5 most intriguing NY Jets position battles to watch this summer

The attention will be on the NY Jets this summer as they are thrust into the national spotlight on HBO's "Hard Knocks" for the first time in 13 years.

While much of that attention will be focused on star players like Aaron Rodgers and Sauce Gardner, those players aren't what training camp and the preseason are all about.

The NFL summer is about position battles. It's about players vying for starting jobs and bottom-of-the-roster guys looking to solidify a role on the team. That's what is most interesting about the summer.

With that, let's take a look at five of the most intriguing position battles on the Jets' roster this summer.

5. NY Jets third linebacker

The Jets re-signed Quincy Williams this offseason, and he will join C.J. Mosley as the team's expected starting nickel linebacker duo. The battle for the third linebacker spot isn't as settled, however.

That role was filled by veteran Kwon Alexander last season. Alexander played 49 percent of the Jets' defensive snaps and was arguably the team's second-best linebacker behind Mosley.

The former Pro Bowler remains a free agent, and unless the Jets re-sign him, the odds-on favorite to take over his role is former fifth-round pick Jamien Sherwood. The Jets are high on Sherwood and seem to believe he can take on a larger role this season.

Others in the mix are Hamsah Nasirildeen, rookie Zaire Barnes, and Chazz Surratt, but the assumption is that it's Sherwood's job to lose. Even if the Jets don't re-sign Alexander, this is a position battle to watch this summer.