Through the spring and summer, we will be counting down the Jets roster player by player. We continue the series by discussing Tyler Baron.

Year With Jets: 2nd

Projected Role: Possible rotational defensive end

His 2025: The Jets traded up for Baron in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Things went downhill from there. Baron’s play in training camp and the preseason was uneven. It was to the point where there was speculation he might not even make the 53 man roster. It’s entirely possible Draft pedigree played a role in him winning a roster spot. Teams generally don’t like the optics of immediately cutting a player they traded up to land. From there, Baron did not make much of an impact. He suited up for 6 games without recording a sack and registered only 9 tackles. It’s not like the Jets defense was loaded with talent so Baron had every opportunity to carve out some sort of role. He didn’t take it.

2026 will be a success if: Baron takes a major step forward. In year two you would like to see him find some sort of a role in the defense. He doesn’t need to be a big impact guy, but he needs to provide a handful of reliable snaps per game. That might be a tough ask. The defensive end spot doesn’t have many roster spots open. Baron will need to earn one with a stronger training camp than he had as a rookie.

Odds of making the roster: 50/50