Gone are the days of Troy Polamalu, Brian Dawkins, or Ed Reed. In the modern NFL, safeties are no longer a requirement for Super Bowl-contending teams.
The New York Jets have understood that throughout the 2020s. But the team’s inability to at least find competent starters within the room has directly impacted the upside of their defense.
There is a happy medium, after all.
That is precisely why the Jets have focused on the safety position this offseason. New York has acquired two new faces and brought back a third to their safety room over the last week to improve the unit.
Suddenly, a position group that was easily the weakest on the roster has become one of the better units in the game—at least on paper.
Jets’ safety additions
Due to injuries and poor play, New York tried several different combinations at safety last season. None worked over the course of their three-win campaign.
That’s why general manager Darren Mougey went to work in 2026, acquiring three-time All-Pro Minkah Fitzpatrick and signing Dane Belton to improve the unit. The Jets also brought back Queens native Andre Cisco after an injury-riddled first year in green.
In Cisco, the Jets retain a veteran defensive back who could be the fourth safety on the roster next year. The former Jacksonville Jaguar picked off seven passes across the 2022 and 2023 campaigns, but has struggled since.
Belton, meanwhile, is the kind of box safety New York has been looking for. His best skill is tackling, as he recorded the lowest missed-tackle percentage (4.1%) among safeties to play at least 400 snaps last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
After a season in which each member of the Jets’ safety room recorded a missed tackle percentage above 10%, Belton’s addition is a welcome one.
These additions are also expected to aid in the further development of last year’s fourth-round selection, Malachi Moore. The Alabama product ended up starting 14 of his 17 games while placing second on the Jets with 101 total tackles. Belton and Cisco provide competition for the promising but raw Moore.
Then there is Fitzpatrick.
Still a star difference-maker at just 29 years old, the former Dolphin and Steeler was acquired for just a seventh-round pick in the upcoming draft. He is a three-time first-team All-Pro and has played several defensive roles throughout his career.
Fitzpatrick can be a box safety, a deep ball-hawking playmaker, and even a primarily nickel defender, as he was for a banged-up Miami defense last year. He is the kind of chess piece the Jets have not had at safety in years.
It completely changes how the Jets should be perceived on defense next year.
Safety room ranking?
It’s foolish to call the Jets’ safety room the best in football just after these moves. There are more proven units across the NFL.
But what New York has done in the last few weeks should not be ignored. It can be argued that they have improved from easily the worst safety unit in the league to a potential top-10 unit.
Fitzpatrick is the headliner, but the depth, solidified by signing both Belton and Cisco, is the key. Now, instead of having to rely on an unproven second-year player in Moore, Gang Green can allow the Alabama prospect to develop within his own career trajectory. It also affords Aaron Glenn the flexibility to throw plenty of different looks at opposing offenses.
Since the start of the new league year, no group on the Jets roster has seen as much of an infusion of talent as the safety room. Suddenly, one of the team’s greatest weaknesses is a primary strength, and that should excite Jets fans heading into the 2026 season.