Returnees: CB Sauce Gardner (3rd year), CB D.J. Reed (7th), S Chuck Clark (8th), S Tony Adams (3rd), CB Michael Carter (4th), S Ashtyn Davis (5th), CB Brandin Echols (4th), DB Jarrick Bernard-Converse (2nd)

New Vet: DB Isaiah Oliver (7th)

Newcomers: CB Qwan'tez Stiggers (rookie—Round 5c), S Jaylen Key (rookie—Round 7), CB Shemar Bartholomew (UDFA), S Al Blades (UDFA), CB Myles Jones (UDFA), S Jarius Monroe (UDFA), DB Brandon Codrington (UDFA)

What's New
Luckily for the Jets' defense, the No. 2 pass defense last season, there's not a lot of new. Most of the players return for the 2024 season, but the most significant change is at safety.

Chuck Clark is slated to start next to Tony Adams after Jordan Whitehead, who started all 34 games over two seasons with the Jets, signed with the Buccaneers this offseason. Clark was on the roster last season, but he tore his ACL last June on the final play of minicamp, and re-signed with the Green & White in March.

Clark, drafted by the Ravens in the sixth round in 2017 out of Virginia Tech, is versatile. He played more than 100 snaps in the slot, 300 in the box and 400 at free safety in each of his final three seasons with Baltimore as he logged 100 percent of the snaps (more than 3,000 in all) on defense.

"I still got that chip on my shoulder," he said in the spring. "I think going through that injury process, it just gave me a new gratitude and gratefulness for this game. I still got a lot to prove. I missed the whole year, so I got a lot to prove from that sense. People are like, 'He missed the year, he lost stuff.' Alright, watch."

Strength of the Group
Continuity. This will be the third year that cornerbacks Sauce Gardner, D.J. Reed and Michael Carter II will play together, and the second year they'll line up with S Tony Adams. Gardner, a two-time first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowler, told reporters his focus this offseason has been creating turnovers, which Carter II echoed for the group.

"I think that that can really be the next step for us -- take more chances and just trust in what we see," Carter II said. "Make sure your brother in the secondary knows that this is what you see, this is what you're going to do if you see it and then playing off that. I think really make us even more of an elite secondary."

Biggest Question
How many safeties the Jets will keep on their roster. The Jets have seven safeties under contract – Chuck Clark, Tony Adams, Ashtyn Davis, Isaiah Oliver, who is converting from CB to S, and rookies Jaylen Key, Jarius Monroe and AL Blades Jr.

Davis has been a special teams stalwart for coordinator Brant Boyer's unit and Oliver has experience on teams during his time with San Francisco. Key, this year's "Mr. Irrelevant," will need time to adjust to the NFL and could be thrown into a special teams role early. Roster configuration changes each year, but the Green & White kept four safeties on their initial 53-man roster last September.

Potential Training Camp Battle to Watch
Backup cornerback. The Jets have one of, if not, the best starting CB unit in the NFL with Sauce Gardner, D.J. Reed and nickel Michael Carter II. Brandin Echols has been first off the bench and has been one of the team's starting gunners each of the last two seasons.

Bryce Hall, another depth piece for the Jets, signed with the Buccaneers in free agency, which leaves opportunity for players like rookie Qwan'tez Stiggers, drafted in the fifth round in April's draft. Second-year player Jarrick Bernard-Converse, drafted in the sixth round out of LSU last season, took reps at corner in the spring after taking reps at safety last season. He played both spots in college.

General manager Joe Douglas also signed three undrafted free agents at cornerback.

What They're Saying
CB D.J. Reed on Sauce Gardner: "He definitely has been leading, especially our group. I've been seeing little things like breaking down the huddle, when we gather as a team for the end of practice. Even as DBs he's been more vocal this year. That's something I've definitely noticed."