Good luck running up the middle on the Jets with David Onyemata and T’Vondre Sweat at defensive tackle.
Expect those two to start.
The Jets’ run defense up the middle last year was often problematic, before and after the Quinnen Williams trade.
So Sweat and Onyemata, two massive, powerful men, should start and very well could be the panacea to fix the Jets’ interior run defense.
Onyemata is a really good player. There is a reason why Atlanta gave him big money to come over from New Orleans in 2023. He’s an excellent run defender. He had 62 tackles last year for the Falcons. To put it in perspective, the highest tackle total Williams ever had with the Jets was 39 in 2023.
NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo announced that Onyemata signed a one-year deal worth $10.5 million, with $9.65 million guaranteed. Why just one year? He turns 34 during the season.
But he’s a young 34, starting football late in life, after moving from Nigeria to Canada in 2011. He moved to go to college, but then football coaches at the University of Manitoba saw his size, and the rest is history
It would be shocking if the Jets’ interior run defense doesn’t take a quantum leap in 2026 with Sweat and Onyemata starting at defensive tackle.
******
Jets Website Whispers (Dan’s Insiders) five days a week, year-round, behind our paywall here at jetsconfidential.com for just $7.95 a month. To subscribe to the Website Whispers, our print magazine (different content from the website), or both (combo deal), click an option below. JC provides unfiltered Jets coverage that you won’t find anywhere else.
