Jets have a budding star in Azareye’h Thomas and the numbers prove it

It wasn't all that long ago that the New York Jets were facing some major questions about their secondary. After trading away Sauce Gardner at last year's trade deadline, they put a lot of faith in veteran Brandon Stephens and 2025 third-round draft pick Azareye’h Thomas.

So far, that bet looks like it's paying off. Not only has Stephens been holding up in coverage, but Thomas has started to develop into a really nice boundary cornerback for the Jets. He's still young, and there's plenty of time for the Florida State product to keep getting better, but New York may just have a budding star on their hands.

This past Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, Aaron Glenn dialed up an aggressive, blitz-heavy game plan to slow down a team that was riding high on a three-game winning streak. It paid off, thanks in large part to the Jets' defensive backs holding things down in man coverage.

Thomas in particular flashed, and it should inspire confidence in fans that the latest Jets cornerback to wear No. 1 is only going to get better as he continues his development.

Azareye’h Thomas looks like a budding star for the New York Jets

The Jet Press' Justin Fried shared some of Thomas' numbers from his Week 5 outing against Cleveland, and the second-year cornerback may have just had his best outing as a pro.

"Azareye’h Thomas currently has PFF’s 6th-highest coverage grade (74.4) through 5 weeks (min. 125 cov snaps). Another excellent week for Thomas in Week 5, allowing 2 catches for 28 yards on 5 targets. Also recorded 2 PBUs."

Fried also added that Thomas is tied for fourth among cornerbacks this season with total pass breakups and forced incompletions, and has yet to give up a completion longer than 20 yards.

Glenn and defensive backs coach Chris Harris deserve a lot of credit for the work they've done with the 22-year-old cornerback, and his progress is something that should be praised.

Darren Mougey's 2025 draft class looks a lot better thanks to Azareye’h Thomas

Before Thomas established himself as one of the team's starters, it was starting to look like Darren Mougey's 2025 draft class was starting to look like a bit of a waste, outside of right tackle Armand Membou, of course.

Second-round pick Mason Taylor has been a bit underwhelming, and nearly all of the Day 3 draft picks were fighting for their roster spots this past summer, but with Thomas developing into a key starter, the outlook seems brighter.

It's still not a great inaugural draft class for Mougey, but it's looking just the slightest bit better thanks to Thomas.

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