How many roster spots should Jets give to pure special teamers?

The New York Jets had a historic special teams season in 2025 under first-year coordinator Chris Banjo. Unfortunately, it was overshadowed by the team’s atrocious all-around play.

Now, entering 2026, they are in a strong position to replicate that success.

As the Jets look to have another outstanding season on special teams, how many roster spots should the Jets dedicate to pure special teamers?

How many roster spots should the Jets commit to special teamers?

One of the primary reasons special teams success is hard to replicate in the NFL is roster turnover.

Typically, most special teams units are comprised of fringe roster players who happen to excel in that area. It is a key reason why some players earn roster spots.

The Jets, though, they can’t afford to invest too many roster spots in special teams. They need to focus on building an all-around strong roster with depth pieces who can contribute on offense and defense as well as special teams, aside from the obvious long snapper, punter, and kicker.

However, there are a few exceptions. Most notably, Kene Nwangwu, one of the best kick returners in NFL history, was re-signed by the Jets this offseason. Isaiah Williams would also fit that bill after a remarkable end to the season with the squad, capped off by winning the team’s MVP award, voted on by his teammates.

After that, the good news for the Jets is that their key contributors in kick and punt coverage are also competent rotational pieces on offense or defense. Players like linebacker Mykal Walker, safety Malachi Moore, and fullback Andrew Beck can contribute outside of special teams, while Arian Smith has the potential to accomplish that in 2026.

Banjo is going to be put to the test this year. We will see whether last year was just “luck” that led to the Jets’ special-teams dominance, or whether it was Banjo’s concepts and eye for talent that led to historic success.

If that’s the case, with an improved offense, the Jets can be in a really strong position to capitalize on strong returns and turnovers generated by their special teams unit, unlike last year.

While retaining Nwangwu and Williams are non-negotiables, the Jets shouldn’t be handing too many roster spots to players this summer solely due to their special teams prowess.