5 Jets Position Battles to Watch Once Veterans Report to Training Camp

These positions will be under the spotlight once New York's veterans join their rookie counterparts on Tuesday.

Second-year TE Mason Taylor will be in the middle of one of the Jets' training camp battles. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Coming off a three-win season last year, the Jets know much has to change this season if many of their current players and coaches are going to remain beyond the 2026 campaign.

The best way to build that kind of safety, though, is through competition in training camp. Throughout the first year and a half of his tenure as head coach, Aaron Glenn has pushed camp battles as a way to get the best out of certain players on the roster.

It's how the team got a career year out of young stars like Joe Tippmann and Breece Hall.

This training camp will be no different. With the Jets' veterans joining practice on Tuesday after rookies reported over the weekend, it's time to look at some of the biggest camp battles to come.

5. Safety

Minkah Fitzpatrick will be the anchor of the safety room, but who plays opposite him remains a question. Andre Cisco and Dane Belton are two veterans with plenty of starting experience in the type of physical scheme Glenn wants to play.

Then there's second-year safety Malachi Moore, who was adequate in limited action as a fourth-round rookie in 2025. He'll need to take a bigger jump in camp, though, if he wants to prove himself as more than just a special-teams player.

Will Malachi Moore earn more than just special-teams opportunities with the Jets this summer? | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It's hard to determine who a frontrunner is heading into camp, but the Jets appear comfortable allowing Cisco to earn the job despite an injury-filled 2025 campaign last year.

It will take a lot for Belton and Moore to potentially earn the job.

4. Nickel cornerback

Jarvis Brownlee Jr. or D'Angelo Ponds? A scrappy physical slot corner, or a short ballhawk with the kind of respect earned in college that had some of the best receivers in a bind?

New York's position battle is going to be one of the most exciting to watch this season. Brownlee was acquired last year and played well despite dealing with a rash of injuries. He was one of the few players who actually had a nose for the football in the secondary and has the temperament to win a job like this.

Will Jarvis Brownlee Jr.'s experience with the Jets give him an edge over D'Angelo Ponds? | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Then there's second-round rookie in Ponds. The Indiana star plays a lot like Glenn used to during his NFL career and has excellent coverage grades from college. The only reason Ponds wasn't a first-round pick is due to his alarming size.

In the slot, though, that shouldn't be much of a hindrance. At the very least the two should be putting forth a highly competitive show going forward.

3. No. 4 wide receiver

The team's fourth wide receiver spot is a position that seems something of an afterthought, but based on New York's push to be more of a passing offense this season, the role will be more important than ever.

Gang Green feels confident the trio of Garrett Wilson, Omar Cooper Jr. and Adonai Mitchell will be enough to carry most of the weight. Outside of them, though, special teams players like Isaiah Williams and Arian Smith will be competing for the fourth receiving spot in the offense.

As of now, it feels like a job that Williams, the top-ranked returner by Pro Football Focus last season, is earning. But Smith's speed and work as a gunner could get him on the field as well. It will be a fun battle to keep an eye on going forward.

2. Tight end

The most success that Jets offensive coordinator Frank Reich has seen comes from using two tight ends who can catch passes downfield and block consistently. With last year's second-round pick Mason Taylor and veteran Jeremy Ruckert, the team has two players they can rely on going into 2026.

Then they drafted Kenyon Sadiq in the first round back in April. The addition of Sadiq makes New York's tight end competition one to watch going into the regular season. Despite undergoing hernia surgery over the offseason, Sadiq is expected to be ready to go to start workouts.

How Sadiq looks going up against Taylor and Ruckert will be a good early test for the prospect's future in Florham Park.

1. Kicker

New York's kicking battle will be hotly contested this year following an excellent season a year ago from Nick Folk. Cade York, a former failed fourth-round pick of the Cleveland Browns, will face off against former All-Pro Jason Sanders, who was claimed off waivers by the Jets (via Dolphins) last month.

Can former Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders step up to win the Jets' training camp competition? | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There's also a good chance that the team looks to the open market towards the end of training camp if neither player steps up in a positive way. Other teams will be cutting the eventual losers of their kicker battles, offering potential new faces for the Jets to test out.

Last year, New York's special teams unit was one of the best in franchise history. For that to continue, the Jets will need a proper kicker to stabilize. The start of camp will be a good barometer for where each player is.