The New York Jets are second in the NFL’s waiver order after cutdown day, which means they can claim any player they would like as long as they were not already claimed by the Las Vegas Raiders.

Following their cutdown to an initial 53-man roster that featured some surprising inclusions and critical holes, here are two players the Jets should put in claims for.

QB Will Levis

The Jets’ backup quarterback spot is a weak point on the depth chart, as fourth-round rookie Cade Klubnik is set to be one play away from starting.

Klubnik had a decent preseason, albeit nothing spectacular. Even if he was spectacular, trusting a fourth-round rookie to start in his rookie year is rarely a wise call. These signal-callers are chosen in the fourth round for a reason: they need too much development to be ready to play in Year 1. Few quarterbacks in league history have been exceptions.

New York needs a backup quarterback with starting experience who could offer a better chance of winning games if Geno Smith goes down. Will Levis fits that bill, with some added bonuses.

Levis lost the Tennessee Titans’ backup quarterback battle to Mitchell Trubisky after a rough preseason, completing just 53.8% of his passes for 200 yards (5.1 Y/A), no touchdowns, and no interceptions, with four sacks. His stock is at a low point, hence his release.

However, Levis has started 21 career games, posting numbers that can be considered competent for a backup: 61.0% completion rate, 21 touchdowns, 16 interceptions, 7.0 yards per attempt, and an 82.7 passer rating.

Klubnik would be one of the best fourth-round rookies in recent memory if he posted those numbers, as mediocre as they are. Since 2010, the average passer rating among the 26 fourth-round rookie quarterbacks to appear in the regular season is 65.0, with only nine of the 26 eclipsing Levis’ career 82.7 rating.

Taking too many sacks is an issue for Levis, as he has absorbed an 11.0% sack rate in his career, but the Jets’ offensive line projects to be better than the 2023 and 2024 offensive lines that Levis played behind in Tennessee. Both units ranked bottom-10 in Pro Football Focus’ pass-blocking grade. New York’s offensive line can help mitigate Levis’ sack issue to an extent.

Levis projects as a mid-level backup, which would be an upgrade over Klubnik’s realistic projection.

To boot, Levis has a full offseason of familiarity with the Jets’ Week 1 opponents. His intimate knowledge of the Titans’ offensive playbook would be valuable, especially since Tennessee has a new offensive coordinator in Brian Daboll.

Finally, Levis is the type of quarterback who could eventually have trade value. Clearly, he doesn’t have trade value at the moment, but as a 2023 second-round pick who is still 27 years old, he could catch the attention of a team that finds itself in desperate need of quarterback help during the season. If the Jets are out of the playoff race by midseason, they could afford to flip Levis for draft compensation and let Klubnik step into the QB2 (or QB1) spot.

The Jets can easily get more value out of Levis than a player like Arian Smith or Braiden McGregor. He could save a win or two in the short term while also having the upside to yield valuable draft compensation over the long term. Maybe he even develops into a decent long-term backup, which is all the Jets are hoping Klubnik can be, anyway.

C Nick Samac

New York’s interior offensive line depth, which was a major need coming out of the offseason, has undergone a significant shake-up over the last 24 hours.

Projected backup center Xavier Newman has been released, while sixth-round rookie guard Anez Cooper has been placed on injured reserve. The Jets traded for Raiders guard/center Jordan Meredith to fill one of those vacated interior spots, while they surprisingly kept guard Kohl Levao on their initial 53-man roster.

Meredith has starting experience at both guard and center, but he has performed much better at guard (both left and right) than at center. For now, he is the Jets’ penciled-in backup center, but the team would be wise to add another center to the mix so they don’t have to force Meredith into that spot.

Nick Samac, a 2024 seventh-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens out of Michigan State, is coming off a standout preseason with the Carolina Panthers. Samac’s 81.4 overall grade from Pro Football Focus was the best in the NFL among centers with at least 50 snaps. Over 100 offensive snaps, he had no penalties, no allowed sacks, and no allowed hits, while earning a second-ranked 78.6 run-blocking grade.

Still only 25 years old, Samac could develop into a useful backup center. It’s his pure position; Samac has played all of his NFL and college snaps at center.

Considering Meredith’s splits between guard and center, it makes sense for the Jets to treat him as a backup guard, which leaves backup center a hole right now. Perhaps New York is comfortable with Meredith at center despite his numbers there, but adding Samac to the mix would give the Jets another option to consider, which never hurts.

To make room for Samac, the Jets could release Levao or trim an excess player at another position, like Smith or McGregor.