Should the Jets be concerned about projected starters' preseason struggles?

The New York Jets have had several standouts throughout the preseason, according to Pro Football Focus, with at least a dozen players recording grades of over 80+ in their most recent outing against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

That doesn't mean there haven't been some stragglers, though, and The Jet Press's own Justin Fried pointed out that a projected starter has been the Jets' worst player throughout the preseason, and that's defensive lineman David Onyemata.

"Of note: David Onyemata is currently PFF’s lowest-graded Jets player this preseason (29.8). Lower than Paschal Ekeji who had never played a professional football game until this summer. Small sample size sure, but something to monitor."

Onyemata was brought in this past spring on a one-year, $10.5 million contract to be one of New York's starters up front. Is it time to be concerned about his on-field production, or can it be written off as a preseason outlier?

Reason to be concerned about David Onyemata's struggles during the New York Jets preseason?

Onyemata's fall from grace is an interesting one, to say the least. Last season, he was one of the league's best run defenders with the Atlanta Falcons, grading out as PFF's eighth-best defensive tackle with an overall grade of 78.2 and a run-defense grade of 74.3.

He's supposed to be one of the leading contributors to help turn around New York's poor run defense, which was one of the worst in the NFL in 2025. The Jets gave up 139.5 rushing yards per game, good for fourth-worst in the league.

Luckily, if Onyemata's struggles persist into the regular season, there are plenty of alternatives the Jets can turn to in their incredibly deep rotation of defensive linemen.

Another offseason acquisition, T'Vondre Sweat, has yet to make his preseason debut for New York as he was nursing a hamstring injury to start training camp.

Onyemata has been on the field with the starters throughout the Jets' first two preseason games, but that could be Sweat's spot once the real games begin.

Of course, there's also 2025 breakout defensive tackle Jowon Briggs, who could be another option on the interior. He isn't as talented as a run-stuffer, but has serious pass-rush chops. The former Cleveland Brown was PFF's fourth-highest-graded pass-rushing defensive lineman with a grade of 85.6.

All this to say, the Jets shouldn't sweat Onyemata's preseason struggles. If those shortcomings persist into the regular season, they have plenty of other options to turn to and/or give more reps if the veterans' decline continues.

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