The second part of our New York Jets’ roster decisions series features the possibility of a fourth running back, making sense of a crowded wide receiver room, sorting out the tight ends, and configuring the offensive line.
Jets Roster Decisions Part 1: Brady Cook or Adrian Martinez?RB4 and FB
RB Donovan Edwards
No one but the most ardent Michigan or New York Jets fans is even familiar with Donovan Edwards‘ name. He surprisingly went undrafted despite ranking 233rd on the NFL Mock Draft Database consensus big board.
Edwards has made some noise in camp, but few have taken serious notice. After all, the Jets have three locks at running back in Breece Hall, Braelon Allen, and Isaiah Davis.
They seem fully committed to using all three players. Therefore, why is there any need for another running back, especially when Justin Fields is heavily involved in the rushing mix?
However, after seeing Edwards play against Green Bay, the Jets might want to take another look. Edwards had an excellent game, showcasing excellent vision, tackle-breaking ability, shiftiness, and run-after-catch chops. His 4.44 speed and 9.67 RAS speak for themselves.
If Edwards continues to play like this, he’ll force his way into the conversation for the roster.
Of all positions, running back is the easiest one for late-round and undrafted players to make an impact. Isiah Pacheco was a seventh-round pick. Edwards could have easily been one.
The Jets carried UDFA Zonovan Knight on their roster in 2022 after he performed well in the preseason. He had several strong games in the regular season, too, running behind makeshift and ever-changing offensive lines.
The best path forward for Edwards would be if the Jets somehow traded Breece Hall. Rumors have swirled around him since the beginning of the offseason, and they continue to circulate despite Aaron Glenn’s apparent support for Hall.
However, there is a good reason to try to keep Edwards around even if the Jets don’t plan on trading Hall. Hall is in the final year of his contract. If the Jets are not in the playoff hunt at the trade deadline, it would behoove them to seek to trade Hall.
Of course, they could let him walk in the offseason and hope to get a compensatory pick, but the Jets might (and should) prefer a bird in the hand.
Having another running back with some upside on the roster would mitigate the loss of Hall. Edwards may not have Hall’s ceiling, but his speed and athleticism alone are enough to be competitive as the third back on a roster.
Furthermore, even if the Jets don’t plan on trading Hall, they have carried four running backs to start the season in each of the past three years. Each time, they essentially stashed a player they liked as the No. 4 back: Knight in 2022 and Israel Abanikanda in 2023 and 2024.
Although the regime is different, it’s not as if carrying a fourth running back is entirely unprecedented.
It is worth noting that both Knight and Abanikanda returned kicks, and Knight showed some promise in the 2022 preseason. Edwards does not, which could lessen his value on the roster.
Overall, though, if Edwards plays like he did against Green Bay in the next two preseason games, the Jets will be hard-pressed to cut him. That kind of performance, combined with his pre-draft evaluations, would virtually ensure that he would be claimed on waivers.
Verdict: Keep
RB Kene Nwangwu
The Jets saw what Kene Nwangwu can do on his 99-yard kick return touchdown. He has 4 career kick return touchdowns on 71 attempts.
The only other kick returners the Jets have on the roster are Gipson and Isaiah Davis. Arian Smith lined up there but has never returned a kick.
Jamaal Pritchett rarely returns kicks and had one for 23 yards against Green Bay. Malachi Corley inadvisably took a kick from six yards deep.
I don’t think Nwangwu ends up making the roster, but he definitely has an argument.
Verdict: Cut, keep on practice squad
FB Andrew Beck
The preseason game made clear what Jets X-Factor’s Joe Blewett has been saying since February: Beck is not a roster bubble player. He will have an active role in the Jets’ offense.
He lined up at fullback, H-back, and in-line tight end in the preseason game. His two receptions showcased his ability to be a legitimate outlet in the receiving game and not just as a blocker.
Beck is undoubtedly the Jets’ best blocking tight end in addition to his fullback responsibilities. The Jets don’t seem likely to run 22 personnel that often (two running backs—usually including a fullback—and two tight ends), which means Beck will be available to play tight end when he’s not at fullback.
Verdict: Clearly keep
WR
WR Tyler Johnson
The Jets’ top three receivers seem set in Garrett Wilson, Josh Reynolds, and Allen Lazard. Arian Smith was a fourth-round pick, and the Jets are clearly highly intrigued by his speed. From there, the room is wide open.
None of the other receivers has more than $200,000 in guaranteed salary. They’re interchangeable from a cap perspective.
Based on the first preseason game, it seems like Johnson has a clear leg up. He played with the first-team offense, catching a third-down pass from Justin Fields for a first down. He added another reception on a nice read from Cook.
In many ways, Johnson is the essence of a JAG (‘Just a Guy’). He struggles with separation and route-running, the meat and potatoes of the receiver position.
However, he offers some upside with contested catches, sure hands, and elusiveness. He is the most experienced of these receivers with 49 career games played, and he’s still reasonably young at 27.
Verdict: Keep
WR Xavier Gipson
Compared to Johnson, Xavier Gipson has little upside. Johnson can play inside and out, whereas Gipson is pigeonholed into a slot role. Gipson offers no contested catch ability, struggles just as much (if not more) as a route-runner, and is too small to offer any sort of blocking—something the Jets seem to prioritize in their receivers.
Gipson had just six receptions for 39 yards in the entire 2024 season. Even when Allen Lazard was on injured reserve, he could not make any impact.
The reason Gipson made the Jets’ roster in 2023 was his punt returning. He seemed to justify that right out of the gate with his game-winning touchdown against the Bills in Week 1 of that season.
However, since then, Gipson has averaged 8.1 yards per punt return and has muffed five punts. That was his average in 2024, ranking 20th out of 27 returners (min. 15 attempts). His 28.8 yards per kick return in 2024 ranked eighth out of 19 returners (min. 10 attempts), and his long of 45 ranked ninth among them.
Gipson is a mediocre returner at best, and he has a penchant for putting the ball on the ground. That’s not enough to move the needle for him to make the roster.
Verdict: Cut
WR Jamaal Pritchett
If anything, that’s where Pritchett comes in. He’s essentially the 2025 version of 2023 Gipson. At 5-foot-8 and 175 pounds, he’s even smaller than Gipson (5-foot-9, 189).
However, he flashed far more shiftiness against the Packers than Gipson has in two NFL seasons. He’s also been mentioned a number of times as a standout in training camp, while Gipson has been sidelined due to an injury.
Pritchett dominated in his final college season at South Alabama, catching 91 balls for 1,126 yards and 9 touchdowns. Notably, he posted 12.4 yards per reception with a 7.1 average depth of target and 8.3 yards after catch per reception. He also forced 29 missed tackles for 0.319 per reception, ranking 16th out of 180 college receivers with at least 60 targets.
Against Green Bay, Pritchett came wide open in the end zone on what should have been an easy touchdown. However, Adrian Martinez threw the ball way too far towards the sideline. Pritchett still made a diving catch but could not get his second foot in bounds.
He finished the game with one reception for six yards, a screen pass on which he forced three missed tackles and looked like Garrett Wilson on his first reception in the NFL.
Pritchett had just 8.3 yards per punt return in the game, but he forced two missed tackles. He did fair catch a punt at the six-yard line, but he learned from his mistake the next time, letting the ball go.
Pritchett averaged 14.8 yards per punt return on 12 attempts in 2024, primarily based on one 62-yard return and another 29-yard effort. However, he muffed two punts, which doesn’t recommend him.
Pritchett ran just a 4.47 40-yard dash, which is unimpressive at his size. However, his ability to make defenders miss makes him a far more intriguing option than Gipson.
Verdict: Keep
WR Quentin Skinner
The Jets gave Skinner $175,000 guaranteed, more than Pritchett’s $100,000. Skinner averaged 19.6 yards per reception and scored 11 touchdowns on 77 total college receptions at Kansas.
Skinner is a big target at 6-foot-5, but he is listed at just 195 pounds, which could limit his physicality. He’s shown some flashes in training camp and pulled in an excellent contested catch against Green Bay.
Skinner’s 6.80 RAS won’t turn heads, and he doesn’t seem to have anything specific to recommend him.
Verdict: Cut, keep on practice squad
WR Malachi Corley
You can see this one coming from a mile away. Malachi Corley has done nothing in the regular season, training camp, or preseason.
He’s well on his way to a disappointing rookie-contract cut.
Verdict: Cut
WR/ST Irv Charles
Irv Charles’ position is nominally receiver, but he makes his living as a special teamer. He is one of the best gunners in the NFL, earning 90.3 and 88.6 Pro Football Focus special teams grades in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Charles also blocked a punt in 2024.
However, Charles has struggled with penalties, particularly personal fouls.
He was called for three in 2024, all of which were 15-yard personal fouls (unnecessary roughness, kick catch interference, and roughing the kicker). That would likely run him afoul of Glenn, who is trying to combat the Jets’ persistent penalty issue.
More crucially, Charles tore his ACL on Dec. 8, 2024. He is on the PUP list and seems highly unlikely to be ready in time for the regular season.
The Jets have two choices. They will not be able to put him on the regular-season PUP list without keeping him on their initial 53-man roster first. If they don’t activate him, he will revert to season-ending injured reserve and will not be able to return.
Presumably, the Jets knew Charles likely would not be ready for the regular season when they gave him his exclusive rights free agent tender for $1.03 million. That would seem to indicate that he will make the initial roster and then be placed on the PUP list, opening up a spot for a player who cleared waivers or a waiver claim from a different team.
The question (while seemingly moot) is whether it’s worthwhile for them to keep Charles. Is he good enough to take up a roster spot, even very temporarily?
A lot of that question will depend on when Charles will be ready to return. But even so, is it worth it to keep a roster spot for a one-dimensional player (in the least essential dimension, not to denigrate special teams too much) coming off a torn ACL?
I would lean towards not doing it, although it seems inevitable that the Jets will.
Verdict: Cut
WR Brandon Smith
Brandon Smith seems to be one of those training camp and preseason warriors. He’s made some noise in camp and made a terrific hands catch against the Packers, finishing with two receptions for 23 yards.
He caught 4 of 4 contested opportunities in the 2024 preseason and has a career 4.5% drop rate on 29 preseason targets, better than the 6% receiver average.
At 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, Smith also has the size to be a blocker. The average wide receiver PFF run-blocking grade in 2024 was roughly 55.0, and Smith was at 59.2 on 41 opportunities in the 2024 preseason (he was at 54.9 on 11 snaps against Green Bay).
However, Smith will pass through to the practice squad fairly easily, so there’s no reason to keep him on the initial 53.
Verdict: Cut, keep on practice squad
TE and OL
TEs Jeremy Ruckert and Stone Smartt
Jeremy Ruckert has absolutely nothing to recommend him—except that the Jets don’t have much else at the position. He performed poorly against the Packers.
Smartt is essentially a big receiver at 226 pounds, but again, there’s nothing else at the position. He showed flashes of receiving skill in limited opportunities in 2024 and set up his blocks well on a screen touchdown against the Packers.
Verdict: Keep
OTs Max Mitchell and Carter Warren
Even for backup tackles, Max Mitchell and Carter Warren stand out as well below par. Mitchell has a career 7.3% pressure rate (the tackle average varies between 5.5%-6%). Warren is somehow far worse at 8.7%. Neither offers much in the run game, either.
Ideally, the Jets would have gotten another tackle besides Chukwuma Okorafor and been able to cut both of these players.
But if I had to choose one, I’d keep Mitchell because of his ability to play guard (although it’s an ability only in the fact that he knows what to do, unlike Olu Fashanu last year).
Verdict: Keep Mitchell, cut Warren
IOL Xavier Newman
Newman suffered an unfortunate neck injury after making the Jets’ roster in 2024. He struggled mightily in some action in the 2023 split between the Tennessee Titans and Jets with an 8.5% pressure rate (the league average for guards is roughly 5%), although 20% of that came at center, which he had never played before.
Newman had an impressive 2024 preseason and followed it up with another fairly solid effort against Green Bay. He did not allow any pressures on 16 pass-blocking snaps and was the lead blocker in space on Smartt’s screen pass touchdown. His 61.5 run-blocking grade wasn’t disastrous.
If the Jets keep two backup tackles for two starting spots, they should keep two backup interior offensive linemen for three spots.
Verdict: Keep