Aaron Glenn on Justin Fields and the running back room: Jets takeaways from owners meetings

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PALM BEACH, Fla. — Aaron Glenn doesn’t suffer fools. On Monday, the Jets head coach sat down at a table bearing his name, surrounded by cameras, recorders and phones, and smiled, ready for a barrage of questions about the “why” of the New York Jets’ offseason.

If a question was repeated, he called it out. If a question was leading, he didn’t bite. It wasn’t contentious — he was loose and even funny at points — but Glenn knows what he wants to say, and what he’s willing to say, and doesn’t tend to stray from that plan.

“I know who I am,” Glenn said, “and I know what I want to do.”

There was no talk about Super Bowls, playoffs, or even expectations. Last year, former Jets coach Robert Saleh spoke of trying to keep things quiet after the noisiness of 2023 — but that didn’t happen, not in the offseason and especially not once the regular season began. But the Jets went about this offseason in a different way. They didn’t make any huge splashes in free agency — and that was purposeful.

“It is by design,” Glenn said. “I’m a huge believer of moving in silence.”

It’s a different sound for a franchise that spent most of the last decade chasing headlines. Glenn spoke for 35 minutes on Monday morning and he covered a lot of ground — free agency, the NFL Draft, Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson and his attempts to change the franchise’s culture — but nothing he said is going to lead “First Take” this week. Maybe that’s a good thing.

Here are some takeaways from Glenn’s availability:

1. Justin Fields’ untapped potential

I found it interesting that Glenn kept highlighting how he and the Jets’ staff watched Fields’ tape from Ohio State before pursuing him and since signing him this offseason — using that as an example of why he believes Fields can be a high-level passer in the NFL after an up-and-down start to his career in that respect.

“You go back and watch him at Ohio State, he has a big arm,” Glenn said. “Understands how to run an offense when given opportunities.”

He used that sort of phrasing on a few occasions, when given opportunities.

“We’re going to let him play quarterback,” Glenn said. “That’s what he’s always wanted to do. I’m not saying he hasn’t had a chance to do that in other places, that’s not my issue, but I know what I want to do with that player.”

And another, after Glenn was asked about the perception that Fields struggles with processing in the passing game: “That’s everybody (else)’s opinion. I think he’s able to process well when he’s given the opportunity. If you go back and watch when he was in college, he was able to progress as far as reading coverages. To me, I think he had a chance to do that and he did it pretty well.”

Glenn, clearly, feels like he and his offensive staff — particularly offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand — has the ability to tap into Fields’ talent and make him a legitimate dual-threat quarterback more than the other coaches and offensive coordinators that have guided Fields so far in the NFL. That was obvious when the Jets handed him a two-year, $40 million contract coming off a season during which he was benched for Russell Wilson — but it was still interesting to hear Glenn talk about it that way.

The Jets’ success in 2025 is banking on Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey’s gamble paying off.

2. 1-2-3 punch

Glenn is not a proponent of talking about scheme or how he wants the offense or defense to look — smartly, his philosophy is to build the scheme around the players you have, not the other way around. But the way Glenn talks about the Jets running back room, coupled with the presence of Fields, possibly the most athletic quarterback in the NFL, makes it clear this will be a run-dominant team.

In Detroit, the Lions ran an offense with a two-headed monster at running back: Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, who each bring differing running styles. Glenn’s opinion of the Jets’ running back room as its currently constructed is that they can take it one step further: A three-headed monster, featuring Breece Hall, Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis.

“Well, when we have good players at that position like we do it can be a 1-2-3 with the guys we have,” Glenn said. “Those guys are good players and we’re going to utilize those guys. If we can get them all on the field if we can at one time, we’ll do that. We want to be a violent, tough, physical team and those men are really violent runners and we’ll take advantage of that.”

My feeling based on Glenn’s comments is not to bank on Hall being a bellcow in 2025. Hall is coming off a down season, and Glenn is clearly high on Allen and Davis, both promising 2024 draft picks.

“I think mentally (Hall is) in a good place,” Glenn said. “We have three running backs on this team that we’re going to utilize as much as possible. They’re all big men. They can run. They’re violent. They’re physical. Once we get the players in and see how they operate, I think every player is going to be happy with how they go about this offense and he’ll (Hall) be one of them.”

3. A new-look wide receiver room — or not

It might be fair to assume that free-agent signee Josh Reynolds will wind up being the Jets’ No. 2 or 3 wide receiver. It doesn’t hurt that Reynolds — who signed a one-year deal worth up to $5 million — has a history with Mougey (he spent 2024 with the Broncos) and both Glenn and Engstrand from 2021-23 with the Lions.

Reynolds missed much of last season after he was injured in a shooting, but he’s been productive in the past (608 yards, five touchdowns in 2023 with the Lions) and Glenn values his ability as a blocker — a further indication that this will be a run-heavy offense.

“The thing about Josh is Josh really starts out as a really, really good blocker,” Glenn said. “He’s going to be able to help create explosive plays in the run game and that’s one thing we talk about quite a bit. If you don’t block, you don’t get the rock. Those guys get that. For him to beat one-on-one coverage the way he did in Detroit, I’m looking forward to seeing him do that again.”

The rest of the Jets’ wide receiver room around Garrett Wilson has some questions. Mougey mentioned on Sunday that the Jets are trying to restructure Allen Lazard’s contract to keep him around and Glenn sounded interested in that too — though it is from a certainty since Lazard would likely have to accept a pay cut.

“Any time you have a player of that magnitude — he’s a really good blocker,” Glenn said. “I played against him a number of times when he was in Green Bay so I know what he brings to the table. Hopefully something can work out but we understand how this business is and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. But if it does we’ll utilize his talent the way we need to.”

The other notable receivers in the room include free agent signee Tyler Johnson, 2024 draft pick Malachi Corley and Xavier Gipson, though none are assured of significant roles in 2025, and the expectation should be that the Jets will keep adding weapons in the draft.

4. More extension talk

It will be a big topic of conversation until the Jets actually make a move to re-sign them, but Glenn, as expected, was asked about the prospect of big-money extensions for Wilson and cornerback Sauce Gardner, particularly as others at their positions reset the market with new deals.

Glenn, as with Mougey on Sunday, indicated that it will be a priority to keep them around — though Mougey emphasized that any new deals won’t happen until after the NFL Draft.

As for Glenn: “Those are two young players and you’re going to hear me say this consistently: I’m in the business of keeping good players. That’s our plan. That’s with anybody. Just like (linebacker Jamien) Sherwood. Just like any player we draft on this team. I want to make it a trend that our guys that we draft, we try to keep them here. I don’t know if that had happened before but I know when I was a player here we tried to do that as much as possible. To me, that’s the best form of free agency really, signing your own guys. As much as we can do that we’re going to try to. It’s something we want to look at. We want to keep those guys. They’re good players. I’m in the business of keeping good players.”

The Jets, historically, have rarely signed young players to new contracts before they hit free agency — two recent exceptions being defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and cornerback Michael Carter II. The difference now: The Jets have rarely, if ever, had players of Wilson’s or Gardner’s caliber or accomplishment on their roster on a rookie contract. They should — and likely will, based on Mougey and Glenn’s comments — make sure those two stick around.

Other tidbits

• Free-agent signee Brandon Stephens struggled last year with the Ravens, allowing the second-most yards in coverage of any defensive back according to Pro Football Focus. Something to consider, though: Stephens ranked near the top of the league in terms of keeping receivers in tight coverage, he just often was unable to make plays on the ball (zero interceptions in 2024) and allowed big plays despite his coverage. Glenn and his defensive coaching staff believe in their ability to get the most out of Stephens, who fits the mold that Glenn is looking for at cornerback in terms of size, skills and athleticism.

“One thing he has to work on is creating turnovers,” Glenn said. “We will work on that. When you have two big guys on the edges like we have, that creates issues for the offense.”

“For us, it’s coaching. That’s all I worry about right now, coaching him to be able to make those plays. Us coaching him to not just being close to receivers but making plays on the ball as much as possible. Once I saw that within that player, I know we have the coaching staff to get that out of him.”

• Offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor started one game for the Patriots last season, was benched and then left the team. Glenn said he and the Jets did some research on Okorafor and what happened, which included conversations between coach and player, and Glenn came away comfortable enough to bring him into the fold. Okorafor will compete to start at right tackle, which he did for the Steelers for a few years before joining the Patriots.

“I think he’s a really good player,” Okorafor said. “He’s going to get a chance to go out there and compete. We’re trying to build this OL to be a dynamic OL and we feel he can be a piece of that puzzle.”

• Defensive end Jermaine Johnson has been rehabbing an Achilles injury he suffered in Week 3 and Glenn has high hopes for his potential in the Jets’ new defense. Glenn and the Lions staff coached Johnson in the 2022 Senior Bowl.

“He’s been doing a really good job,” Glenn said. “I know what he brings to the table. He’s working his ass off to get back to where he needs to be and that player has a lot of confidence in who he is, we have a lot of confidence in him so we’re looking forward to him getting back on the field.”

• Glenn wouldn’t divulge any real updates on quarterback Jordan Travis, the 2024 fifth-round pick who missed all of last year recovering from an injury suffered in college. Travis never practiced with the team as a rookie.

“I’m not a doctor so I can’t tell you” his progress, Glenn said. “If he’s ready to play he’s going to compete. From his days in college, he was a pretty damn good player. Once he gets a chance to compete, he’ll compete.”

(Photo: Jim Rassol / Imagn Images)

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