3 Winners and 3 Losers from Jets Minicamp

New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn speaks at a press conference during minicamp at Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. | John Jones-Imagn Images

With the New York Jets cancelling the final day of offseason workouts on Thursday, summer vacation has begun in Florham Park. Gang Green has sent players, scouts, coaches, and executives home for the next month to reset.

Now, as the NFL world grows restless for the next 30 days, it's time to break down who stood out and who struggled throughout the offseason workout period.

As always, it's important to remember that just because a player looked good during this time, or struggled, it does not mean they are a lost cause or due for a breakout campaign. A lot can happen over the next two months.

This is just a good barometer of where some players are at compared to others.

Winner - Adonai Mitchell

No one, and I truly mean no one, on the Jets helped their cause more than AD Mitchell this offseason. Despite the Jets drafting Omar Cooper Jr. in the first round of April's draft, the team has seen a relaxed and focused Mitchell in his first offseason with the team.

Acrobatic catches, excellently-run routes, and the kind of speed that will turn heads are all key parts of what Mitchell has shown over the last month of work. At times, Mitchell's consistency and chemistry with Geno Smith were even better than Garrett Wilson's.

Will that continue into the regular season? Absolutely not. It's a safe bet to assume the Jets will do more to get Wilson open than Mitchell.

That being said, no one can deny he was a big winner throughout offseason workouts.

Loser - Mason Taylor

New York Jets tight end Mason Taylor (85) runs with the ball against Miami Dolphins cornerback Rasul Douglas (26) during the second half at MetLife Stadium. | Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

While Mitchell was easily the best player for the Jets to stand out, the biggest disappointment to this point has been former second-round pick Mason Taylor. The LSU product watched the Jets draft another tight end in the first round with Kenyon Sadiq in April.

Instead of standing out and showing he belongs as the top tight end on the roster, Taylor has made very little impact, even dropping an open touchdown pass on the final day of minicamp practices from Smith on Wednesday.

There's a long way to go before the season starts, and Sadiq will need time to get acclimated to the Jets' offense.

But the fact Taylor was unable to stand out cannot be a good sign for his chances of a breakout on his own accord this season.

Winner - Nahshon Wright

Before OTAs, it felt like the Jets were very comfortable allowing Nahshon Wright, a free agent pickup from Chicago, to battle it out for the starting cornerback job against AZ Thomas. With workouts over, though, one thing is clear.

Wright is the best cornerback on the Jets.

His long arms and tall frame made him blanket even New York's better receivers throughout camp and showed his anticipation multiple times over the last few weeks. For a Pro Bowl player coming off a five-interception season, it's obvious Wright is eager to prove his last year wasn't a fluke.

That being said, the cornerback position battle on the outside already feels over barring an injury.

Loser - Malachi Moore

New York Jets safety Malachi Moore (27) at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

It hasn't been a good minicamp for much of New York's second-year players. We've already gone over the struggles for Mason Taylor and Thomas. But the biggest drop-off has probably been Moore. The Alabama product started late in the year and was decent on a bad unit.

Last season, Moore had 101 combined tackles, three tackles for loss, three pass deflections, and a forced fumble across 17 games (14 starts).

This year, the Jets brought in talented individuals (Minkah Fitzpatrick, Dane Belton) to boost the safety room. And by doing so, it feels like Moore has become an afterthought.

Even more alarming has been the obvious fact that he hasn't made any standout plays like Wright, Fitzpatrick, or Belton have. If Moore wants to play this season at all, he'll need a big training camp run.

Winner - Aaron Glenn

New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn during the second quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium. | Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

It felt like the entire offseason had been all about Aaron Glenn rebuilding his image across the NFL and in front of Jets fans. There weren't any open promises made about being a team that the fanbase could be proud of, or walking back to where the team currently was.

This offseason has been all about playing football and learning from last season's mistakes. Glenn, to his credit, has done a good job of keeping the Jets prepared for training camp, while allowing each player to learn from the new coaching staff. He's done a solid job reshaping his image to Jets fans.

Does this mean the Jets are going to win in 2026? Of course not. While Glenn is learning from mistakes made in the offseason, the true test will be when games actually start.

And we won't get an inidcation on that for a few more months.

Loser - Players in position battles

The biggest position battles for the Jets this offseason were at backup quarterback, kicker, linebacker, and receiver. Thankfully, a good amount of the starting lineup is already set, giving fans one less thing to worry about.

But after a month, there are few answers for the Jets to go with at those very positions. New York has already used five kickers during the offseason workout period. They didn't get impressive work from any backup signal-caller, and outside Isaiah Williams, there weren't many standouts at receiver either.

It was up to the players to prove the team did not need to go into the free-agent market during training camp to solve some of the issues they are working through. But that wasn't done.

Instead, it seems like the Jets will keep an eye on free agents and the waiver wire during cutdown day to see where they need to address some of the more pressing needs going forward.