When the Jets signed Derrick Nnadi this offseason, it appeared as if he, along with fellow additions Byron Cowart and Jay Tufele, would serve as depth options along the defensive line. However, New York did not select an interior DL in the draft, leaving those three veterans – all of whom signed modest one-year deals – as the leading candidates to replace Javon Kinlaw as the starting defensive tackle alongside three-time Pro Bowler Quinnen Williams.
Per Brian Costello of the New York Post, Cowart and Tufele appear to be the frontrunners to fill the void left by Kinlaw’s departure. In Costello’s estimation, the defensive line got weaker this offseason, and it is probably safe to assume that neither player, nor Nnadi, will replicate Kinlaw’s performance (which he parlayed into a three-year, $45MM deal with the Commanders in free agency).
Cowart, 29, entered the league as a fifth-round choice of the Patriots in 2019 and started a career-high 14 contests in 2020. He was not particularly effective against either the run or pass, and he spent the entirety of the following campaign on the PUP list. The Colts claimed him off waivers in July 2022, and though he appeared in all 17 games that year in a rotational role, his performance was generally underwhelming.
As such, Indianapolis elected not to re-sign him. He hooked on with the Chiefs in March 2023 but was released shortly thereafter, and he subsequently agreed to a one-year pact with the Texans. He did not crack Houston’s 53-man roster at the end of the summer, so he joined the Dolphins on a taxi squad deal. While the Maryland product did not log any regular season work in 2023, he finally made his way back to a starting lineup last year, when he appeared in 15 games (seven starts) for the Bears.
His 335 Chicago snaps yielded a career-best 2.5 sacks, but he received mediocre grades across the board from Pro Football Focus. The advanced metrics site assigned him an overall grade of 58.9, which made him the 56th-best interior defender out of 118 qualified players.
Still, PFF thought more highly of Cowart than Tufele, who earned a poor 44.4 overall grade that would have placed him near the bottom of the league’s interior D-linemen if he had enough snaps to qualify. Tufele, a former fourth-round pick of the Jaguars, did appear in 13 games for the Bengals last season and started three of them, both of which represented career-high marks (it should be noted, though, that Cincinnati’s defense was one of the worst in the league in 2024). Tufele’s work yielded 15 total tackles and a half-sack.
Getting Williams to return to form after something of a down season will be near the top of the agenda for new head coach Aaron Glenn and new defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. If the duo can coax solid play out of whatever combination of linemen who serve as Williams’ running mates, that will go a long way towards helping the defense as a whole live up to its considerable potential.
As Costello observes, another potential trouble spot is the Jets’ depth along the edges of its defense. Defensive end Jermaine Johnson, whose 2024 season was cut short due to an Achilles tendon tear, has still not been cleared to practice, and fellow DEs Will McDonald and Micheal Clemons have already missed OTA time. Given New York’s minimal investments in the defensive front in free agency and the draft, it is to wonder if the club has left itself a bit thin in the pass rush department.
The Jets aren’t going to compete this year regardless, and I like most of what they did in the draft, but it’s a little annoying that in a draft full of DT talent with a big need there, they didn’t take anyone. Especially since they spent a fourth round pick on a receiver who likely would have been there in the sixth or seventh round. Hopefully Leonard Taylor can develop into a player worthy of a sizable role.
I think Smith’s best days are in front of him. He has track star speed, so you can’t teach that. They clearly need a lot of help to make their offense more dependable. There are still a lot of good pieces there on that defense to work with, and Steve Wilks will get the best out of them. He’s gotten a raw deal ever since he took that Cardinal job, so hopefully it works out for him this time. One of the few coaches I’m rooting for in that league.
Agreed about Wilks, but the DT talent is lacking. Smith has the kind of speed you can’t teach, sure, but he has the kind of drop issues you usually can’t fix. I hope he can develop, but he was a reach in the fourth, especially with guys like Ayomanor and Royals (or some decent DT prospects) on the board.
I like Leonard Taylor – he is talented so let’s see if can develop. I agree in the sense I’d like to have seen a pick on the DL but I actually don’t mind their current options. Taylor and Cowart are former top 10 recruits and Nnadi has been dependable as a depth piece.
Those guys are fine depth pieces, but I still don’t love the front line options. And while I love the optimism and share some for Taylor, Cowart is 29. I think it’s time to stop caring what kind of recruit he was.
Had no idea Cowart was still in the league. Wow.