Jets X-Factor

The injuries keep piling up for the New York Jets. Speaking to the media ahead of Week 3, Jets head coach Aaron Glenn announced that two players require surgery for recent injuries. Wide receiver Arian Smith is out for the year with a torn ACL and will go on season-ending injured reserve after having surgery.

Ten snaps? It was perhaps the most puzzling storyline from the New York Jets’ Week 1 win. One week later, it’s even more puzzling—except, after what we saw in Week 2, it probably won’t be an issue again. Third-year defensive tackle Jowon Briggs was the team’s brightest young standout on defense in 2025. He emerged as one of the NFL’s best interior pass rushers over the second half of the season.

It’s always complicated to analyze an NFL collapse. On one hand, there had to be a lot of things that went right for the losing team to build up the lead they eventually blew. Those things should not be forgotten or overlooked. On the other hand, a loss is a loss. If you build up a lead and squander it in short order, there had to be some major mistakes that allowed it to happen.

He was one of the New York Jets’ best players relative to his position in 2025. Now, he’s near the bottom of his position. Jet X Game Simulator · The game is on the line. Your call.Open full screen ↗ Jets punter Austin McNamara has been one of the team’s sneakiest underperformers through the first two games of the 2026 season. After a breakout 2025 campaign that saw him rank third among punters in All-Pro voting, McNamara has struggled in the early goings of his second NFL season as a starter.

As we’ve seen in past years, fantasy football championships can be won on the waiver wire. With players like Puka Nacua, Kyren Williams, and James Conner breaking out early in past seasons, capitalizing on emerging players is key to success. In Week 1, Mitchell had a 12.5% target share, the same as Mason Taylor and Kenyon Sadiq. During Week 2 against the Green Bay Packers, though, he saw a team-leading 33.3% target share (11 targets).

Just two weeks into the 2026 regular season, the New York Jets have been hit with the injury bug. After placing three players on injured reserve, including defensive tackle David Onyemata, tight end Mason Taylor is considered “week-to-week” after suffering a thumb injury in Sunday’s overtime loss, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. #Jets TE Mason Taylor, who suffered a thumb injury, is considered week-to-week, sources say. He’ll likely miss this week vs the #Lions.

Following Sunday’s overtime loss to the Green Bay Packers, the New York Jets have placed WR Arian Smith, DT David Onyemata, and LB Marcelino McCrary-Ball on injured reserve, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini. The Jets are placing three players on IR, per source: WR Arian Smith, DT David Onyemata and LB Marcelino McCrary-Ball. #Jets — Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) September 22, 2026 Among the three players, Onyemata is easily the Jets’ biggest loss.

The New York Jets have undergone a quarterback shake-up. In the third-string spot. According to Tom Pelissero of The Ringer, the Jets are signing Will Levis to their practice squad, while they are releasing Bailey Zappe. Former Titans QB Will Levis is signing with the Jets practice squad, sources tell @ringer @netflixsports. Levis started 21 games for Tennessee before missing last season with a shoulder injury. He takes the place of Bailey Zappe, who’s being released.

Talk about “night and day”. Fresh off one of the worst defensive seasons in franchise history, the New York Jets have fielded one of the NFL’s best defenses through the first two games of 2026. Granted, they have benefited from some favorable competition—the next two games will test them much more thoroughly—but the numbers remain staggering. The Jets have allowed a league-best 197.0 total yards per game, including a top-ranked 18.8 yards per drive.

At the start of every NFL season, fans are locked in on how their team’s top offseason additions perform. However, early on, it’s quite common that under-the-radar pickups pop more than the big-ticket ones. The New York Jets are witnessing this right now. Two games into the regular season, their best offseason addition has been EDGE rusher Kingsley Enagbare. Throughout two weeks, Enagbare ranks second on the Jets with six total pressures, trailing just David Bailey’s eight.