It’s safe to say that the New York Jets will intercept a pass in 2026.

I mean… it is safe to say, right? Am I going out on too much of a limb?

Okay, fine, I’ll be bold and put it in writing: The Jets will get an interception this season. You heard it here first.

After infamously picking off zero passes in 2025, the Jets made plenty of additions to rectify the problem in 2026. They hope to not only snag a few more interceptions than zero, but to become a very solid team in that department.

As Jets fans eagerly await to witness the first interception by their defense since the 2024 season, here are the top five players with the best chance of collecting that historic pick. Each of the top four are new additions to the team.

5. CB Azareye’h Thomas

While Azareye’h Thomas still has to go out and win a starting spot this summer, his chances seem strong. The team thought enough of him to make him a third-round pick in the 2025 draft, and he responded with a solid rookie year.

Thomas has not been much of a ball hawk in his football career; he only had two interceptions in his college career across 90 targets thrown his way, and he failed to get one in his rookie season with the Jets. Still, if he wins a starting outside cornerback job, he will have his share of chances to take the ball away.

4. CB D’Angelo Ponds

Like Thomas, D’Angelo Ponds needs to win a starting spot in training camp.

But the Jets used a second-round pick on Ponds in this year’s draft, so the team clearly believes he can play right away. Ponds should have a clear path to the starting slot cornerback job, considering the competition. His main competitor will be Jarvis Brownlee Jr., who struggled in limited action last season.

Ponds was a better ball hawk in college than Thomas, collecting seven career interceptions (on 190 targets). However, Ponds exclusively played on the outside in college. If he moves to the slot in 2026, his interception opportunities will go down; outside corners typically intercept passes more frequently than slot corners.

Nonetheless, Ponds clearly has a nose for the football, so if he wins the starting slot job in training camp, he will have a chance to make a big play in Week 1.

3. S Dane Belton

Free agent pickup Dane Belton is yet another defensive back who will have to fight for his starting spot in training camp. Belton projects to compete against Malachi Moore and Andre Cisco for a chance to start next to Minkah Fitzpatrick.

If Belton does win the job, he brings a tremendous interception track record to the table. Despite starting just 22 of his 66 career games, Belton has snagged six career interceptions in four seasons. Those six picks came on just 105 targets.

Belton also has four forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries. The man is a flat-out ball magnet.

2. CB Nahshon Wright

Because of Thomas’ potential and Brandon Stephens’ contract, Wright is largely viewed as a dark horse in the competition for a starting outside cornerback spot. Still, it seems that the Jets will give him every chance to prove himself in the summer, so the door is open.

If Thomas bursts through said door, he will immediately vault to the No. 1 spot on this list.

Thomas is coming off a Pro Bowl season that was powered by five interceptions. One of those came on a Hail Mary, but four were legitimately elite plays on the ball. Wright has fantastic ball skills, which means he might be capable of becoming a consistent interception producer, rather than a one-year wonder.

1. S Minkah Fitzpatrick

Fitzpatrick’s interception production has declined in recent years. Since snagging 17 picks over a four-year span from 2019-22 (including a league-leading 6 in 2022), Fitzpatrick has notched just two over the last three seasons.

But much of that decline had to do with a shift in Fitzpatrick’s role. His teams began using him closer to the line of scrimmage instead of as a ranging free safety.

In New York, though, many signs point to Fitzpatrick returning to a center-fielder role in the back end.

Aaron Glenn loves running single-high coverages. Back in Detroit, he relied on the Kerby Joseph-Brian Branch safety duo, which featured Joseph as the deep specialist and Branch as the box specialist. More so than most NFL safety units, Joseph and Branch stuck to what they did best rather than moving around.

Looking at the Jets’ depth chart, it’s hard to see a scenario where Fitzpatrick does not occupy the Joseph role. Both Belton and Moore are much better near the line of scrimmage than deep, while Fitzpatrick’s ability to change a game is maximized when he is patrolling the back end, hunting takeaways.

Expect Fitzpatrick to have a major bounce-back in the interception department this season, sparked by a return to the role where he’s at his most dominant.