Jowon Briggs gave Jets' depth chart a wake-up call in Week 2 showing

The New York Jets have plenty of people to assign blame to after choking away a win during the team's 20-17 loss against the Green Bay Packers in Week 2. The defense is largely exempt, as it limited an explosive offense to 20 points and under 200 yards on the back of strong showings from players like Jowon Briggs.

Briggs, who was acquired for a late-round pick swap with the Cleveland Browns, has been relegated to a backup role in 2026 despite emerging as a tremendous performer last season. Briggs was able to get into the lineup after free agent addition David Onyemata left with an injury, and he made the most of his opportunity.

Briggs was the Jets' highest-graded defensive player in Week 2 by Pro Football Focus, as he took down Jordan Love and held his own as a run defender. When Onyemata comes back, Briggs should not leave the starting lineup.

Jowon Briggs must keep starting for the New York Jets after Week 2

Aaron Glenn is hell-bent on stopping the run, as he decided to sign Onyemata, trade for a pure nose tackle in T'Vondre Sweat, and retain veteran Harrison Phillips. After holding both Green Bay and the Tennessee Titans in Week 1 to under 70 yards rushing each, Glenn is making good on that organizational directive.

However, the pass rush on the interior is lacking. Onyemata, for all his positives, is not what he was as a disruptor. Sweat is never going to pile up the sacks due to his role, and Phillips offers next to nothing. On a team without Joseph Ossai due to injury, it may not be the best course of action to always deploy units that are so easily neutralized on passing downs.

It would be one thing if Briggs were a Robert Saleh-type defensive tackle who can penetrate upfield, yet struggles against the run. However, Briggs' PFF run defense grade ranks 22nd out of 107 qualified tackles in the league. There is no reason he and fourth-round rookie Darrell Jackson Jr. should be playing an equal number of snaps.

Jowon Briggs can help the New York Jets' pass rush

The Jets' pass rush is already much better than it was last year, but it is far from an above-average unit. No. 2 pick David Bailey has two sacks, but the splash plays overshadow some up-and-down impact on a per-snap basis. Ossai hasn't played yet, and Will McDonald is doing his usual "dominate one game, do nothing for a month, repeat" cycle.

Briggs doesn't have to be John Randle as far as piling up the sacks, but he demands more than what he's received so far. Briggs is both a player evaluation win for Darren Mougey after finding him on the margins and a development win for Aaron Glenn after overseeing his breakout. One would think that the confluence of those two trends would lead to him getting a bigger role.

While Phillips brings a ton to the table as a run-stuffer and veteran leader, he may be the one who needs to cede a chunk of his snaps to Briggs once Onyemata returns to full health. The Jets appear to have concocted a unit that can do some damage this season, but they might not be able to take that next step if they leave a weapon like Briggs on ice.

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