Position Preview for '25
Aaron Glenn has stressed several qualities that he wants to see in his players as Jets head coach, among them youth, competitiveness and toughness.
The youth is already apparent on special teams (another AG hot-button topic) with Chris Banjo, a mere 35 years old with a 10-year playing career and two years as an assistant coach on his résumé, taking the reins from longtime STC Brant Boyer.
Banjo has competition on all fronts, none more visible than kicker and punter. The Jets released K Greg Zuerlein, 37, and P Thomas Morstead, 39, both 13-seasons-plus veterans, and will turn both jobs over to young competitors. At kicker going into camp, recently signed Harrison Mevis will battle rookie free agent Caden Davis. The punting combatants will be first-year man Austin McNamara and rookie free agent Kai Kroeger.
Among return candidates, while Xavier Gipson has handled most of the Jets' returns the past two seasons, Banjo made it clear after the rookie minicamp that returner depth charts "are written in pencil, so it's a dynamic process that can change on a consistent and day-to-day basis."
So Gipson will be in the running, but so will others seeking to unseat him, among them fourth-round rookie Arian Smith and undrafted free agent Jamaal Pritchett on punts and dangerous young vet Kene Nwangwu (4 career KO-return TDs in 4 NFL seasons) on kickoffs.
The toughness part especially comes through on the coverage and blocking units. Three returning ST tacklers, Irvin Charles, Isaiah Davis and Marcelino McCrary-Ball, each had 7 ST tackles last season — slightly better than Banjo's average of 5.8 ST tackles/season over his decade as a player — but Charles is still rehabbing from his December ACL tear. Also among the new faces who want to contribute to teams are draft picks Francisco Mauigoa and Smith as a gunner.
The counterbalance to youth on the Jets' specials is Thomas Hennessy, 31, back for his ninth season as the Jets' long-snapper.