Jets Training Camp 2026 Preview: Biggest Questions & Breakout Candidates | Gang's All Here

New York Jets are almost there to start the 2026 season. This is your training camp preview here for Gangs All Here. I'm your host Ryan Sampson, but that's my guy Brian Costello, our Jets beat writer. Coz, we're three days away from rookies, six days away from veterans reporting. What's this vibe? What's this feeling like for you as you're preparing for yet another Jets training camp? I think let's go. Let's get started. It's a lot of talk, Brian, all spring and winter. By this point of the year, you're just like, you're talked out. I want to see something and training camp is the next thing to see. And then it'll be preseason and then the season will be here. Yeah. I think before we get into this, Coz, I'm curious for you, how many years now is this for you in terms of Jets training camps that you've covered now? You love asking me that question, Brian. This will be camp 16 for me. Wow, 16. That's like a teenager's lifetime right there, Coz. It's also the drought, Ryan, as people like to point out to me. My first training camp was coming off of the lockout in 2011. And the Jets, people were talking about the Jets being a Super Bowl team. And Jets-Eagles was a popular Super Bowl pick that year because that was the Eagles' dream team when they got out and spent a lot of money. And the Jets were coming back off of two championship games. And so, yeah, it's been a long time ago now. Yeah, but look, I think it's always important to be reflective before you start another training camp with new players and new faces to get to know and really like get face to face with them. It's always important to appreciate what you've been doing and how long you've been covering this team. Yeah, it's amazing. And we get to do this. We get to do this too. Yeah, yeah. Now it's, you know, I will be complaining during preseason games like I always do because preseason football is not real football, despite what anyone wants to say. But yeah, I mean, it's pretty like if you told 12-year-old me that I was going to be able to watch football practice every summer and get paid for it, that's pretty mind-blowing when you step back and think about it. You have to remind yourself of that when it's 98 degrees with 90% humidity and you're standing out there for two hours, you know. But yeah, it beats having a real job. For sure. And look, there's a lot of talking points, like you said, and we're about to get some answers here, hopefully. But I think we got to start with the Geno Smith full circle reunion, right? For the Jets. And the fact that Aaron Glenn and this front office decided to trade for him this offseason from the Raiders. Him stepping back into Florham Park now as an established veteran quarterback compared to his start of his career when he was first with the Jets and getting drafted by them. How quickly do you think he can master this offense with Frank Reich and ultimately run this offense in training camp? I think it'll be quick, Ryan. I mean, that's why you get a guy like Geno, right? He's a veteran. Think of all the systems that Geno has been through at this point. You know, starting back with Marty Morningwick back in 2013. And then, you know, he's when there was Chandeli here. He goes to the Giants with Ben McAdoo and, you know, the Chargers and then the Seahawks. And he's had the Raiders, plenty of different coordinators, plenty of different offenses. And that's what you like when you have a 35-year-old quarterback. That's the advantage is that they can learn the offense quick. And the expectation is he'll be able to run the offense. Will it always be pretty? No. You know with Geno, you're going to get some interceptions. But I think they can have an offense that looks functional and is going to look better than what they had last year with Justin Fields. Yeah, I mean, that makes sense. I know that's like such a low bar, right? The Justin Fields offense from last year. But I also wonder for you, how are you going to pay attention to or what are you going to be looking for when Geno is first trying to connect on 11-11 or 7-on-7 with Garrett Wilson, right? Because that's the important one. It feels like he has to have a connection with the number one receiver. But that's the truth. You know, that's the guy that you want. I know. Here's where I struggle. Yeah. Training camp is hard. It's a hard thing to cover, right? Because we're there every single day. You guys want all the information. You want to know the stats and all the information. There's a lot about training camp that fools you. And Garrett Wilson, what have we done the last however many years, right? 2022. Oh, Garrett and Zach Wilson. This is the connection that the Jets are going to have for the next 10 years. Wilson to Wilson, right? Fast forward a year later, Aaron Rodgers and Garrett Wilson. This is going to be the guy who unlocks Garrett Wilson. Aaron Rodgers is finally, you know, they look great in training camp. Fast forward to 2024. Aaron Rodgers and Garrett Wilson are bickering in practice. Remember that storyline? Yeah. They're fighting in practice. Does it mean anything? Does it not mean anything? Turns out it kind of meant something. They did not see eye to eye that season. Then last year, oh, here comes the Ohio State connection. Justin Fields. And like, we sort of pump all that up. I almost think the Gino thing is better. Like, I don't think we're going to be harping on that as much, Ryan. I think, I actually think this training camp is going to be about the guys around Garrett more than it's going to be about Garrett. I think we're going to leave. I think we're going to kind of just, Garrett will have highlight catches that make, you know, we see like storylines that day. But I don't think we're going to be so focused on Garrett. I think we're going to be focused on A.B. Mitchell. I think we'll be focused on Omar Cooper. I think we'll be focused on the tight ends. I think we kind of know what Garrett is when he's healthy. And I don't think that's going to be the major, a major storyline. Okay. And then I think the final thing with Gino is, you know, do we see the 2020, do we see more of the 2022 version of Gino when he was in Seattle and had that great year? Are we going to see more of what we saw in 2025 with the Raiders, which was one of the worst team in football last year? I know a lot of that had to do with him being sacked the most in the NFL last year with the Raiders. This is a better offensive line, you would think, with more continuity around him. So what is your sense, or what do you think, what do you think Gino can be this year? Yeah, I think somewhere in between, Ryan. 2022 is a long time ago in football world, right? Think about 2022 and just think about the Jets, where they were in 2022, and that's a long time ago. So I don't think we can expect that. And the Seahawks were a pretty good team. Obviously, they were on the verge of a Super Bowl a few years later. So they had some, they were probably a better spot than the Jets are right now. However, the Jets are better than last year's Raiders. You talked about the offensive line, they're definitely better there. Really, outside of Brock Bowers, he had no true weapons on that Raiders team. I think we feel like the Jets have more weapons here. So I do think he's in a better situation than he was last year. So I would think somewhere in between, Ryan, is where it lands. I have always, we called it the Gino coaster back in the day, and I still think it's the Gino coaster. He's a guy who has really high highs and really low lows. I think you're going to experience that this season. And we'll see where they come out of it on the other end, is what happens more often. Yeah, yeah, for sure. And I would love to see, like you said, how he connects with these other weapons. Let's talk about the backup quarterback spot, because I think that's a story that really is going to be highlighted here. And it's going to show its true colors, especially in training camp. With the rookie in Kade Kulbnik, they have Brady Cook, they have Bailey Zappi. Do they have enough cause at the backup quarterback spot? I know it is difficult to find a good backup quarterback, because most backup quarterbacks are supposed to be backup quarterbacks. Otherwise, they'd be a starter. But do the Jets have enough to trust that what they have currently behind Gino? I don't think so. I think the number two quarterback probably isn't on the roster yet. I think we need to see what happens with other teams. Who shakes free? I could definitely see a Darren Mucci trade on August 28th, right before cut down. Some team out there is going to cut... The Saints are going to cut Spencer Rattler, or the Eagles are going to cut Tanner McKee. Some of these teams have three or four quarterbacks. They're not going to keep them all. Does he swing a trade for a later on draft pick for a backup quarterback? I think Kade Kulbnik is going to be a big talking point during camp, and definitely the preseason games. I think he's going to be the highlight of the preseason games, from a storyline perspective. I think he's got a shot at winning the job. I think that's just a tough ask for a fourth round pick as a rookie. And I don't have much faith in the other two guys. Yeah, I mean, Kade also struggled to finish up minicamp, because of the back injury he was dealing with towards the end. So you want to see him obviously stay healthy, because this is a real shot for him, like you're saying, to maybe potentially earn that backup quarterback spot. A name I heard thrown around, if the Eagles were to get rid of him, were Andy Dalton, the familiarity with Frank Reich's system. Would that make sense, you think, as a fit for the draft pick? I think you can pick any of these teams that have four quarterbacks, and say, anyone. I guess not anyone, I have to look at all of them, but anyone who has a little experience at Shakespeare, I can see it. Yeah, Dalton's definitely... I don't know why the Eagles would have acquired Dalton this offseason, to then cut him, or trade him. But you never know what's going to happen in these situations. Let's flip to the defensive side of the ball, right Kaz? Because this defense was a complete and utter disaster last year. They have imported a ton of talent, both in free agency and through the draft. But I think we should start with Aaron Glenn, taking over as the play caller here. This might be a little bit different for him in running this training camp, because he is going to be calling the defensive plays. What should Jets fans, or what are you going to pay attention to early on in training camp, with Glenn running the defense? Yeah, I'm interested to see just the mechanics of it, and how he manages to do that and be a head coach. I think that's tricky when you're the play caller. But obviously, a lot of people do it, especially on the offensive side of the ball, more than defense. I'm curious to see, how does he get involved with the offense? And then, yeah, whatever we can discern from what he does in training camp, which isn't easy in terms of scheme. How he's deploying, especially the defensive line interests me, how he deploys that. And there's a lot of guys there, Ryan, and I think he could go a lot of different ways, with different combinations. And I'm interested to see, are Will McDonnell and David Bailey on the field at the same time much? What's Tomandre Sweat look like? And then the secondary, I think D'Angelo Pons is an interesting guy, does he get work on the outside? Is he strictly an inside corner? And then what happens with Nashawn Wright and AZ Thomas? How does he deploy them? I'm not sure how many answers we'll get in training camp, Ryan, as far as Aaron Glenn. The games are when you really count. But I'm curious to see what the defense looks like, and how competitive they are with the offense in the team periods. I do think now the offense is ahead of the defense on paper, in my opinion. So I'm curious to see what those competitive periods look like. Yeah, and there certainly will be position battles, we can get into that a little bit to talk about. But I do want to ask you about the middle of this defense, Demario Davis returns for his third stint with the Jets. Shifting Jamie and Sherwood off to the off-ball linebacker spot, what are you looking to see from Demario Davis? Is it just the veteran leadership, but also he's going to make an impact on this defense because he can still play at a high level? Or, you know, there is that concern about his age and the fact that he is up there, and he's, you know, he signed a two-year deal with the Jets this offseason. Yeah, for a lot of money. I mean, they gave him a nice contract for somebody who's 37 years old. Yeah, you're looking at other signs that he's dropping off at home. And again, I'm not sure we'll get those signs in training camp or come in the regular season. But I think everyone talks about his leadership. That's not a question. You know what you're getting from him off the field? On the field right now, it becomes a question because of his age. And if you get the same guy that he was in New Orleans last year, I think you're good. He played really well. But at some point, his play has got to drop off. That's just what history tells you. And the thought of time is undefeated, right? So is it this year? Is it next year? Is it, you know, in two years? When is he going to drop off? But yeah, I'm not sure if we'll get that answer in training camp as much. Like, here's the other thing, Ryan. He has been incredibly durable in his career. Like, he plays every game. He doesn't miss much time. When does that change? Because that's usually, that's when guys, you know, think about the guy who was in that spot previously, C.J. Mosley. C.J. Mosley, yeah. Yeah. All of a sudden, his body started breaking down. And that's when things kind of changed for C.J. And so, like, you know, can the Mario be out there every day in training camp? Is he going to be out there practicing? Do they have to give him time off? Can he avoid the nicks and bruises that come in training camp? I'm curious to see that about his durability. And then, Jamie and Sherwood, this is a big year for him. You know, coming on to year two now in the new extension that he got over a year ago. Can he rebound in this defense now that Demario Davis is taking over as pretty much the quarterback of the defense? Yeah, I think there's a lot less pressure on him. There was a ton of pressure on him last year because of the contract. He had new coaching staff. And then he was the guy, the green dot, you know, he was the guy in the middle. Whereas like the year before, everything he did was kind of like gravy because you didn't know what to expect. And then when Mosley got hurt, it was like, oh, wow, Sherwood's playing pretty well. Then he was in that weird spot where it flips from you're underrated to you're overrated. And last year, kind of, you know, had a tough year. So I don't think there's as much pressure on him. I think the thing with Sherwood that you need to see is, can he do better in coverage? He was just so bad in coverage last year. And teams just ran play action on those guys so much toward the end of the year. And, you know, the players called bad eyes. He had bad eyes. He just was not in the right position a lot. He got sucked in on the fakes. He talked about it. He's been working on it. He knows that scenario has to improve. So I do think Sherwood could have a bounce back year because he's just in a different situation this year. Yeah, he really is. And you would love to see him reach that potential again that he had a couple years ago. Because if he does, and you have the Davis leadership on defense, and they are maybe a little bit more disciplined with Davis leading the way, it could really help that defense and maybe create some more turnovers, like you said, in coverage would help. Speaking of turnovers, let's talk about the secondary. Micah Fitzpatrick. He is the new addition as a safety here for the Jets defense. He's going to be paired up with Andre Sisco as the starting safeties, you would think. And Aaron Glenn, we know, likes to be aggressive on defense according, at least from his Detroit Lions days, if he's going to stay true to what his superpower is. But what are you looking from Micah Fitzpatrick early on? Can he help create some damn turnovers for this defense? Yeah, I want to see how active he is in practice. And does he create turnovers in camp? Does he wreak some havoc? He feels like a guy that can cause some problems for the offense, and for the Jets offense in camp practices. But yeah, it's no secret, Ryan. We're all going to be waiting for that first interception this season. And the longer it takes, the bigger story it becomes, how long it takes. So they got guys back there who've been ball hawks in their careers. And Micah has been that guy. Recent years, hasn't been as much. But, you know, the Steelers and the Dolphins used him a little differently the last few years. He was a little close to a lot of scrimmage, played some nickel. I'm not sure how the Jets plan on using him yet. We're going to find out. But yeah, he's a guy who doesn't seem like as much of a vocal leader as Demario Davis. But can set the tone with the way he plays. And obviously, he's a very, very accomplished player. And I think he's got five ball pros or five pro balls. He's obviously got a lot in his career. And, you know, what can he bring some juice to his defense? I think that'll show up early in camp when they get the pads on. Yeah, for sure. And I also am curious, like, would you be at all concerned if, let's say, the Jets turn Geno Smith over more? Is that more a product of Geno Smith's normal turnovers? Or, hey, you know what? Maybe the Jets defense has shown some signs of improvement or being more aggressive towards attacking the ball. I think that would be an interesting balance. That's always the conundrum in training camp, Ryan. I don't know if you remember the summer of 21 in the Carl Lawson training camp before he got hurt, right? And Carl Lawson, every day, was like just blowing up the offense. And you're like, oh, my God, this guy is great. He's unbelievable. And you're like, wait a second. Beckton bad? Because Beckton is getting abused by this guy. So, yeah, it's always which way do you want to look at it in training camp? I'm going to stay positive, though, Ryan, for the defense. Thank you. They're turning it over. If they're turning it over, that's a good sign for the defense. And they're going to face quarterbacks that are just like Geno that throw some interceptions. So they faced them last year, and somehow they didn't get interceptions. So if they're taking advantage of situations, that's a positive for the Jets. Well, speaking of Carl Lawson and pass rush, I got to talk about. Guys, have you ever in your time entered a training camp where the number two overall pick it feels like has not been talked enough and covered enough in terms of heading into his first training camp as a rookie? Because I got to be honest with you, all the other storylines with the Jets, obviously, it's been dominated with the off the field stuff with Geno and how great the Jets draft was overall. But I feel like there's just not been enough talk about David Bailey. I don't know if it's just because you don't expect as much from a pass rusher in year one, or let's not forget, this is the highest drafted player on the defensive side of the ball in Jets history, in David Bailey. It feels like we're not talking enough about what he should look like here in training camp. We will, Ryan. Here's the thing. There's no pads on in spring. So when you're watching spring practices, line play, you can't evaluate that he's not doing anything. He's just because his first step looks quick. But we all knew that. So the first preseason game, even maybe even before that, maybe some of the pad practices, we'll be talking about David Bailey a lot. But we didn't talk about Corian Williams. I mean, I know he was the number three pick versus number two. We didn't talk about him other than he had a contract situation going into training camp that we talked about. Unless you're a quarterback, probably wide receiver too, you're not going to dominate the conversation in the spring as much as the high draft pick. I don't think it's a big deal. I think we're going to be talking about David Bailey a ton here in a couple of weeks when they're wearing pads and they're doing pad practices. And then in the preseason games, I imagine he's going to play a significant amount in the preseason games, and we'll get to see what he can do. Do you think he'll be ultimately the starter right away, or he's going to have to earn those reps with Osai and McDonald and Enigbari as the rotation goes? It's a tricky thing. Starter, right? I think he's going to have to earn his role. I don't know if his role is going to be starter. I don't know if it's going to, like, I don't know what Aaron Glenn has planned there. Because, like, right, he has Osai. He's got Will. He's got Bailey. He's got Enigbari, too, is in the mix. Remember, they signed him, I think, for nine million dollars. So they're going to have to do some, you know, he's going to have to do some maneuvering and rotational play there. So I'm not sure what Bailey's role will be right away. I think he'll have to earn it, to be honest with you. Aaron Glenn strikes me as that kind of guy. Looking, you know, we can't say a whole lot about the depth chart of what we saw in the spring, whether there's rules about media coverage. But I'll say this. When you looked position by position where there was a question, the tie goes to the veteran with Aaron. Everywhere you looked, if there was a question mark, the veteran was the one getting the starters reps in training camp, I mean, in spring and OTAs. I would imagine training camp will probably start the same way, and those rookies are going to have to earn the spot. It makes sense. It certainly does. Kaz, let's talk about position battles. I'm curious, who is your biggest position battle that you're paying attention to in training camp? Probably corner. I thought A.Z. Thomas did some good things last year, right? And remember, at this time last year, people were really excited about him and pumping them up. And there was, you know, talking about how great he was playing. He played in the spring, and it was always interesting to me, the guys in their second year who don't necessarily, like, explode in their rookie year, sort of get overlooked going into their second year. So I'm curious to see him. And, you know, he's going to be competing with Nashawn Wright, who they had a great year with the Bears last year in terms of turnovers, takeaways, but he also gave them some big plays. So how's that going? Then D'Angelo Pons, who I mentioned before, does he get some reps on the outside? Is he a factor there? You know, Brandon Stevens is the corner on one side. We know that. It's going to be how they figure out the other side, and then Nickel, Jarvis Brownlee figures in. So kind of that two, three cornerback spot interests me the most, Ryan. I think that that'll be an interesting competition. It's a lot of young talent besides the established guy in Stevens, and you could argue Brownlee, but there are two young guys there in Pons and Azrie Thomas that you want to see if they can earn more playing time, and like you said, what kind of impact they can make early on. I think for me, Kaz, I think that wide receiver two spot is such an interesting position that we're going to be paying attention to, especially as Jets fans, because we've seen the quote hype of Adonai Mitchell and what he can do coming into his first full offseason program with this new offense with the Jets. Can he establish himself as a big play threat next to Garrett Wilson, because Omar Cooper Jr. was drafted in the first round, and you're wondering, again, how much reps he can get, and can he work himself from the outside into the slot? So I think that wide receiver two spot is really interesting that a lot of Jets fans are going to pay attention to. Yeah, I think it's almost Ryan, how does Frank Bright deploy these guys? How many two tight end sets are there? Because then that affects how you use the wide receivers. Is he doing 11 personnel where you can get Cooper and Mitchell on the field at the same time as Garrett? That's going to be interesting to watch. They drafted Sadiq for a reason, right? They drafted Mazetel last year, so they have to be thinking about running more 12 personnel and maybe even 13 personnel. That became very trendy last year with Sean McVay and the Rams. So I think, yeah, that's kind of a deployment issue more than the competition. And A.D. Mitchell is interesting, Ryan. I went back, I finished watching the end of the season just probably a month ago. I watched last season back, and you got to remember what he came into in November, right? He had very little time with Justin Fields and then a little bit with Tyrod, and then with Brady Cook for the last four games for him. He had really no time with Garrett. I think Garrett played one game, but he played that Browns game, but he was injured. And I can't remember if Mitchell played in that game. So I think he sat out that game. That was right after the trade. And so he really didn't come into a great situation. And you're being traded in the middle of the season, so you have to learn an offense. I really, we saw traits last year, but I don't think we saw what he could do. So I'm interested to see him now with having this time in the system and then having Geno Smith as quarterback and having Garrett on the other side. What he can do will be interesting to see. He's probably, I mean, he's got to be one of the top five most intriguing guys on this team, I think, if you look at it, right? Easily. From all reports and indications, like you said, with the traits too, his speed is, you can't teach that, right? He separates. The question is, why is he on his second team already? It's a serious question. And he did drop in the draft because there was the, what was the sugar? I think he has the sugar. There was something about his health, but at the same time, there was also concerns about him off the field too, like his character. And that's why it felt like he dropped out of the first round because a lot of people considered him a first round talent. But if they can discover, and I know that's that key term, unlock Adonai Mitchell, I mean, you'd be setting up this future quarterback room in such a great way. I mean, considering you extended Brees Hall, you extended Garrett Wilson, and if you found a true number two through this trade that netted you two first round picks and you're number two wide receiver in Adonai Mitchell? Yeah. Yeah, it's really like when, I mean, it's a really smart, it was really a smart move to have Mitchell in the trade, right? So just because it's like, he's a lottery ticket and it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. But if he can find something, like you said, like, yeah, they could have a really nice room there and he's a talented guy. It's just a matter of figuring out what's missing there and how to get it, how to fix it and how to get him rolling. Kaz, what is the strongest part of the team? I know I have my thought, but I think we might have the same, but what do you, what would you say is the strongest aspect slash part of this team right now? That's a good question. It's probably the offensive line. Yes, that's what I was about to go to, man. It has to be. Now, look, I think people would get a little carried away with the offensive line. I think they still need to prove it. But to me, the two tackles are legit and I think are ascending. Obviously, they're only entering their second and third year, so I think they could have a lot of, you know, they have a lot more to show and they're going to, you know, I think Membu has the potential to be all pro. Olu showed a lot of progress last year, especially the second half. I thought he played better. And then I think Tippman did some good things last year, and now he's going into a situation where he knows his position. It's not being, remember, he got thrown into that guard position the first week of the season when ABT got hurt. So can he, can he improve? And I know everyone's like, oh my gosh, the center, you're not going to have five studs on the offensive line. Like that, that just, you're going to have a weak spot and it's okay. But I think if they can be strong at three of the five spots and they can get good average to good play at center and left guard, I think you're looking at a good, good unit there. They were coached better last year than they were in the past. So I think that helps. And yeah, I think that's probably the strength, right? I completely agree with you guys. The continuity is huge. Obviously, you swatched, swapped Simpson for Parham, for Parham, I should say. But I think, like you said, if you believe in the two young tackles and that they are still ascending and they can grow into even better players, it's going to take you that much further. And again, I'm going to reemphasize, I hate that we're looking, I'm looking into the future, but I also have to have that eye because we love playing GM here on the Jets, is if I have two franchise tackles bookend to protect my future quarterback that you know you're going to draft probably in 2027, it sets you up for a very nice future, you would say, in terms of I feel secure there in those spots. And this offensive line can really show itself to be one of the best units in football. Yeah. No, I mean, look, it's amazing to say the offensive line is a strength because for years it was a weakness. You know, we've talked about this before. From 2010 when they drafted Vlad Dukas in the second round until 2020 when they took in the first round, they didn't take any offensive line in the first or second round. Crazy. They tried to do it on a cheap. They tried to patchwork it. They got the tail end of Nick and Brick there for a long time. And then it was like just plugging guys in there. And, you know, so I think Joe Douglas deserves a nod. He whiffed on McKay Bethen and ABT didn't work out. I wouldn't call that a complete miss. That was an injury thing. But he made it a priority and he did get Tippman and he did get Olu in here. And then Muji takes Membu last year with his first pick. So I think that's been important. And to your point about the quarterback, for many times, Ryan, the Jets drafted the quarterback and tried to build around him, right? Sam Darnold, they didn't have a good team. Zach Wilson, they didn't have a good team. And it was like, OK, we're going to get the quarterback here and then build around him. Feels like now they're doing the opposite route, which we'll see if it works. They still got to get the quarterback right. But I do think it's a smart approach. Instead of throwing a guy out there who's going to get sacked a billion times and who's going to be throwing to, you know, the guys that Sam remembers, the Sam Darnold receivers was pretty rough. You know, Rashad Perriman is your number one receiver. And Jermaine Kearse at the end of his career. And Deontay Burnett in Chicago. Remember that one, Ryan? So like, yeah, so if you're if you actually have receivers, good receivers, it's going to help a young quarterback. So I do like this approach. There's no guarantees, but I do like that they're doing this. I do, too, man. And look, like you said, we don't know what version of Geno Smith we can get. Maybe if it's somewhere in the middle between 2022 and 2025, the Jets can win some more football games. Before I get to the head coach in the final part of this show, I do want to ask you a quick hitter here. Who is under the most pressure? Or I should say, yeah, I'll say who is under the most pressure heading into this training camp as a player that has to prove themselves this year? Oh, as a player? No, no, I know. I know Aaron Glenn's. That's the answer for the ultimate question. But the player themselves that is under the most pressure, who would you say? That's a tough one. Because the contract situations are a little resolved. Well, can I give you one? Sure. Will McDonald. Yeah, I thought of him. He's playing for a contract, and he's trying to prove that he can be a consistent pass rusher and not just, you know, the four sack game here, four sack game there. Yeah, I guess if you knew Will, I don't think Will feels pressure. He takes me as a cool cat. Yeah, he's a cool cat. Will is just kind of a like roll with the punches type of guy. Doesn't let a lot affect him. So I doubt he's feeling a ton of pressure. But yeah, that's a good one. I do think, you know, with Bailey here now, they're going to have a decision to make on Will pretty soon and whether he's going to stick around. I'll give you another one. I think Braylon Allen has some pressure on him. Yeah, that's my other one. And I mean, I'm fascinated. I saw on social media the other day someone was ripping him. Yeah, that was on NBC Sports Fantasy. I saw them. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And we've gone from last year, it was like, sure, he started over Brees. I remember that whole storyline. And now it feels like people are wondering whether he should even be the number two. But I think Braylon Allen has a ton of talent. But it's year three. He's got to show it, right? And obviously it wasn't his fault last year. He got hurt, shouldn't have been returning kicks. But I do think there's some pressure on him, Ryan, to kind of show his worth this year and what he can do because it's year three. And we've seen the talent, but now we've got to see production out of him. Completely agree with you, Kaz. And I also thought it was outrageous, the comments from those guys over at NBC Sports. I mean, they were saying straight up, this guy was never good in high school and college. And I'm like, come on, guys. He was the youngest player to go to Wisconsin. He was like 17 years old. It's part of that whole culture of, I got to say something outrageous to make it stand out. And that was a nonsense comment. But I agree with you. He's got to prove himself here. Prove you can be at least a running back, too, right? Take some of the pressure off. We know Brees is going to be fed because he did get the extension. And you want him to be the focal point of this offense and get a lot of pass catches as well. But also, at the same time, you're going to have to give him a breather. And let's say he breaks one off for 40 or 50 yards. I want Braylon in there to keep pounding the rock and be aggressive towards that defense that you're going up against. And like, oh, you thought you just stopped Brees for 40 yards? Guess what? We got Braylon Allen, the beast. He's going to get the ball. He's going to run it right down your throat. That's how I would try to be if I were Frank Reich. Like, let's get aggressive. Let's get after the ass. Braylon Allen has to be the guy to prove that he can be that RB2 for the Jets. Yeah. I mean, even the older the teams have the best running backs. There's always a good second running back. Like, you know, Bijan Hadar's year behind him, Gibbs and Montgomery. Like, there's a number two that's pretty good. And they're going to get series. They're going to have to get Brees' series off. And it's a position you don't play every single down. And yeah, I think that could be a huge piece of their offense if they get Braylon Allen going. And I still believe him. I think he's going to be a good player. So he looks he looks phenomenal. He's in phenomenal shape. Like in the spring, he was like he looked like a monster. So you'd like to see him. Can he be like a short yardage back to can he do that job? But yeah, I'm curious to see what they can get out of him. One more quick hitter. Who is your I don't want to say. But yeah, who is your breakout player that you think can come out of this training camp and saying, man, this guy looked good during training camp. And he might make a real impact. I know there's always that fool's goal to training camp. But always be will always be wrong. I know. But who is the breakout guy you're looking at? Please. What are you talking about? David Clowney breakout like that's like out of nowhere. I don't know. I'm curious to see Mason Taylor. Ryan, can he can he show up? And can we be like talking about him in training camp and having good practices and then preseason games? You know, I don't know what the approach is going to be in the preseason games. But can he can he get some run there and make an impact? He's a guy to me. He's a really interesting player because of the civic pick. And obviously, there was a lot of excitement about Taylor last year. And I don't think we really got a fair look at him because of the way the offense performed in the quarterback play. You know, I pointed this out before is one touchdown catch came from Brees Hall. So that's tough. But yeah, like, I don't know if it's breakout is the right word with him, but I'm interested if he could have a big camp. Yeah, I think that's a really good one and something we should definitely pay attention to for the offensive side of the ball. For me, it's Tavondre Sweat. I've talked about him a ton on this podcast. I think he's a big man, obviously. And I think you guys might like see him and notice him bullying Josh Meyer and Parham and Tippman. Maybe even early on, you guys go, maybe you're like, hmm, he's interesting. Yeah, he's a big dude. He stands out on the field. When you say in the spring, he stood out. So yeah, it's that could happen. All right, before we get to Aaron Glenn, who is going to be the second leading receiver on this team? Second leading receiver on the team. I'm going to go with the obvious that maybe isn't that obvious. A.D. Mitchell. I'm going to go with him. I do think he's going to come in and be the number two receiver. I imagine Brees is going to be the trendy pick there. But Brees had 76 catches in 2023. And I think he was down to 30 something last year. So they haven't been able to recapture that. Yeah, I'm going to go with A.D. Mitchell there, Ryan. How about you? Who do you think? I think Brees is definitely the chalk pick, but I'll be different. I'll say Omar Cooper Jr. is actually going to be the number two receiver, leading receiver, I should say, in yards and receptions, however you want to total those up. I think this kid, the fact that they traded up to go get him in the first round, he has a lot of talent. And if they can, again, work him into the system, he might prove to be that guy. I mean, I also think about Gino was there when they brought in Jackson Smith and Jigba. He didn't have the years that he currently had, you know, like last year and the year prior. But he was ascending, obviously, as a rookie. So I wonder if Omar Cooper Jr. can actually become the second leading receiver on this team. I know A.D. Mitchell can be that big play threat, but I think Omar, he's got some real talent. He can make some plays for the Jets. Now let's talk about the head coach, right? So there is the part that we talked about with him being a defensive play caller, and now he's got to be that. But at the same time, he is the head coach, and he has to manage the expectations and the season outlook for him this year. Cause I mean, it could get ugly early just based off the schedule for him, but then it lightens up. But I'm curious for you, is he just not even thinking about that? Because that's the type of person he is. And he is like, I'm all about football. I'm focused on me. Or is there real concern that the Jets, if it doesn't start well with Aaron Glenn again this year, they start out one in five, one in six, one in seven. They could let him go in the middle of the season just because of how much he was on the hot seat. It felt like at the end of the year. Yeah. I mean, look, I don't think Woody Johnson is going to want to do that again. Salo is not Woody Johnson's guy. I think you got to remember that. Christopher hired him when Woody was in England. It was the very end of Woody's time in England, but Christopher hired him. I didn't know this well at the time. I've subsequently learned that Woody just really didn't like Salo. There was a lot of things that bothered Woody about Salo. Aaron Glenn is Woody's guy. That was the guy. He hired him. He's known him for a long time. He was a scout with the Jets. Obviously, he was a player. He was the end of his career when Woody bought the team. But he got to know him as a scout. He really likes Aaron Glenn. I think he's going to be hesitant to do a mid-season firing. I know there's time. I guess there's some scenario you can come up with. I'm not going to say he can lose every game and keep his job. But if he scuffles early on, if he's 0-4, I don't think he's getting fired. I don't think he's going to be as quick as the Salo firing. I think he's got some time here to figure it out. I also think in fairness to Aaron Glenn, when we all talk about the Jets, we pretty much talk about 2027 as the time that it can change. I guess other than Kerry Rhodes on this show, none of us are really talking about them winning 10 games this year. I think the conversation, and I see smart Jets fans online, when they're talking about it, it's like, hey, can they somehow win 7 or 8 games? That feels like to me, that's the dream scenario right now. Can they somehow get there? I feel like that's the one conversation. I think the Aaron Glenn conversation is in a completely different ballpark. It's like, if they don't win, they need to fire Aaron Glenn. It's not totally fair. I'm not sure. People ask me the number, how many games he got. I think you just need to see growth from Aaron Glenn this year. Certainly, there is a number. He can't win 3 games again and keep his job. Not even 4 games. I think you need to see some growth. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I think you need to, but if it's 6 games, I think if you see growth from him, did he do a better job? Can you chalk up any losses to his game management? How he managed the clock? How he did timeouts? Does the defense improve under him this year? Do they actually look like a good defense? Can they turn the ball over? Do they keep the Jets in games? Does Frank Reich have success? Because Frank Reich is the guy he brought in. Does he have success on offense? Does it look like things are turning around this year? I think that's what we're judging Aaron Glenn on. Of course, yes, he needs to win games as well. I'm not saying he can lose every game, but I don't think he needs to win 8 games to save his job. I think if there are 5, 6 wins and it looks like things are turning around and things are going in the right direction, I think he could come back because to me, everyone's pointing to 2027 already and except for with Aaron Glenn. I feel like the only person under pressure to win this year with the Jets is Aaron Glenn and everything else is kind of like, let's get to the draft next year in terms of everything else. It's well said, Kaz, and I agree with you, but look, if he won 6 games this year, it'd be doubling the total he had last year. So you'd have to take that as a step of progress and I think there are actual numerical and statistical things that you can look at and say, is this team actually getting better besides just the wins? The defense is obviously the key factor here. They have imported a ton of new players onto this defensive side of the ball. They have changed what they were last year to this year, this season. Now, will those changes work? That is for Aaron Glenn to be the mad scientist in the room with all these players and make different formations, be able to confuse opposing offenses, create real pressure with the new pass rushers he has. Those are the things that you're gonna look forward to and then obviously, can you get a freaking interception on defense and turn the ball over? Because I think you would agree with this too, Kaz, I don't wanna see Geno Smith starting at the 20 or 25 yard line every single time for the possession and I mean that on our side of the field. You want to be able to create short fields for that offense to actually get some momentum going in a game. You'll be able to feel it, Ryan, if they're better. I just saw, I think Warren Sharp put this stat out the other day, did you see this, Ryan? Yeah, I did. The plays leading. Plays leading a game. Yeah, the Jets went for 66 plays last season. It's absurd. 66 plays and then you go down the list and you look at the teams that were like playoff teams and some of them were over 500 snaps in the season that they had the lead. 66 snaps with the lead is just unbelievable. So that's, you'll know. If the Jets have leads in games and they're playing from the front, then you'll know this is a better team than what it was last year because even you look at their wins, Cincinnati was a miracle win, right? And then the Cleveland game was a fluky special teams game and then I don't know what happened with Atlanta. Tyrod played well, I guess. That one felt, you know, but that was a field goal at the end of the game too, right? That was a full kick kicking a long field goal at the end of the game, right? Yeah. So none of them were, my point is, none of the three wins were like convincing like, oh wow, the Jets dominated that game. I can't even remember the last time I walked away saying the Jets dominated a game, probably maybe that Patriots game before Salah got fired. But yeah, it's been a while since they just dominated. So I think you'll know it right, I guess is my point. If they look better, even yes, the stats will back you up, but you'll just know it. If they're just doing things like looking functional and playing normal football. Complimentary football, right? Like that's what you want to be playing. It's just normal. You just want them to play normal football. It feels like last year was, and he can't have any games like he had in London last year. When you look back at it, he didn't have so many games where he was mismanaging the game, but that one was him. That was one of the worst coach games ever. And you can't have that. He can't have another game like that. And to his credit, I thought he got better that stretch after Denver, like the end of the season, you kind of have to throw out because it was so weird. But that stretch from like late October to like early December, I thought he was doing a better job managing the game. And then I think ultimately for you, we talk about the pressure he's under, right? He has to show signs of improvement, but at the end of the day, there has to be like that thought of can this guy continue to build upon and be someone for the future of this franchise? I guess my question here, Kaz, he's got some winnable games on the schedule and he's proven that he's got his guys now as coaches, huge turnover on the staff too. What is going to be the key sign for you, for Aaron Glenn this year, to say this guy's actually improved and this guy actually looks like a different head coach? What is going to be that thing that you're going to pay attention to this year? I think no moments like London, like no moments like that, the end of that first half was just brutal. He seems like he learned some lessons just talking to him in the winter and the spring. Again, we've talked about press conferences a lot last year. Press conferences don't matter. If you're winning games, they don't matter at all. People pay attention to press conferences when you're losing. But he was better with us this spring. There was no doubt about it with the media. That tells me he did some self-reflection or someone told him, why are you picking fights with those guys? You don't need that. That probably means he got advice in other areas as well. I think press conferences are a window into a coach in other areas that are much more important. Did he sit down with some of his mentors this offseason and go over the things that he can improve on? It felt like it. It felt like he did. Again, I just think you need to see competency, Ryan. And I think you'll know it when you see it. It's hard to define, but you'll know it. If the Jets have the lead for more than 66 games this season, if the Jets get turnovers, if their leading receiver plays more than seven games, all this crazy crap you could pick out about last year, they just need to be a more normal football team. And if those things happen, I do think they can win that 6-8 range. They can win some football games. All right. Their schedule is not terrible. It starts off brutal, but then it gets... It starts off brutal. Yeah, the NFL did them no favors, like I've said before. The NFL could have done them some favors with the way that they started the season. But overall, if you look at it in totality, it's not the hardest schedule you've ever seen. No, it has its peaks and valleys, I would say, in terms of strengths and weaknesses and where you're going to be and who you're playing. And this is obviously all projections and what you think of these teams that they're going to be going against. Last thing for me, Kaz. Should I be concerned about the kicker position going into this season? Yes. I mean, look, I think Sanders is a good kicker. I probably need to look into this more. It happened at the end of the spring, why the Giants let him go. That's weird to me, right? Because we know the Giants need a kicker, too. They just have some rookies. But yeah, if he's right, I mean, you've seen it as a Jets fan watching. He's beaten the Jets off as a Dolphins kicker before. He's had some good games. So he might be the answer. And look, they didn't find Nick Folk last year in August. He came in during training camp. So it can be done. But that move is the one move this offseason does not sit well with me, Ryan. If they let Nick Folk leave in free agency, I would have done everything I could to keep him here. And I would hear the Jets say, oh, he wanted to go to Atlanta. He wanted to kick indoors. He wanted to be closer to home. But I don't know. I think you would have been able to keep him if you really wanted to and pointed out the money. So yeah, I would be scared about kicker. Special teams was the strength of this team last year. And obviously, a lot of that, like you said, was due to Nick Folk being so solid as a kicker. But it's definitely a position to pay attention to. And especially when Kaz tweets out that this kicker is 0-3 in field goals during practice. But look, Kaz, we appreciate you obviously hopping on here for our Jets training camp preview here in Gainesville here. Do you want the stats, Ryan? Do you want the stats? Are you a stats guy in training camp? For the kickers, yes, because I think that's important. How about the quarterback? I don't think. I mean, I'll pay attention, obviously, and be like, all right, Gino was two for 10 and seven on seven. That's not great. But if there's like three interceptions in a practice, yeah, I'd be a little concerned with what's going on there. But if Kate Klubnick is lightening it up, that's the opposite, right? Like Klubnick versus the twos, he's got four touchdowns today. And it's like, oh my God, the Jets found a real backup quarterback. Here's my tricky thing with the stats, right? I loathe training camp and the stats to be perfectly honest. Do you loathe that more or preseason games? Different issues. Preseason games are more about just sitting there. There's no context, Ryan, right? Like I laugh when people tweet out like, oh, he had four touchdowns. Yeah, guess what they were working on today? Red zone. They were all, if there were four touchdown passes on 10 plays inside the 20, like, yeah. Or, oh, he had three interceptions. Well, that period was third ball. Like I've told coaches this before, because some of them get mad about this stuff. And I'm like, we don't know what we're watching because we don't have the script. And I've had, there's been previous Jets coaches, they would send me the script before practice. And it was so helpful because you knew exactly what they're working on. And Aaron Glenn did it in the spring one day. He told us, he goes, we're working on third and seven and longer today. And it was like, okay, now you have context. Oh, Gino forced that throw down the field. Well, guess what? It was third and 10. Yep, couldn't check it down. Yeah, he couldn't check it down or anything like that. So you're like, so the context, we don't always have the context. And that's what drives me crazy sometimes with the training camp. I get it. I do it. I've done it. Especially if there's a quarterback competition, you have to do it. I understand that. Because then they're kind of uneven playing around. But for Gino, I'm not sure training camp stats are going to matter. Cade Klubnick is going to be the guy. But yeah, I struggle with the training camp stats sometimes. Yeah, it's tough. And then obviously people are going to be digesting where the ball is going during training camp, meaning who's getting the most targets. Oh man, Omar Cooper went off today. He had four catches. He was out targeting Adnan Mitchell and Garrett Wilson today. Or hey, Kenyan Sadiq got five targets today in practice. So again, it's all about the game script. It's all about where they are practicing and what they're practicing. I know that there's tough situations because the Jets are very restrictive on the information and how the flow of information is getting out there. So all we can do here is talk about it, talk with our friend Kaz here. Well, this year and this year with the limited number of open practices, there's not going to be much video out there. I mean, look, I'm trying to hype up the season, but it's hard when the team is being... Obviously it's under construction. It's a different year. It's a different thing. But you could also say this team is also under construction as a roster as well. So we're trying to figure it out, right? We're trying to figure out for 2027. Kaz, you're the man. Thank you as always for hopping on here. We're looking forward to your coverage as rookies report in three days and veterans a couple of days after that. And rock and roll, man. Football starts next week. Can't wait. Yep, let's go. I'll be tweeting out the seven on seven stats, Ryan, just for you. Thank you, Kaz. We appreciate you, man.