National media outlets continue to roll out league-wide rankings to fill the NFL offseason, and the same theme holds: the New York Jets are not generating much hype.
Sports Illustrated released a ranking of all 32 “defensive trios” in the league, with each trio being comprised of the team’s best defensive lineman, best off-ball linebacker, and best defensive back. The Jets’ trio was tabbed as edge rusher David Bailey, linebacker Demario Davis, and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Their ranking might be disappointing to Jets fans who are optimistic about the three new defensive additions: 27th.
“The Jets’ trio has a combination of high upside and proven players, but at the same time, there’s still plenty of unknown,” the blurb reads. “Davis and Fitzpatrick may no longer be in their primes and could be asked to do too much for a unit that allowed 29.6 points per game last year, the second-worst mark in the league.
“New York desperately needs Bailey, the No. 2 pick, to make an immediate impact as a rookie. He’s certainly capable of that after generating 14.5 sacks for Texas Tech in 2025.”
It is fair to say that there is plenty of unknown involved with this trio. The Jets are counting on a rookie and two veterans with a combined 22 seasons of experience.
Whenever dealing with players who are on the extreme ends of the experience spectrum (rookies or 30-plus players), you never know what you’re going to get. Rookies have yet to show what type of player they will be at the NFL level, while veterans are always prone to hit a wall and fall off drastically, no matter how good they were the previous year.
There is plenty of upside with this trio, though. Bailey, the second overall pick of this year’s draft, has an athletic and production profile that suggests he has a high chance of becoming a game-wrecking NFL pass rusher. The question is how close he gets to that ceiling in Year 1, but over the long haul, the potential is undoubtedly there.
As for Davis (37) and Fitzpatrick (29), it is fair to say that neither player is at the peak of their superpowers, but both were still top-tier performers at their positions in 2025. In Pro Football Focus’ rankings, Davis ranked fifth-best among linebackers with an 81.4 overall grade, while Fitzpatrick ranked sixth-best among safeties with an 81.9 grade.
If Davis and Fitzpatrick can hold onto that production for one more season, while Bailey hits the ground faster than expected, this trio will finish the season ranking much, much higher than 27th.
