Many New York Jets players didn’t live up to expectations in 2025. While the Jets weren’t expected to be playoff contenders, their 3-14 record still fell short of projections, a result of so many players underperforming.

Entering the 2026 season, here are three players the Jets need to bounce back after a rough 2025 campaign.

Brandon Stephens

In 2025, the Jets signed Brandon Stephens to a three-year, $36 million contract, a deal that was highly scrutinized from the start. Throughout the 2025 season, he did little to change that narrative.

Consistency was a major issue for Stephens. At times, he appeared unplayable, while at others, he looked the part of a top NFL corner.

Throughout the season’s first three games, Stephens allowed opposing receivers to catch 11 of 15 targets for 104 yards and four touchdowns with zero interceptions, zero pass breakups, and one penalty. He also had a critical dropped interception in the Jets’ Week 1 loss to Pittsburgh.

Following that rough stretch, from Weeks 4-13, Stephens was one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. Here are his numbers over that span, along with his ranks among 71 cornerbacks with at least 300 snaps:

  • PFF Overall Grade: 80.5 (3rd)
  • PFF Coverage Grade: 79.7 (3rd)
  • PFF Run Defense Grade: 76.2 (8th)
  • Yards Allowed Per Snap: 0.70 (13th)
  • Yards Allowed Per Target: 5.82 (13th)
  • TD% Allowed: 0.62% (33rd)
  • Pass Breakup Rate: 15.4% (11th)
  • Passer Rating Allowed 90.4 (35th)
  • Completion % Allowed: 56.4% (19th)
  • Defensive Stops Per Game: 2.0 (2nd)
  • Defensive Stops Per Snap: 3.13% (12th)

However, Stephens closed the season similarly to how he opened it. In the Jets’ final four games of the 2025 season, Stephens allowed 14 of 16 targets in coverage to be completed for 178 yards and one touchdown, without a PBU or INT.

Overall, the bad far outweighed the good. Stephens finished the season allowing eight touchdowns, the second-most among cornerbacks, and a 126.4 passer rating, the fourth-worst mark, while accumulating an atrocious 8:0 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Stephens must find consistency in 2026. There is no excuse for a $36 million player to play like he did last season.

Jamien Sherwood

Following a breakout year in 2025, when he was voted the Jets’ team MVP and led all NFL linebackers with 98 solo tackles, Jamien Sherwood signed a three-year, $45 million contract with the team.

During his first season playing on that extension, Sherwood looked like a completely different player.

His coverage grade of 46.1 from Pro Football Focus ranked 66th among 88 linebackers, a massive decline from his 66.2 mark in 2024. Sherwood’s 125.1 passer rating allowed was also the ninth-highest among 88 qualified LBs.

Despite being a captain, Sherwood was benched at one point for reasons that weren’t disclosed.

One reason Sherwood’s play could have declined so drastically in 2025 was that he was taking on a role in a new scheme with much more responsibility than the one he was playing under Robert Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich. In 2026, though, he will play beside Demario Davis, a veteran leader who remains one of the best linebackers in football and will likely wear the Jets’ green dot.

The hope is that Davis’ arrival can help Sherwood return to his 2024 form. Another season like last year’s for the Auburn product would most likely find him off the Jets roster before his lucrative extension expires.

Braelon Allen

Braelon Allen is the type of player that can be categorized as a “workout warrior.” Each summer, fans see clips of him working out and get excited about his potential, largely because of his bowling-ball frame at 6-foot-1 and 235 pounds.

But 21 games into his NFL career, Allen has yet to show he is anything more than a workout warrior.

In his rookie season (2024), Allen posted 92 carries for 334 yards and three touchdowns, while averaging just 3.6 yards per attempt, the fourth-lowest mark among 47 qualified running backs. Despite his reputation as a power back, his 2.86 yards after contact per attempt finished just 34th among 47 qualifiers.

Allen was surrounded by excitement from the Jets’ fanbase entering his second NFL year, along with an improved offensive line. However, Allen only appeared in four games with the team after suffering a knee injury in Week 4, which ended his 2025 season.

Before suffering the injury, Allen did not stand out in a positive way. He rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown on just 18 attempts, while losing a back-breaking fumble near the goal-line in New York’s Week 4 loss to Miami. His average yards after contact per attempt dropped to 2.56.

Fully recovered and entering his third season, it’s time for Allen to produce. For two years, fans have fixated on his potential, and the Jets need him to turn it into results.