The NY Jets made one of the savvier moves of the 2025 NFL Draft when they selected Florida State cornerback Azareye’h Thomas, a player who very few believed had any shot of making it out of the first two rounds, with a third-round pick at No. 73 overall.
Thomas may be a clue as to some defensive changes the Jets will implement with new head coach Aaron Glenn at the sticks. It appears as though the days of leaning on old coach Robert Saleh’s very inflexible zone scheme on the defensive side of the ball are coming to a close.
Glenn has typically employed a system that relies heavily on press-man coverage in the last few years, but defensive coordinator Steve Wilks has often had success with zone-heavy attacks in the past. Will Glenn or Wilks’ philosophy be what the Jets lean on in the 2025 season?
The selection of Thomas, who comes into the league with questions about his long speed and ability to cover ground in zone coverage, could tell the league something about the Jets. Glenn is going to play press-man as much as he can, as that is the only scheme Thomas can excel in at this point in time.
Jets may run man coverage in 2025 after Azareye’h Thomas pick in NFL Draft
Sauce Gardner is as good as they get in coverage, and Michael Carter II is still one of the best nickel corners in the game. However, there are some questions that need to be answered regarding the rest of the secondary and what the depth chart looks like.
The Jets gave Brandon Stephens a three-year, $36 million contract, but he could be forced out of his outside cornerback spot if Thomas starts to show promise. Andre Cisco and Tony Adams are the starting safeties, but could Stephens disrupt that? Fourth-round switchblade Malachi Moore is also in town.
In Glenn’s bump-and-run scheme, Thomas could excel. Still just 20 years old, Thomas has a 6-2 frame at nearly 200 pounds. In this sort of defense, Thomas should be able to lock down receivers at the line of scrimmage while using his length to disrupt balls in the air.
The Jets likely won’t change their whole scheme to accommodate Thomas, but they also wouldn’t have picked him if they were going to run the same defense they had under Saleh or what Wilks ran in San Francisco.