The Jets held a walk-through Sunday, the day after their loss to the Giants.
There was a twist: It was run by the players. No coordinators or assistant coaches were on hand, only head coach Aaron Glenn, there to oversee the one-hour workout.
The idea for it was Glenn’s. It was something the Lions used to do on occasion.
Players were in charge of directing the drills and situations, calling plays and instructing one another.
Linebacker Jamien Sherwood called the plays for the defense, and quarterback Justin Fields handled the calls for the offense.
“[It was] an ownership thing. Also us owning the calls, owning the defense, really leaning into what it is our coaches are going to be calling and why are they calling it, and can we even step in and predict it as a defense?” free safety Andre Cisco said. “It was just players-led from that standpoint. We took ownership of how many reps we were going to get, and just holding guys accountable, how we’re getting the ball, executing the calls. It was effective.
“[Glenn] said this is something that he envisions his team being, a player-driven team. So those player-driven practices are a way to enforce it.”
The Jets added needed depth to their defensive front Wednesday, trading for a pair of defensive tackles: Harrison Phillips of the Vikings and Jowon Briggs of the Browns.
Of the two, the 6-foot-3, 307-pound Phillips is the more experienced, entering his eighth season. In 17 games last season, he had 56 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble.
The Jets landed him in exchange for second-round picks in 2026 and 2027.
They sent Cleveland a 2026 sixth-round pick and also received a seventh-rounder in 2026 for the 6-foot-1, 313-pound Briggs. A seventh-round pick in 2024, he recorded 13 tackles in six games for the Browns last year. The Jets were in search of depth up front behind star Quinnen Williams.
Wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson said in his nearly two decades working with wideouts he has only coached one receiver faster than rookie Arian Smith: Rondale Moore.
The key is Smith, a rookie fourth-round pick, translating that blinding speed into production.
“You got to play with that speed all the time because speed kills in this league,” Jefferson said. “If you have it, it’s a luxury, and when you don’t have it, it’s a detriment. His thing is playing full speed all the time, which he does. Also, learning how to control that speed in routes.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
