5 things to watch during 2025 Jets preseason

The New York Jetsget their preseason underway on Saturday night as they travel to face the Green Bay Packers in the first of three August games, ahead of the season opener on September 7.

Here are the main things to watch out for over the course of preseason:

How will Aaron Glenn's team perform in a real game situation?

Glenn has conducted himself well in front of the media and training camp practices have been high intensity and well-organized, as he's doing a good job of projecting himself as someone his players and fellow coaches trust and respect.

One area of concern, however, is the amount of penalties that were called in a sloppy intra-squad scrimmage on Saturday morning. By the end of the two-hour session, the penalty count was well into double figures.

Glenn has stated that you cannot win games in this league with an undisciplined team" so clearly he's aware of and attempting to address the problem.

However, it's worth noting that Glenn was the defensive coordinator for the Lions last season and the only NFL team with more defensive penalties than Detroit was the Jets. The Lions, of course, did win plenty of games in spite of this, as they were the number one seed in the NFC during last year's playoffs.

The challenge for Glenn will be for his team to play with intensity and physicality, but without drawing as many flags as the team has been seeing in practice.

How much action will the starters see?

It's unclear at the moment exactly what the philosophy will be for Glenn and his coaching staff in terms of how many reps the starters will get during the preseason. Glenn has stated that teams cannot afford to be afraid of injuries. However, at the same time, he has been exercising caution with players like Quinnen Williams and John Simpson, who have been held out of practice with minor issues.

The Lions didn't use any starters in preseason last year and it didn't seem to slow them down -- they lost to the Bucs in Week 2, but

they wouldn't lose again until mid-December. Glenn might be planning to take the same approach, but the Jets are at a different stage of their development so he might feel it's imperative for key players to get more live reps since new schemes are being installed on both sides of the ball.

New York has joint practices coming up with the Giants, though, and there's a school of thought that these are every bit as valuable as the preseason games. It's also notable that they have a Veteran's Practice" scheduled for the day after the Giants and Eagles preseason games, which would suggest that the current plan is for some veterans to sit out those games.

One place the Jets might be less concerned than usual in terms of developing chemistry is on the offensive line because they have four returning starters. However, free agent signing Josh Myers is in the mix at the center position and could require some work with the other starters. It might also be useful to get the fifth starter, first-round pick Armand Membou, some live reps.

Can the Jets get the passing game going?

In one of last week's practices, Justin Fields was throwing the ball all over the field as he converted a series of downfield passes. However, since that time, the passing game seems to have stalled. With the installation of the new system now mostly completed, the hope would be for Fields to start to ascend but he's been indecisive and inaccurate, by all accounts.

Fields has said he is keen to seeing some preseason action and sees the value in getting live reps in the new system, but how much he will be out there remains to be seen. Either way, he should get plenty of work in the joint practices.

Preseason will also be a good time for some of the backup wide receivers to stake a claim towards further playing time. If they can produce with Brady Cook and Adrian Martinez at the helm, then players like Jamaal Pritchett and Brandon Smith could start to earn more practice reps with the first unit.

Which under-the-radar players will step up and make a name for themselves?

Probably the biggest success story from last year's preseason was the undrafted rookie defensive tackle Leonard Taylor III, who began training camp on the bubble but ended up in the rotation for most of the regular season after a strong preseason performance. However, others like Takk McKinley and Jarrick Bernard-Converse had outstanding preseasons but were non-factors in the regular season.

Taylor is once again competing for a spot in a deeper position group, so he will once again seek to impress. Others who have been showing signs of potentially earning key roles in 2025 include safety Malachi Moore, linebacker Marcelino McCrary-Ball, tight end Stone Smartt and defensive tackle Payton Page.

Which position battles are still to be decided?

There are still a few roles up for grabs but for the most part the depth chart seems to be taking shape.

Potential battles worth watching include Mason Taylor and Jeremy Ruckert competing to be the starting tight end, Byron Cowart trying to hold onto a starting role at defensive tackle and McCrary-Ball seeking to remain as the third linebacker.

At the bottom of the roster, players like Kene Nwangwu, Malachi Corley and Qwan'tez Stiggers will need a strong preseason to prove they are still worthy of being retained.