The New York Jets might be on a 15-year playoff drought, but they have had their fair share of dominant players over this span.
Many of those players resided on the defensive line. For all of their struggles on offense and at certain defensive positions, the Jets have developed more standout defensive linemen than most other NFL teams since their last playoff appearance in 2010.
Among those standouts, few shone brighter than Damon “Snacks” Harrison.
An undrafted free agent out of William Penn, Harrison joined the Jets in 2012, beginning a four-year run in which he established himself as perhaps the most dominant run defender in the sport.
On Wednesday, Harrison took to X to demand respect for the run of dominance that he went on during the prime of his career.
“If they really stop and take a look at what I did then they would HAVE to include me in EVERY conversation. Most won’t… all I did was perform at my best each and every game on every team I played for. Missed 1 game entire career too btw #NeverCheatedThe Game,” wrote Harrison.
Harrison was replying to a video from the “Check The Mic” podcast, in which the hosts extol Harrison’s impact on the sport.
“Damon ‘Snacks’ Harrison was a dude who, I think, completely changed and reset expectations for what a run-stuffing defensive tackle can do… like J.J. Watt resetting expectations, Snacks changed what you thought was possible in terms of run-stop percentage.”
Between his time with the Jets (2012-15) and the New York Giants (2016-18), Harrison was one of the league’s most unblockable run defenders on an annual basis. Over a six-year stretch from 2013 to 2018, Harrison’s run defense grade at Pro Football Focus ranged from 87.2 to 93.7. He led all defensive tackles with 250 run stops over this stretch.
Harrison’s best season with the Jets came in 2015, when he led all NFL defensive tackles in run stops (48) and PFF’s run defense grade (92.3). He formed one of the league’s best defensive lines alongside Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson, helping the Jets’ defense finish first in fewest rushing touchdowns allowed (4), second in rushing yards allowed (83.4 per game), and first in fewest total first downs allowed (16.9 per game).
Behind the “Sons of Anarchy”, as the trio was known, the 2015 Jets roared to a 10-6 season. Most years, it would be enough to make the playoffs, but the Jets were edged out by a way of a conference-record tiebreaker with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Alas, this was before the seven-team playoff era.
Harrison has a case to be the best run defender in Jets history. Perhaps there are many casual NFL fans out there who are too oblivious to acknowledge his achievements, but Jets fans will never forget the impact he had in green and white.
Today’s Jets hope to have found their version of Harrison in T’Vondre Sweat. At 366 pounds, Sweat is even more massive than “Snacks”, who devoured opposing running backs at 350 pounds. The Jets acquired the former Titan this offseason in a one-for-one swap, sending Jermaine Johnson to Tennessee.
Sweat posted a 79.3 run defense grade in 2025. While it isn’t quite in Harrison territory, it was still the fourth-best mark among all NFL defensive tackles, making him one of the best run-stopping nose tackles in the game today.
After ranking 29th in rushing yards allowed during the 2025 season, the Jets would be thrilled if Sweat’s impact on their run defense in 2026 comes anywhere close to the impact that Harrison had in his time with the team.
