Jowon Briggs might be the Jets' best-kept secret entering 2026

There weren't many reasons to feel optimistic about the future of the New York Jets franchise following a miserable 2025 season, but the surprise emergence of defensive tackle Jowon Briggs was certainly one of them.

Day 33 of your 2026 Jets Camp Countdown belongs to the Cincinnati Crusher, the Steal of the Summer, a man who plays 12 different musical instruments, and a former member of a college a cappella group called the Hullabahoos (look it up!)...it's Jowon Briggs.

The Jets acquired Briggs from the Cleveland Browns before the season in a low-profile swap of a sixth- and seventh-round picks. By the end of the year, he had developed into one of the best defensive players on the roster and one of the better young defensive tackles in the entire NFL.

But how real was his 2025 breakout? What should Jets fans expect from him this season?

1. Where Jowon Briggs stands entering Jets training camp
2. Why Jowon Briggs earned believers in 2025
3. What would make 2026 a success for Jowon Briggs
4. Recent 2026 Camp Countdown Breakdowns

Where Jowon Briggs stands entering Jets training camp

Briggs enters training camp in a very different position than he did a year ago. For starters, he'll actually have the benefit of a full summer with his new team.

The Jets originally brought him in to be a rotational defensive tackle. He opened the season playing just 37 percent of the team's defensive snaps through the first eight games, showing flashes as a depth piece.

But when the Jets traded Quinnen Williams, they needed someone to take on a larger workload at the position. Briggs stepped into that role and never looked back. His snap share jumped to 64.6 percent over the final nine games of the season, but his production and efficiency didn't decline.

In fact, it honestly improved. The Jets likely now view Briggs as one of the most important players on a defensive line that underwent significant changes this offseason, adding the likes of T'Vondre Sweat and David Onyemata.

RELATED: Your guide to every player on the 2026 Jets roster

Why Jowon Briggs earned believers in 2025

Briggs finished the 2025 season with an 85.6 Pro Football Focus pass-rush grade, ranking third among all qualified interior defensive linemen. Only Chris Jones and Jeffery Simmons finished higher.

His production became even more impressive following the Williams trade. Over the final nine games of the season, Briggs ranked second among qualified defensive tackles in pass-rush grade, third in pass-rush win rate, seventh in total pressures, and sixth in pressure rate.

And remember, Briggs wasn't exactly benefiting from a loaded defensive line around him. Outside of Briggs and the production Williams provided before his departure, the rest of the Jets' defensive tackle room combined for just 1.5 sacks and two quarterback hits all season.

Opposing offenses knew where the threat was coming from, and Briggs still found ways to disrupt games. Again, he was genuinely a top-five player on the roster last season, and even that might be underselling him.

Perhaps the most surprising part of his breakout is that pass rushing wasn't supposed to be his calling card. Scouts viewed Briggs as more of a run defender entering the league. He was still effective in that area too, finishing with 25 run stops and only three missed tackles while posting an above-average run-stop rate.

That's why this feels like more than a random one-year spike in production. Briggs is legit.

What would make 2026 a success for Jowon Briggs

The next step for Briggs is proving that 2025 wasn't an outlier and that he can continue to thrive, even with a better supporting cast around him. Essentially, he wants to prove he wasn't just a big fish in a small, struggling pond.

After all, Jets fans know better than most that not every breakout season on a losing team is what it appears to be. Remember the Blessuan Austin hype? Remember when Bryce Hall looked like a defensive cornerstone? Chris Herndon was once viewed as a potential offensive building block.

Evaluating those players became difficult because the line between legitimate building block and bright spot on a bad team wasn't always clear. Briggs enters 2026 facing a similar question, although the evidence supporting his breakout is considerably stronger than many of his predecessors.

If Briggs continues generating pressure from the interior, handles an even larger workload, and cements himself as one of the cornerstones of the Jets' defensive front, the organization should feel very good about where it stands at the defensive tackle position.

A year ago, Briggs was little more than a low-cost flyer with developmental upside. A former seventh-round pick who was flown in just weeks before the start of the season to provide reinforcements to a Jets defensive tackle room that desperately needed warm bodies. Expectations were minimal.

Today, he enters training camp as one of the most important players on the Jets' defense. If he comes close to matching what he accomplished in 2025, the trade that brought him to New York will undoubtedly go down as one of Darren Mougey's best moves.

Recent 2026 Camp Countdown Breakdowns

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