It only took one game for Jets fans to crown a new preseason darling

Every August, New York Jets fans inevitably latch onto one unexpected name — a preseason darling who becomes the beacon of optimism and the focus of a little summer overreaction. This year, it took just one game for that spotlight to fall on Jay Tufele.

Tufele dominated in the Jets' 30-10 win over the Green Bay Packers in Saturday's preseason opener, finishing the game with 1.5 sacks, a TFL, two QB hits, and a fumble recovery in the end zone for a touchdown.

The latter of which came with a little over seven minutes remaining in the second quarter when fellow defensive tackle Leonard Taylor III strip-sacked Packers QB Malik Willis in the end zone. Tufele was the beneficiary, pouncing on the loose ball for a defensive score.

After celebrating with his teammates, Tufele ran the ball to head coach Aaron Glenn on the sideline, handed it to him, and the two shared a hug. That simple gesture instantly endeared him even more to Jets fans.

Jets fans on social media wasted little time crowning Tufele as their new preseason darling.

Jay Tufele has cemented himself as the Jets' new preseason darling

A fourth-round pick of the Jaguars in 2021, Tufele lasted just one year in Jacksonville, appearing in four games before he was waived the following summer. He caught on with the Cincinnati Bengals, where he'd go on to become a semi-regular rotational defensive tackle.

Tufele appeared in 30 games over the last three years with the Bengals, playing a career-high 243 defensive snaps (29%) in 2024. That said, he's never exactly established himself as a quality rotational lineman.

The USC product finished with an abysmal 44.4 Pro Football Focus grade last season, one year after posting a 47.8 PFF grade. He's graded out particularly poorly as a run defender, although calling him a pass-rush specialist would be misleading.

Tufele has a grand total of 10 career pressures on 237 pass-rush reps. That's a stunningly low 4% pressure rate, which would rank dead-last among qualified defensive tackles in 2024.

Regardless, the Jets took a flier on Tufele, hoping that there was still some untapped potential left in the newly turned 26-year-old. Saturday's preseason opener suggests they might've been on to something.

Tufele recorded three pressures on just 11 pass-rush snaps on Saturday despite finishing the 2024 season with four total pressures on nearly 120 pass-rush reps. His 90.5 PFF pass-rush grade was the fourth-highest among all interior defensive linemen in the NFL this weekend.

Tufele is competing for reps in a wide-open defensive tackle room that, beyond Quinnen Williams, lacks proven commodities. He’s battling alongside Byron Cowart, Derrick Nnadi, the aforementioned Leonard Taylor III, Phidarian Mathis, and undrafted rookies Payton Page and Fatorma Mulbah.

The former Bengals defensive lineman wasn't even guaranteed a roster spot entering the summer, but he certainly made a strong case for himself on Saturday. And in the process, he cemented himself as Jets fans’ new summer favorite.

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