Two Jets rookies have at shot at stealing two veteran’s jobs heading into mandatory minicamp

The New York Jets open up mandatory minicamp this week and they have a lot of questions on their roster. New head coach Aaron Glenn will need to use this time to make a lot of important decisions about his team going into the season.

With that in mind, here are the three biggest position battles for the Jets on defense as they start mandatory minicamp.

Safety: Tony Adams vs. Malachi Moore

Tony Adams is the lone holdover at the safety spot from the previous regime and he immediately finds himself in a position battle. We already know Darren Mougey and Aaron Glenn have no qualms about cutting out as much of the previous regime’s players so Adams’ spot is on shaky ground.

The Jets drafted Moore in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and he received an endorsement from Detroit Lions star Brian Branch, who was teammates with Moore at Alabama. Glenn values versatility in his defensive backs and Moore thrived playing both safety and nickel in college.

“I’m excited to have that player,” Glenn said after the draft. “He has some versatility, and I see him being utilized just like (Branch).”

This feels like an instance where Adams will win the job because of the experience, but Moore will likely take over by the halfway point of the season.

Cornerback 2: Brandon Stephens vs. Azareye'h Thomas

I refuse to believe that the Jets looked at Brandon Stephens as a legitimate answer at the cornerback position after his past few seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. They gave him a three-year contract, one of the few multi-year deals Darren Mougey gave out this offseason in free agency, and I can’t imagine why. Simply put, Stephens is terrible.

Stephens is the guy signed to play opposite Sauce Gardner in the Jets defense effectively replacing Pro Bowler D.J. Reed. Stephens has been thrown at more than any other corner back in the last two years and gave up 31 first downs in 2024 alone.

In the third round of the 2025 NFL draft, the Jets grabbed Florida State cornerback Azareye’h Thomas and the team seems to have high hopes for the rookie. While his athleticism is lacking some on paper, Thomas put together a lot of impressive game tape and could be a value pick for the Jets.

I imagine that Stephens will get the starting nod, but once his true colors show in the game, Thomas will see a lot more reps opposite Sauce as we get to the middle of the season.

Defensive Tackle 2: Byron Cowart vs. Leonard Taylor III vs. Jay Tufele

The Jets already have a star at one defensive tackle spot and a big blocker-eater at the nose tackle spot in Derrick Nnadi, who signed this offseason from the Kansas City Chiefs. After that, it is a mixed bag along the interior defensive line.

Cowart was drafted by the Patriots in 2019 and has since bounced around, on the Indianapolis Colts, Chiefs, Houston Texans, Miami Dolphins and Chicago Bears. He didn’t play at all in 2021 due to injuries, and spent the 2023 season on the Dolphins’ practice squad. For the Bears last season, he played in 15 games and had 2.5 sacks while playing 35 percent of the defensive snaps.

But as is the theme of this offseason, the Jets are grabbing every player under 30 coming off a down year on the cheap. The Jets didn’t make any significant additions at defensive tackle in free agency or the NFL Draft while letting both Javon Kinlaw and Solomon Thomas walk.

Taylor, an undrafted rookie last year, showed some promise as a pass rusher but still has some major developing to do. He has the added stigma of being part of the previous regime as well. Tufele has never played more than 31 percent of the snaps in a season and has a half-sack in 34 career games.

The Jets will likely go with experience by starting Cowart, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they made a move this summer to bring in some better depth at the position.