Feb. 25, 2026, 7:45 a.m. ET

The 2026 offseason has officially begun and the New York Jets will look to improve on a disastrous 3-14 season in Aaron Glenn’s first year as head coach. Glenn recently overhauled his coaching staff and now it’s time to overhaul the roster as he’ll need to show massive improvement in 2026 if he wants to have a job in 2027.

Jets Wire will break down each position on the roster to see if improvements are needed and the possible solutions to fix what is broken. For our next position breakdown, we stay with the secondary and focus on the safeties, a group guaranteed to look completely different in 2026 than it did in 2025.

Safety Depth Chart:

Malachi Moore, Tony Adams, Andre Cisco, Isaiah Oliver, Dean Clark

2025 Review

The Jets secondary was brutal last season and the safeties were a big reason.  Glenn and GM Darren Mougey were not very aggressive in free agency, only adding players coming off down seasons and hoping they bounced back in New York. One of those players was Cisco, who was signed to a one-year deal after a disappointing 2024 with the Jaguars. 

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Cisco was not too far removed from the 2022 and 2023 seasons where he had seven interceptions combined.  However, Cisco struggled out of the gate in coverage, was a very poor tackler and only gave the Jets eight games after a torn pectoral muscle ended his season.

Adams continued to be a very inconsistent player under Glenn that he was under Robert Saleh.  While he did have five PBU’s, ranking him 13th out of all safeties, he also allowed a passer rating of 100.5 to opposing quarterbacks.  He was one of many culprits on a defense that did not force one interception last season.

Out of this entire group, only Moore, the team’s fourth-round pick, is expected to return next season.  Moore played well at times, but also had his rookie moments.  He shouldn’t be guaranteed a starting spot in 2026, but I would be surprised if he wasn’t one of the team’s starting safeties.

How Can The Jets Improve This Position?

Free Agency

There will be plenty of players available in free agency that could instantly make this position stronger and improve a very weak secondary.  Chicago’s Kevin Byard and the Rams Kam Curl are arguably the two top options available but will have plenty of suitors as they look to cash in on big contracts. Seattle’s Coby Bryant, the Colts Nick Cross and Philadelphia’s Reed Blankenship could also be on the Jets radar.

For a team that badly needs a safety that can force turnovers, Byard would certainly be the player to aggressively pursue.  He led the league last season with seven picks and opposing quarterbacks had a passer rating of 85.3 against him.  He’ll be 33 years old this August and he may prefer to stay in Chicago or go to another team that will be in the hunt for the Super Bowl.

Curl has been widely linked to the Jets, but he could also return to the Rams as they have about $45 million in cap space, which is plenty of money to bring him back on an extension.  Curl was terrific last season with two interceptions, a forced fumble and 87 tackles.  Opposing quarterbacks had a passer rating of only 82.4 against him and he finished with a PFF grade of 73.1, ranking him 16th out of 98 safeties.

The 2026 Draft

Ohio State’s Caleb Downs is the clear-cut best safety in this draft class, but it’s highly unlikely the Jets will select him with the second overall pick.  However, the Jets may look to trade down with a team that wants one of the many pass rushers who will be available and if they succeed, Downs could be the player they target.  Downs had two interceptions last season along with 44 solo tackles and opposing quarterbacks had a combined passer rating of 47.9 against him. 

The Jets will definitely address safety in the draft during Day 2 or 3 and some of the other options available include LSU’s A.J. Haucy, Oregon’s Dillon Thieneman and Toledo’s Emmanuel McNeil-Warren.

Way Too Early 2026 Prediction

The safety position will look completely different compared to last season.  Most of the current players on the roster will certainly not be back, but it’s possible the Jets bring back Cisco on another one-year contract sensing he may not have much of a market due to his injury. 

The Jets have plenty of cap space to improve the defense but it’s too early to tell how much they choose to invest in the secondary.  They could spend big on either Byard or Curl and pair them with Moore.  Kansas City’s Bryan Cook is also an option and if the Jets want to bring back an old friend, they could look to sign Ashtyn Davis for depth.  Davis spent last season in Miami under new defensive coordinator Brian Duker and he was always a bit of an underappreciated player when he was in New York.

While Downs will be tempting to draft, he is a definite reach with the second overall pick.  That selection should be used for a pass rusher or a wide receiver.  This is a pretty deep draft for safeties and the position can definitely be addressed with one of their Day 2 or 3 picks.

For a defense that was awful at forcing turnovers as well as tackling, all options need to be on the table.  I expect the Jets to add at least one free agent, but I don’t expect them to overpay to improve the position.  They’ll bank on Moore to take a big step in his second season and add depth through the draft.  After last year’s terrible season, they can only go up from here. With Glenn calling the plays on defense and what’s sure to be better personnel on the field, this should be a much improved unit.