3 under-the-radar Jets you aren’t paying attention to (but probably should)

The New York Jets enter 2025 with several notable names that demand all the public headlines. They also have some guys who have sparked considerable internal chatter as well, but there are a few players on the roster that no one is talking about much at all, who stand to significantly impact the Jets' upcoming season.

You probably won’t recognize these names at first, and that’s the point. We tend to focus on starters, maybe go one deep into the depth chart, and overlook the rest. But injuries happen. Every year, fringe players are called into major roles, and those forgotten names suddenly matter.

This applies to all sports, but especially football, where every snap involves 300-pound athletes colliding at 20 miles per hour, wrapped in polycarbonate shields. Every NFL play is, quite literally, a car crash in motion.

So, yeah, get to know some of these backups. We'll take a look at three, in no specific order, that stand a particularly high chance of being relied on for real productivity. For better or worse, they might matter — a lot.

1. Jamin Davis, LB, NY Jets

Thanks to a defense that has featured a ton of two-linebacker sets over the past few years, fans have grown quite comfortable with relying on Quincy Williams and Jamien Sherwood to hold down the middle of the field

But Robert Saleh isn't here anymore, and there are no guarantees that the pair of linebackers will remain in good health. Someone else, eventually, has to provide some additional support.

Enter Jamin Davis, the linebacker the Jets claimed off waivers in December. It’s still unclear how Aaron Glenn plans to structure his defense, but if he sticks with his usual 4-3 base, the team will need a third linebacker on the field regularly. The problem is there's no obvious candidate for that role right now.

One could suggest that rookie fifth-round pick Francisco Mauigoa could take on that role. Or maybe former sixth-round pick Zaire Barnes shocks everyone and turns into a serious player for the defense. But more than likely, the Jets will need to rely on an experienced third linebacker as opposed to one who has yet to play in an NFL game.

Davis, a former first-round pick out of Kentucky, had a rocky 2024. After three up-and-down seasons to open his career for Washington, he was released last April.

Davis would eventually sign on with the Minnesota Vikings for four more games before being cut in late December. Despite this tough stretch, Davis has had a respectable career so far.

In his first three seasons, Davis averaged 90 combined tackles per year, along with seven sacks and 20 tackles for loss. He still has something to prove in 2025, but there’s reason to believe he could be a legitimate contributor.

If he earns a starting role early on, we’ll quickly find out if he still has the chops to handle full-time snaps, and the key is, the Jets might actually need him to.

2. Tyler Johnson, WR, NY Jets

By this point, it has been made crystal clear that the Jets do not have a very good receiving corps. There's no debating it — they are just plain bad. Behind Garrett Wilson, it's nearly impossible to predict who the team's WR2, WR3, and WR4 will be.

You have Allen Lazard, the much-maligned Aaron Rodgers holdover, who has been an abject failure as a Jet. There is also a new free-agent acquisition, Josh Reynolds, who is coming off an unfortunate year. And then there's Arian Smith, the high-upside speedster out of Georgia, who struggles with drops and has never stepped foot on a pro field.

None of those inspire a ton of confidence, so it's anyone's bet for who becomes Justin Fields' most frequent target. With such a wide open competition, there is one new addition that received little fanfare who may be able to carve out a very crucial role for himself.

It's entirely possible that his talent ceiling has already been spoken for him, but it's also just as possible that he is still a good pass catcher who simply needed a consistent opportunity.

He kicked off his career with 48 receptions and 530 yards in two seasons with the Bucs. He also played a key role for Tampa in the playoffs during their 2021 Super Bowl run.

Johnson has spent the past three seasons bouncing from the Texans to the Rams. He has only started two games during that span, hauling in 28 catches in total and scoring just one touchdown.

No one is paying much attention to him, and for good reason. Johnson hasn’t done nearly enough in recent years to warrant much buzz. On top of that, there are louder, more high-profile narratives tied to others in the receiver room.

Reynolds is seen as the more reliable option with a likable story, Lazard has become a lightning rod for lingering frustration from the Rodgers era, and Smith is an electric rookie who fans are eager to see in action.

A mediocre receiver who's only played sparingly the past two seasons won't make for Monday morning water cooler conversations at work. But unless Smith turns out to be a terrific pro receiver fast, Johnson should have every chance to supplant Lazard and/or Reynolds in the receiver hierarchy.

Even if Reynolds and Lazard remain ahead of him, your fourth and fifth receivers still make an impact. Pay attention to Johnson in 2025. His range of outcomes starts at abject failure and ends at a quality No. 2 receiver. Regardless of whether it's Johnson or someone else, Fields will need more help than just Garrett Wilson.

3. Qwan'tez Stiggers, CB, NY Jets

Speaking of easy stories to root for, Qwan'tez Stiggers, who never played a snap of college football, is quietly penciled in as one of the Jets' top backup outside cornerbacks.

While Sauce Gardner and Brandon Stephens handle the starting gigs, and Michael Carter II and Isaiah Oliver man the slot, Stiggers waits on deck for any opportunity to slide right in.

The reason he didn't play college football will pull at your heartstrings. His brother suffered near-paralyzing injuries playing football, which was followed by the passing of his father due to a car accident. This all led to Stiggers ultimately dropping out of Division II Lane College to provide for his family.

One of 13 children, the odds were stacked against him. But after two years out of football, Stiggers signed on with the Fan Controlled Football League before being spotted by the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.

After one year in the CFL, he was drafted 176th overall by New York. Now, he is in the NFL, sitting behind Gardner and Stephens in the Jets' secondary. The only other outside corner who appears to have a shot at competing for his place is rookie Azareye'h Thomas out of Florida State.

I wrote back in May that Thomas has a great chance to land the top backup boundary corner role, but that's simply because Stiggers is also largely unproven. Stiggers appeared in 14 games as a rookie, making one start.

In that one start, Stiggers held his own. He’s still a work in progress, but it’s clear he belongs at the NFL level. One injury (knock on wood) could push him into a starting role. While he won’t be replacing Sauce Gardner anytime soon, a strong offseason could put him in position to steal snaps from newcomer Brandon Stephens.

Whether it's due to injuries, a need for depth, or a desire for defensive creativity, there is no possible scenario in which two outside corners are enough. A third cornerback must step up, and there's no reason that guy won't be the former CFL standout.

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