What NFL Analyst Got Right About Jets' Highest-Graded Roster Position

Some good points were made...

Diving into what ESPN's Mike Clay got right about this Jets positional grade. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

If Jets fans had an opportunity to rank each position group compared to the rest of the NFL, some of the top-ranked groups would be the offensive line, safety room, and even the wide receiver corps.

Not the linebacker room.

Imagine the surprise of those very fans when ESPN's Mike Clay ranked the Jets linebacker group as the top unit in the league during his annual rankings on Friday.

My annual NFL Unit Grades piece is here! All 32 teams ranked at 10 positions + analysis of the best, shakiest and a unit to watch https://t.co/JLnShe2JCo

— Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) August 21, 2026

I'll repeat myself: the Jets linebacker room was ranked as the best group in all of football:

“The 37-year-old Demario Davis is back after ranking 10th in the NFL with 143 tackles last season. He has now cleared 100 in nine consecutive seasons, totaling 36.5 sacks during that span,” Clay wrote. “The future Hall of Famer will team up with Jamien Sherwood, whose 308 tackles over the past two seasons ranked second in the NFL.”

Did Clay get it right? Are Jets fans' denial of their linebacker duo overblown? The answer to both of these questions is a resounding yes.

And there's one key reason why.

Why Jets linebacker room is underrated by fans

The reason why many Jets fans aren't as bullish as others around the league about their linebacker room because of Jamien Sherwood.

The former captain and fifth-highest-paid player at the position had a disappointing year in 2025 despite being tied for seventh in the league in total tackles. Sherwood continues to rank as an excellent run defender, but his struggles in pass defense made his contract look more like an overpay than anything else.

With the acquisition of Davis this offseason, though, the Jets are putting less pressure on Sherwood, and he has delivered with a very strong preseason. If anything, I would argue that the Jets' linebacking core as a whole has had a good preseason in their own right—and that includes backup role players like Marcelino McCrary-Ball, Mykal Walker, and Kiko Mauigoa.

Jamien Sherwood's offseason performance has been impressive, and a lot of that has to do with the changes that the Jets made around him. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

A league of their own

But rankings like the one Clay dished out are never about the depth of a group. They are about the starters.

And there are few teams in the league that have as good a starting group as the Jets do.

The 49ers (Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw), Eagles (Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell), and Texans (Azeez Al-Shaair and Henry To'oTo'o) could all be thrown into the same argument as the Jets. But Warner is coming off an injury-plagued season in 2025, Campbell is an unproven second-year player, and To'oTo'o actually graded worse last year than Sherwood, per Pro Football Focus.

It may seem outlandish to Jets fans, but ESPN and Clay got this ranking right. Just because their own perception of Sherwood is lower than others around the league doesn't make them right. The data supports New York's linebacker room taking a major step in the right direction by bringing in Davis.

And as long as both stay healthy, it seems like the Jets are well on their way to a truly dominant unit in 2026.

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