There is no league where divisional games are more important than the NFL.
For that reason, teams need to consider the strengths and weaknesses of their division rivals when constructing their roster.
In January, we highlighted two draft prospects who would be ideal for helping the New York Jets take down the top teams in the AFC East, the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills. Today, let’s pinpoint two free agents who could help them accomplish the same goal.
Bills G David Edwards
We recently highlighted David Edwards as an ideal free agent target for the Jets because of his ideal fit in Frank Reich’s scheme. Well, on the same accord, he is also a perfect weapon to counter the Patriots’ defense.
First, let’s recap why he projects as a scheme fit.
Edwards hails from a Buffalo offensive scheme that relied extremely heavily on inside zone and man/duo concepts in the run game. These were Reich’s two favorite concepts across his most recent seasons as a head coach, making Edwards a sound fit for New York.
In the Bills’ between-the-tackles-based run scheme, Edwards was one of the NFL’s better run-blocking guards in 2025. According to Pro Football Focus, Edwards’ 69.0 run-blocking grade ranked eighth-best among left guards who played at least 500 offensive snaps.
Not only does Edwards project as a snug fit in Reich’s offense, but a burly interior run-blocker is precisely the type of player that would boost New York’s chances of taking down the Patriots.
New England’s interior run defense is arguably the main reason they reached the Super Bowl. Drake Maye and the offense struggled mightily in the team’s three playoff wins. It was the defense that pushed the Patriots through the AFC field, and that success all started on the ground.
The Chargers, Texans, and Broncos each entered their games against New England with a brutal situation in the pass game. Los Angeles and Houston had deteriorated offensive lines, while Denver had to play in the snow with a quarterback who had not started a game in years.
Each of those three teams needed a successful run game to buoy their pass games. None could pull it off. The Patriots’ run defense yielded no breathing room, forcing all three teams into uncomfortable situations through the air. Through three playoff games, New England allowed 71.3 rushing yards per game on 3.1 yards per carry.
The interior run defense was the core of that dominance.
The Patriots were swallowing up almost every run that was intended to pound them up the middle. Against inside zone and man/duo runs, the Patriots allowed 65 yards on 28 carries (2.3 per carry), including zero touchdowns and a measly four first downs.
If the Jets’ inside run game puts up these types of numbers against New England in 2026, their chances of defeating the Patriots will be slim, especially if they play them late in the year.
That’s why a player like Edwards can be such a difference-maker against the Patriots. While the Jets already have a strong core up front, featuring Olu Fashanu, Armand Membou, and Joe Tippmann, they have two holes to fill on the interior. Left guard John Simpson and center Josh Myers were liabilities in 2025, especially in the run game.
With two sieves in their interior trio, the Jets will struggle to enforce their will on the ground against New England, especially with Reich’s run scheme being so heavily inside-based. That will force them into a myriad of predictable passing situations with long to-go distances. It’s a recipe for disaster.
But if they toss in Edwards—a physical guard who has proven he can excel in a between-the-tackles-based run scheme—the Jets might have the arsenal they need to win the line of scrimmage against New England.
Not to mention, it would also be nice to poach Edwards from Buffalo.
Giants LB Micah McFadden
Linebacker is one of the Jets’ many needs. Quincy Williams is presumably set to walk, leaving at least one starting spot open. Incumbent starter Jamien Sherwood requires competition after a brutal year that saw him get benched despite his team-captain status.
However, given that linebacker is one of the least valuable positions among the countless that New York must upgrade, and that the Jets already have Sherwood’s $15 million salary on the books, it seems likely that this unit will only be addressed with minor investments.
The Jets will be looking for a linebacker who can provide value on the dollar. Micah McFadden is a target who makes plenty of sense in this regard.
Not only could McFadden provide the Jets with a competent starting linebacker for a low price, but his abilities should be particularly useful in the AFC East.
A 2022 fifth-round pick out of Indiana, McFadden developed into a starting linebacker for the Giants. He has started 36 of his 48 career games, including all 14 in 2024.
That year, McFadden was considered a decent starter. His 62.8 overall grade at Pro Football Focus ranked 35th among 64 qualified linebackers. McFadden struggled in coverage (53.5 PFF grade), but he was considered a plus run defender (66.6 PFF grade) and an excellent blitzer (three sacks and six QB hits on just 37 pass-rush snaps). The blitzing should play well in Aaron Glenn’s blitz-heavy defense.
Most notably, though, McFadden flashed his unique speed and range for the linebacker position. He tied for sixth among linebackers with 15 “hustle stops”, per NFL Pro, which are tackles in which the player traveled at least 20 yards after the snap.
Given that McFadden only played 594 defensive snaps that season, his average of 39.6 snaps per hustle stop was good enough for second-best at the position. The only man ahead of him? That would be Jamien Sherwood (37.1), who led the NFL with 22 hustle stops.
For whatever reason, Sherwood’s hustle and range fell off the face of the Earth in 2025, as he recorded just seven hustle stops on 920 snaps (one every 131.4 snaps). That is detrimental for an AFC East team, as the Jets have to play nearly a quarter of their schedule against Josh Allen and Drake Maye, two of the most mobile quarterbacks in the NFL.
Given the presence of these two quarterbacks in their division, it is imperative for the Jets to have linebackers with elite horizontal speed. If the Jets’ linebackers are lumbering toward the sideline, Allen and Maye will run circles around them.
But with speed demons at the second level, the Jets can keep Allen and Maye contained, which, as we saw in the playoffs, is the recipe to force them into mistakes.
McFadden had a 9.46 Relative Athletic Score coming out of Indiana, highlighted by a 1.54-second time in the 10-yard split (98th percentile), which shows his ability to explode and cover ground quickly. Couple that with his elite hustle-stop production, and he stands out as the type of player who would be the perfect counter to Allen and Maye.
If Sherwood bounces back, the Jets would have two of the rangiest linebackers in football next to one another. They would always have an answer to Allen or Maye, regardless of which side of the field they scramble to.
The concern with McFadden is that he missed nearly all of the 2025 season with a foot injury that he sustained in Week 1. That, coupled with his fifth-round pedigree and generally league-average career production, will make him a very affordable player on the open market—perfect for the Jets’ situation.
Despite those concerns, McFadden’s athleticism and range would play wonderfully in the AFC East, making him the type of player who could be a tremendous value signing.
