. Across 77 pass-rush snaps, he earned a pass-rush grade of 71.2 from Pro Football Focus. However, he struggled to build on it across his third and fourth seasons, dwindling to a 55.8 pass-rush grade on 160 pass-rush snaps.

On Saturday night, Tufele tapped back into the fleeting glimpses of potential he had shown in the past. Some of his best work came against Green Bay’s starters, too.

One half of a preseason game isn’t enough to overshadow four years of limited production just yet, but this was an intriguing step forward for Tufele. The Jets’ defensive tackle unit is wide-open, so this is a union that could work for both sides. It is a perfect opportunity for a wild card like Tufele to show he belongs, while New York is desperate for anybody in this group to show some semblance of pass-rush upside.

Tufele looked far more athletic on Saturday than his 6.47 RAS would suggest. It could have been a flash in the pan, but it’s also possible that he is, as players often claim, in “the best shape of his life.” It will be fun to see if he can build on this. Tufele has suddenly become one of the most interesting players on the Jets’ roster.

Leonard Taylor III

On the Jets’ unofficial preseason depth chart, Tufele was unexpectedly listed as a second-stringer behind Quinnen Williams. The man he surprisingly usurped? Leonard Taylor III.

Heading into training camp, many fans viewed Taylor as the Jets’ second-best defensive tackle. He is a former five-star recruit who was on a trajectory to be selected high in the draft until his stock plummeted during the 2023 season. New York signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2024, and he showed exciting flashes in limited reps.

Taylor has seemingly had a quieter training camp than Tufele, and the unofficial depth chart appeared to back that up. As meaningless as that depth chart can be, the Jets proved its accuracy on Saturday when they started Tufele over Taylor and did not insert the latter until later in the game.

But when Taylor finally got his chance, he made his presence felt. In the second quarter, Taylor beat the Packers’ left guard with a rip move and turned the corner for a strip sack on Malik Willis. Tufele corralled it for six points.

It is a glimpse into the high ceiling of Taylor, who recorded 1.5 sacks, four tackles for loss, nine total pressures, and a 69.9 PFF pass-rush grade on just 261 defensive snaps (114 pass-rush snaps) in his rookie season.

Taylor must shore up his run defense and his consistency as a pass rusher, but he has the ability to produce highlight plays like this one.

Saturday was a promising step forward for one of the Jets’ weakest position groups on paper.