4 NY Jets players who could get cut after 2023 NFL Draft

The NY Jets are looking to plug a number of roster holes in the 2023 NFL Draft. While it might be difficult to duplicate the success of last year's class, the Jets still can do some damage in this year's draft.

They'll have to as well, with quite a few needs remaining on the team. The Jets can still look to late free agency to address some of their remaining holes, but the 2023 NFL Draft offers a better and cheaper alternative to fill out the roster.

The more players the Jets bring in, however, the more they might have to part ways with. There are a few players on the roster who could see their roles diminish, if not completely disappear, as a result of moves the Jets make in the draft.

The following four players aren't necessarily likely to be released, but it's a possibility if things shake out a certain way in the draft.

4. Denzel Mims, WR, NY Jets

It's been a rocky three years for Denzel Mims with the Jets. Following a promising rookie season, Mims found himself in the doghouse of the new coaching staff and has fallen completely out of the offensive equation.

Some benchings and a trade request later, Mims enters the draft as the fifth wide receiver on the Jets' depth chart. Corey Davis' future remains uncertain, but it's at least possible that the Jets choose to retain him.

If the Jets keep Davis and draft another wide receiver at some point, it would probably make sense to part ways with Mims. Instead of straight-up cutting him, finding a trade partner would make the most sense.

Either way, Mims' roster status is in jeopardy if the Jets add a wide receiver in the draft. Releasing/trading Mims would save the Jets $1.4 million in much-needed cap space.

3. Ashtyn Davis, S, NY Jets

The Jets already addressed their safety room this offseason when they went out and traded for former Baltimore Ravens locker-room leader Chuck Clark. They might not be done, however.

Clark is projected to slot in alongside Jordan Whitehead as one of the Jets' starting safeties, although both players share similar skill sets. The Jets don't really have a true free safety on their roster.

This year's safety class is relatively weak, but there could be some value in the middle/later rounds. It's very possible that the Jets take a swing on a more typical free safety prospect in the draft.

If that happens, one player who could find themselves as the odd man out is Ashtyn Davis. The Jets are high on Tony Adams, while Will Parks is a valuable special-teams contributor and locker-room leader.

Davis is entering the final year of his rookie contract and the Jets could save nearly $3 million by trading/releasing him. That's something I definitely expect the Jets to explore if they add a safety in the draft.

Davis has fallen short of expectations since being drafted in the third round back in 2020. At this stage, he's little more than an athletic special teamer and sub-package safety who will play a handful of snaps a season.

The Jets already have competent safety depth and could use the money. Davis might not be long for the roster if the Jets draft a safety.

2. Corey Davis, WR, NY Jets

Most would not have expected Corey Davis to still be on the Jets' roster in late April, but here we are. Davis was widely expected to be a cap casualty entering the offseason, so much so that he wasn't really included in most conversations surrounding the Jets' wide receiver situation.

The expectation when the Jets signed Allen Lazard was that the former Green Bay Packers wideout would be Davis' direct replacement. Despite this, it seems as though there's a real possibility that Davis is on the Week 1 roster in 2023.

It's far from a guarantee, however. The Jets' draft-day decisions could impact his roster status.

The first and most obvious draft-day move involving Davis would be for him to simply be included in the Aaron Rodgers trade. This has long been a rumored outcome as the Packers are looking for veteran wide receiver depth.

If Davis isn't included in the trade, however, that doesn't necessarily mean he's sticking around. What if the Jets draft a wide receiver on Day 1 or Day 2? That would give the team a very crowded wide receiver room.

As it stands, a top four of Garrett Wilson, Lazard, Davis, and Mecole Hardman is already a lot of mouths to feed, and that's not even including Breece Hall, Tyler Conklin, and C.J. Uzomah.

Adding another top-50 draft pick to that room would almost certainly spell the end of Davis' time with the Jets. It's very possible that the Jets are holding onto Davis either to include him in the Rodgers deal or as insurance in case they can't land the player they want in the draft.

Seeing as though trading/releasing Davis would more than double the Jets' current cap space, it still seems like a very logical outcome.

1. Jordan Whitehead, S, NY Jets

Ashtyn Davis isn't the only Jets safety whose roster status could be in jeopardy after the 2023 NFL Draft. The addition of Chuck Clark was a savvy one, and it's impossible to argue the value the Jets got in that trade.

However, it is fair to question his fit alongside Whitehead in the Jets' defense. Both Clark and Whitehead are at their best near the line of scrimmage as prototypical box safeties.

Clark is an excellent tackler and likely an above-average starting strong safety. That's kind of what the Jets hoped they would get from Whitehead last season. Unfortunately, Whitehead's first year in New York was a bit of a disappointment.

Among safeties to play at least 1,000 total snaps, Whitehead's 15.6 percent missed tackle rate was tied for fourth-worst in the NFL. Compare that to Clark, who missed just 6.4 percent of his tackles — one of the best rates in the league.

The Jets seem to hope that Whitehead will be better in his second year in the scheme, and the safe bet is to assume he is a Week 1 starter in 2023, but it's not a lock.

Say the Jets are really high on someone like Brian Branch and target him in the first round, perhaps as part of a trade-down. Releasing Whitehead would save the Jets $7.25 million in cap space. That's some serious savings.

If the Jets land a safety they feel comfortable starting on day one, it's very feasible that they could move on from Whitehead after the draft.

I'd bet on Whitehead and Clark being the Jets' starting safeties come Week 1, but it's not out of the question that the former could be released if the team finds a suitable replacement.