Unexpected Jets breakout star already looks like a franchise building block

The New York Jets’ 2025 season has been defined by disappointment and far more questions than answers. Genuine positives have unfortunately been hard to come by. But amid the wreckage, one development has been impossible to ignore.

Jowon Briggs has emerged as a legitimate difference-maker up front. At this point, it wouldn’t be hyperbole to call him one of the best players on the entire roster — and, based on his 2025 performance, one of the better defensive tackles in the NFL.

You never want to get too far ahead of yourself with breakout players on bad teams, but this isn’t empty production or meaningless late-season stat-stuffing.

Briggs has been awesome, and at this point, it’s fair to say he’s been playing like one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL. He’s arguably a top-two or top-three player on the Jets’ current roster, full stop.

Jowon Briggs has become a franchise building block for the Jets

The Jets acquired Briggs from the Cleveland Browns just before the season in a swap of 2026 Day 3 picks, sending a sixth-rounder in exchange for Briggs and a seventh. On the same day, the Jets also traded for veteran Harrison Phillips in an effort to stabilize a defensive tackle room that had underwhelmed all summer.

Phillips was the headliner. Meanwhile, Briggs was mostly an afterthought, as a low-risk depth add from a crowded Browns defensive line. That perception didn’t last long.

A seventh-round pick out of Cincinnati in 2024, Briggs had flashed briefly in limited opportunities with Cleveland, and the Jets clearly believed there was more there. Since earning an expanded role, especially after the midseason trade of Quinnen Williams, Briggs has taken off.

Briggs added four more pressures, a sack, and a stellar 86.1 Pro Football Focus grade in Week 16. On the season, he amazingly ranks top-20 among all interior defensive linemen in total pressures, second in pressure rate, and top-10 in PFF's Pass Rush Productivity.

Since Week 10, Briggs is fifth in total pressures and second in PFF pass-rush grade (90.0), trailing only Chris Jones. That’s elite company. Even more impressive is how unexpected this pass-rush production has been.

Briggs was viewed as more of a run-stuffer with some unrefined pass-rush traits at the time of the trade. Instead, he’s become one of the league’s most effective interior pass rushers while still more than holding his own against the run alongside Phillips.

At just 24 years old, Briggs is an exclusive-rights free agent this offseason and under team control for the next two years on a dirt-cheap contract. He's been one of the lone bright spots in an otherwise dismal season.

It’s always wise to remain cautious with breakouts like this, but it’s also impossible to ignore what Jowon Briggs has already become. He's one of the best players on the Jets roster and a clear building block moving forward.