Reading The Defense Week 7

One of the league's quieter shifts is how quickly a defense can stop being defined by its record. The Jets and Raiders are two of the clearer examples right now. Both have star pieces that set the defensive identity, and both still have clear places where the call sheet and supporting cast can get cleaner. The Jets are further along than the old narrative suggests. Aaron Glenn is calling the defense himself after last year's historic low (zero interceptions), and the unit has already stabilized around a multiple front that prioritizes a four-man rush. Rookie edge David Bailey has become the clear engine, with five sacks and three forced fumbles through six games, while Demario Davis supplies the snap volume and communication that keep the structure together. The Raiders remain earlier in the process. Maxx Crosby is still the centerpiece, but the pieces around him have to more consistently produce the one-on-ones the scheme is asking for. That gap is what matters for both team success and IDP. On the Jets, the pressure rates and Bailey's early production are already creating usable floors even as the supporting cast develops. On the Raiders, the upside is still tied to how the structure around Crosby improves. Either way, these units will decide more games than the old "bad team" label suggests. The players who fit the scheme will be the ones who show up when the script gets scrambled. Here's a closer look at where both defenses stand and what still has to improve.

The New York Jets

Aaron Glenn is calling the defense himself this season, with Brian Duker installed as coordinator after the Jets moved on from Steve Wilks following last year's historic low. The 2025 unit finished without an interception and ranked near the bottom in nearly every major category. Glenn's response has been a more multi-faceted approach rather than a rigid base. The Jets will show 3-4 looks on early downs to get more size in the trenches, then slide into four-down nickel packages for the majority of snaps. Coverage has shifted toward zone at high rates, often in the mid-to-high 70s, despite Glenn's man-heavy background. The philosophy is closer to bend-but-don't-break than pure aggression: limit explosive plays and force the offense to sustain long drives, then evaluate the unit by points allowed rather than raw yardage. The call sheet still includes a healthy blitz rate, with pressure coming from multiple spots rather than a single free runner. That structure has already shown up in the numbers. Through six games, the Jets rank inside the top 10 in points allowed, total yards, and passing yards. With the offense still searching for consistency, the defense has been the more stable unit and the primary reason the team's results have not matched the depth of the rebuild. The scheme creates the framework, but the edge comes from how the personnel is deployed inside it. David Bailey is the clearest example: high-usage snaps on the edge, the freedom to finish one-on-ones, and a call sheet that keeps manufacturing those matchups. The same logic applies across the front and the second level: Demario Davis' snap share and communication role, the interior rotation's early-down responsibility, and the secondary's zone assignments. Those roles, more than the labels on the depth chart, will decide whether the early improvement holds.

The Jets Personnel

The conversation about the Jets' defensive players starts with rookie edge David Bailey. He entered the league as one of the more polished pure pass rushers in the draft, and the early returns have matched that profile. Bailey already has five sacks, three forced fumbles, and a Defensive Player of the Week award. Opposite him, the rotation has included Kingsley Enagbare and Will McDonald IV, with the Jets cycling through six different edges at times because of injuries and limited depth. What has helped Bailey and the other rushers exceed the early expectations is the interior. Harrison Phillips leads the group in snaps, while T'Vondre Sweat has quietly become a useful early-down piece. The Jets have used four interior linemen in most games, and three of them are already past 200 snaps. That depth keeps the edges cleaner on obvious pass downs and gives the call sheet more flexibility when it wants to manufacture one-on-ones. At linebacker, Demario Davis remains the near set-and-forget option he has been for most of his career. Pairing him with Jamien Sherwood has produced consistent tackle volume, and Sherwood has settled into a more reliable role after a slow start. In the secondary, the Jets have played three safeties at a high rate early, though recent trends seem to indicate this was in response to injuries. Minkah Fitzpatrick is the marquee name, but Dane Belton has taken every defensive snap so far. The group is not generating a flood of splash plays. Instead, the results have come from limiting explosives and forcing sustained drives. That style of defense creates usable floors across the board: Bailey for pressure and big-play upside, Davis and Sherwood for volume, and Belton for snap security, rather than concentrating production on one or two stars. The scheme is still developing, but the personnel deployment is already giving IDP managers clear, repeatable roles to target.

The Las Vegas Raiders