Each week in the NFL, different under-the-radar players are asked to step up for a multitude of reasons. Perhaps the starter is injured, or the matchup calls for an increased presence in a certain area.
As the New York Jets get ready for their Week 1 matchup against the Tennessee Titans, Jarvis Brownlee Jr. is going to be asked to take on a larger responsibility than expected.
Brownlee’s task vs. the Titans
Brownlee is entering his first full season with the Jets after being acquired from Tennessee three weeks into the 2025 season. Now he is playing his first game against the team that drafted him, and he will need to stand out.
As our own Michael Nania recently dissected, the Jets face the challenge of shutting down Titans slot receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, who signed with the team on a four-year, $70 million contract this offseason.
Robinson led the NFL with 675 receiving yards out of the slot last season, while his 60 slot receptions rank second. In Tennessee, his offensive coordinator will be his former head coach, Brian Daboll.
Right off the bat, the Jets’ defense will have to work around a significant mismatch.
Second-round rookie D’Angelo Ponds is expected to be the Jets’ starting slot cornerback in 2026, but he has yet to practice since sustaining a calf strain during the team’s first training camp practice.
With the season opener only one week away, there is no guarantee that Ponds will be ready to play. Even if he is cleared, it’s unrealistic to expect him to handle a full workload immediately. He missed nearly all of training camp and the entirety of the preseason.
Behind Ponds, Brownlee is the next man in line.
With no updates on Ponds as of late, Brownlee is staring at a much bigger role to begin the season than the Jets likely planned for.
It’s a fascinating spot for the third-year cornerback. He was acquired by the Jets in exchange for negligible draft capital and is now set to begin the season in a starting role.
After entering the fold with the Jets, Brownlee got off to a hot start and showed some flashes. However, as the season continued, his play began to decline.
He struggled in coverage, earning a 49.5 coverage grade at Pro Football Focus and committing 11 penalties, including nine in coverage, which led the team.
Brownlee did stand out in the run-defending game, though, earning a 78.2 run-defense grade from PFF in 2025, which ranked 13th among 114 qualified cornerbacks.
Should he get the start, Brownlee will be tested by Tennessee. He is most likely going to draw a plethora of one-on-one matchups against Robinson, and it’s up to him to hold his own.
If things begin to go sideways, the Jets don’t really have much of a backup plan. After Brownlee, you’re most likely looking at a practice squad player like Jordan Clark. Clark flashed throughout the preseason, but it’s hard to forget the former UDFA’s 2025 struggles when called into action. Teams threw 20 passes at Clark over just 100 coverage snaps, completing 16 of them for 140 yards and three touchdowns.
It would be a huge win for the Jets if Brownlee steps up to the plate against Robinson. New York has multiple other defensive advantages, including T’Vondre Sweat against center Austin Schlottman and Aaron Glenn’s blitz-heavy play-calling against Cam Ward, but if Brownlee cannot handle Robinson, it could be the equalizer for Tennessee’s offense.
The slot could become an area where the Jets get picked apart all afternoon. It’s up to Brownlee to negate what looks like a significant edge for the Titans.
If he can pull it off, the Jets’ defense will be in an excellent spot.
