Jets' Kingsley Enagbare Gamble Is Paying Off After Only 2 Games

The offseason acquisition has been impressive so far.

It hasn't taken Kingsley Enagbare long to prove that he's exactly who the Jets need him to be. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As the Jets showed in their crushing 20-17 overtime loss to the Packers last Sunday, some things still need to be ironed out early in the season. It was a game the Jets simply should not have lost, and it left several areas to clean up going into a Week 3 road trip to Detroit to face the Lions on Sunday.

From the huge step back from the offensive line to a poor special teams effort to poor clock management by head coach Aaron Glenn, there is a lot for the Jets to improve on.

As unfortunate as the finish to the game was, the heartbreaking loss to the Packers is something the Jets need to feed off as they look to respond to adversity. One way they can do that is through the continued solid play from the defensive line, which has held opposing quarterbacks to just 4.7 yards per pass and 285 yards through the air in the first two games of the season.

Offseason acquisition Kingsley Enagbare, whom the Jets signed to a one-year, $9 million contract in March, has looked like a steal so far. According to ESPN NFL analyst Seth Walder, Enagbare is currently tied for the fifth-most pass-rush wins this season (10), only behind Jeffery Simmons (19), Dallas Turner (15), Boye Mafe (13) and Chase Young (11).

Top 10 players by pass rush wins this season.

-Jeffery Simmons, dear god
-Dallas Turner has arrived
-Boye Mafe being what Bengals need, keeping up PRWR with expanded playing time!
-I thought Bradley Chubb was washed and was critical of that signing. Looking like a bad take! pic.twitter.com/jnCnlYJTlm

— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) September 22, 2026

Granted, that success has come against the 0-2 Titans and a (now) 1-2 Packers team without running back Josh Jacobs. Still, it is hard to deny how impactful Enagbare has been through two games on a unit that certainly looks the part early on.

Kingsley Enagbare is already exceeding Jets' expectations

Enagbare has five total tackles (three solo), two sacks and one forced fumble so far, including one sack, three total tackles, one tackle for loss and one QB hit against the Packers. For comparison, he only had two sacks total all of last season with Green Bay and has never recorded more than 4.5 sacks in a single season (2024).

The Jets' defensive front struggled against the run last season by allowing the fourth-most rushing yards (139.5) and giving up the 24th-most rushing yards per carry (4.4). With 25 tackles for loss and 77 stops in 68 games during his four-year stint with the Packers, Enagbare was expected to be someone who could help the Jets fix that glaring weakness, with his ability to also play on the interior defensive line.

Enagbare already impressed in camp, showing coaches that the early hype around him was warranted. That said, he and the entire DL unit will face a much stiffer test on Sunday against Jahmyr Gibbs and the Lions' run game, especially considering he has the most rushes of 10-plus yards (nine), according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

Slowing down Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs will be a huge test for Kingsley Enagbare and the Jets' defensive line this weekend. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Jets have gone from allowing 139.5 rush yards per game last season to the second-fewest in the league (65.5) through two games in 2026, so this is certainly a key matchup that will decide Sunday's contest. Sure, that success has come against a poor Titans offensive line and a Packers group that did not have Jacobs, but the fact that Buffalo held Gibbs to just 52 rushing yards on 16 carries in Week 2 should give the Jets some confidence.

Shutting the Lions down on the ground

Now that defensive tackle David Onyemata will be out at least four games after undergoing core-muscle surgery, it will be key for other players to step up in his absence. That said, Detroit's frontline only ranks 27th in pass blocking with a grade of 54.5, so if the Jets can take advantage of that and force them to rely more on the ground game, there could be an opportunity to exploit.

Gibbs has averaged a career-low 4.6 yards per carry behind the poor protection on a banged-up OL group, so anything is certainly possible if the Jets can come out of the gates strong and make an early statement against a team that is more than capable of putting up points through the air with QB Jared Goff.

Still, Enagbare has delivered some positive returns in two games. This Lions offense should present some challenges, but the OL concerns should open the door for him to build on the quick start and deliver another impactful performance on the field.

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