The 2025 season was nothing short of a disaster for the New York Jets. Their passing offense was the worst in football, they set a league record by failing to record an interception all season, and their run defense was among the worst in the league.
More importantly, though, the organization lacked leaders who could help pull the young roster out of the abyss they dug on most Sundays.
Leadership became a key focus for the Jets to address during the offseason because of that.
The 33-year-old defensive tackle was one of the best run-stuffing defensive tackles in the game last season. He chose to take his talents to Florham Park, N.J., when he signed a one-year, $10.5 million deal with the Jets.
Now, he’s walking into a new organization, a new role with some familiar faces to help him out.
Choosing the Jets
The decision to come to New York was considered a “no-brainer” for Onyemata when he was made available to the media Thursday afternoon. Head coach Aaron Glenn had been an assistant in New Orleans when Onyemata played there.
Now, the two are reunited.
“He (Glenn) definitely was a big piece of that,” Onyemata said as a reason for why he joined the Jets. “Just knowing him from my time in New Orleans, and the caliber of man and coach that he is, it was a no-brainer moment the minute I got the opportunity to get the call to come join him.”
Onyemata is joining a defense that has undergone several key changes along the line of scrimmage. Not only does the organization have a new positional coach, but a transition to a 3-4 scheme means new additions like nose tackle T’Vondre Sweat, and edge rushers like Joseph Ossai and Kingsley Enagbare.
For the veteran tackle, though, he knows he can play in the kind of multiple looks New York has planned.
“Wherever I was needed, I made the best of the opportunity,” he said when discussing his role last season. “I still have the same mentality, the same mindset. Regardless of whatever position I’m in, I’ll go out there and execute.”
Familiar faces join Onyemata
Onyemata is not the only veteran from Glenn’s time in New Orleans to join the organization. Linebacker Demario Davis is re-joining the Jets for a third time in his NFL career.
The leadership that both Davis and Onyemata bring is expected to upgrade what the Jets had at their disposal last season.
“We’ve got a great relationship,” Onyemata said. “Getting the opportunity to do that again and be out there on the field with him again will be great.”
Other veterans, like safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, have also been a part of the sweeping changes to the Jets’ defense. At each level of their unit, New York now employs veterans who have served as leaders in previous assignments.
It’s a title Onyemata doesn’t take lightly.
“I feel very comfortable,” he said. “I lead by example. Go out there and show the guys how things are meant to be done in this league.”
New York’s defense was one of the worst in the NFL last season, but no unit struggled more than its defensive line. The Jets have invested heavily in that group this offseason.
If Onyemata, one of the big additions, can make a major impact both on and off the field, it could set the stage for a quicker turnaround in 2026.
