While the hopes of the New York Jets making things interesting down the stretch are all but over, with the team owning a 2-7 record, there are still eight games that have to be played.

At this point in the Jets’ season, fans are yet again focused on player evaluation rather than wins and losses. Well, for draft order, losses are pretty important. Regardless, pursuing a playoff spot is not realistically in the cards.

But this is still a very solid runway for players to put some strong tape out there. Here are three Jets with the most to prove over the final eight games of the season.

D’Angelo Ponds, CB

D’Angelo Ponds’ first few games in the NFL haven’t gone as planned, to put it mildly.

In seven games this year, making his season debut in Week 3, it hasn’t been pretty for the 50th overall pick from April’s NFL draft. His 29.3 grade at Pro Football Focus ranks 173rd among 175 CBs to play a snap this season, while his 27.2 mark in coverage ranks 172nd among 173 players at his position to play a coverage rep.

Penalties have been the primary issue for the Indiana product. Despite ranking 125th in snaps played at his position, Ponds has committed four penalties, tied for the fifth-most at his position.

On his 45 coverage snaps this year, the rookie has been thrown at six times, allowing four receptions for 72 yards and a touchdown while surrendering a 147.2 passer rating when targeted.

It’s safe to say that Ponds is off to a rocky start. Context, of course, is key. He missed nearly all of the summer and the first two weeks of the season due to a calf injury, which is tough for a rookie trying to learn the system and, more importantly, adapt to a new position.

The position element is important. During his three-year college career, Ponds was an outside cornerback; he only lined up in the slot on 28 of his 2,199 snaps. The slot has become his new spot within the Jets’ defense. Of his 87 defensive snaps this season, 66 have come in the slot, while just two were on the outside.

Ponds has eight games to right the ship in his rookie season. Obviously, the circumstances are tough, and a shaky debut campaign doesn’t mean his NFL career is over, but the Jets also have to shape their offseason plans.

Ponds hasn’t proven to be a starting-caliber player yet, but with a strong final stretch of the year, he could flip that narrative and keep the Jets from needing to find a starting slot corner.

Olu Fashanu, LT

Entering the 2026 season, Olu Fashanu was in an interesting position. He was coming off his first full season as a starter, with some ups and downs. The first half of the year wasn’t great, but he bounced back nicely down the stretch.

Many Jets fans, though, didn’t seem to be concerned about his status, and that’s fair. It was just his first season as a starter, and the former first-round pick ended the year on a high note. Furthermore, the team was just a complete dumpster fire, and Fashanu wasn’t a glaring issue.

So far, though, Fashanu hasn’t taken the leap that many people hoped for. If anything, he has regressed through the first nine games of the season.

This year, he has allowed eight sacks, the most among offensive linemen. For context, that’s three more than every player except Jalen Travis of the Indianapolis Colts (seven), who was a fourth-round pick a year ago.

Fashanu has also committed six penalties this season, tied for the eighth-most among left tackles. As our own Michael Nania pointed out, he is on pace to finish with 15 sacks allowed and 11 penalties over 17 starts. The Penn State product would become the first player with 15+ sacks allowed and 10+ penalties in a season since PFF began tracking stats in 2006.

He’s still 23, but Fashanu hasn’t looked like a highly selected tackle. Aside from 2025, when he was a middle-of-the-pack starting left tackle at best, there isn’t much to feel great about with Fashanu moving forward.

Fashanu has never been known as a run-blocker; pass protection has was his bread and butter coming out of Penn State. So, seeing him allow so many sacks, and generally struggle in that facet, is highly problematic.

With an ugly end to the season, the Jets may be forced to at least consider replacement options or competition at left tackle in the offseason.

Brandon Stephens, CB

Brandon Stephens has been a fascinating study since he signed with the Jets last offseason on a three-year, $36 million contract. So far, he hasn’t lived up to that deal, but he also hasn’t been a complete liability.

This season, the analytics really like Stephens, in contrast to his public perception in Jetsland. He currently ranks 24th among 104 CBs in PFF’s coverage grade (69.5), allowing 24 of 36 throws in his direction to be completed for 305 yards and a touchdown.

So far, Stephens has logged four pass breakups, which is interesting because his career high, set last year, is just six, so he has an opportunity to shatter that. In contrast, though, he has already committed five penalties, tied for fourth-most at his position after committing only three a season ago.

Stephens’ contract sets up a decision for the Jets in the offseason. This is the second season of his three-year deal, and the team has an out before next year.

His cap number is set at $14 million, but none of his $11.5 million base salary is guaranteed, meaning the Jets can release him without a substantial dead cap charge. With a pre-June 1 cut, the Jets would be on the hook for $6 million in dead cap, compared to $8 million in savings.

These final eight games give the Jets a lengthy stretch to assess what they want to do with Stephens. The question is: can he really prove himself as a reliable starting CB? This year has been better than last for him overall, but there is still some inconsistency.

With a strong finish to the season, the Jets may keep Stephens as one of their outside starters in 2027.