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New York Jets All-PFF Team: The best players of the past 20 years
By Nathan Jahnke
• New York Jets
  • Darrelle Revis joins Sauce Gardner: The Jets' All-PFF defense is built around two shutdown corners capable of eliminating opposing top receiving threats.
  • Jerricho Cotchery leads a surprisingly early-era offense: Many of the offensive selections come from the Jets teams that reached back-to-back AFC Championship Games, with Cotchery earning the nod through sustained production and longevity.
  • The defensive front reflects New York's long-standing identity: Quinnen Williams, Muhammad Wilkerson and Sione Pouha headline a dominant run defense that continues the Jets' tradition of elite interior defensive line play.

As part of PFF's celebration of 20 years of NFL data, we're building an All-Star team for every franchise, highlighting the best players at each position from the PFF era. This installment turns to the New York Jets.

PFF's database dates back to the 2006 NFL season, providing a unique lens for evaluating and comparing players across eras. More details on the methodology used to construct these teams are available at the bottom of the page.

Offense

Quarterback is usually one of the easiest positions to fill on these all-time teams, with most franchises having a clear top option or at least a small group of strong contenders. The Jets were the exception. New York lacked stability at quarterback throughout much of the PFF era, and only Chad Pennington, Sam Darnold and Geno Smith recorded multiple seasons with a PFF passing grade above 60.0. Pennington earned the highest grade of the trio.

Much of the rest of the offense is made up of Pennington's teammates or players from the Jets teams that reached back-to-back AFC Championship Games, the franchise's most recent playoff appearances. The two notable exceptions are Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson, the brightest spots on the current roster. Alijah Vera-Tucker is the other. Left guard was one of the weaker positions on those late-2000s Jets teams, and Vera-Tucker graded highly enough to earn a spot despite spending only one season at the position in New York.

Defense

The Jets' defense has been defined by elite cornerback play and a steady pipeline of disruptive interior defenders. From 2011-17 alone, Damon Harrison Sr., Sione Pouha, Muhammad Wilkerson, Steve McLendon, Leonard Williams, Mike DeVito and Sheldon Richardson all stood at least 6-foot-2 and weighed at least 290 pounds while playing more than 850 defensive snaps and earning a PFF grade of 73.0 or higher. To maximize the talent on the field, both Wilkerson and Richardson spent significant time lining up on the edge. This roster takes a similar approach, though Harrison still narrowly missed the cut by a fraction of a grading point.

This defense might struggle to generate pressure with a traditional four-man rush, as no Jets front-four defender over the last 20 years recorded a pressure rate above 16.0%. However, that may not matter given the talent elsewhere on the unit. The front seven would be dominant against the run, while Darrelle Revis and Sauce Gardner could erase opponents' top two receiving threats. Safeties Jamal Adams and Kerry Rhodes also bring value as blitzers, combining double-digit sack production with pressure rates above 19% on blitzes.

Methodology

Selections were based on normalized PFF grades adjusted by season. To balance peak performance and longevity, only a player's five best seasons with a franchise from 2006-25 were considered. Any season with an overall PFF grade below 60.0 was excluded, ensuring that strong years helped a player's case while weaker seasons were not held against him. Postseason play was included, though all seasons were capped at a 16-game equivalent to maintain consistency across eras. At each position, the player with the highest score under this methodology earned the spot.

Each team consists of 12 offensive and 12 defensive players. Because 11 personnel and nickel defense were the league's most common alignments over the past two decades, those personnel groupings served as the foundation for every roster. Teams received either a second tight end or a fullback, depending on whether they used more 12- or 21-personnel. Defensively, teams received either a third interior defender or a third linebacker depending on whether they primarily operated from a 3-4 or 4-3 front.

Players who logged significant snaps at multiple positions during their tenure with a franchise were eligible at either spot. In most cases, those players were assigned to the position where they provided the greatest value, though their versatility occasionally influenced the final roster construction.

Unlike some All-Pro teams that group offensive linemen by position type, these rosters were built according to where players actually lined up. If a team's two best tackles both played exclusively on the left side, only the top left tackle was selected. One of the three wide receivers and one of the five defensive backs was also required to have significant slot experience. In a 4-3 defense, one linebacker needed experience at the Sam linebacker position, while in a 3-4 defense, one defensive tackle needed experience at nose tackle.

When multiple players are listed at the same position, the first name represents the top selection. Players designated as slot wide receiver, slot cornerback, nose tackle or Sam linebacker were selected specifically for those roles rather than as the third-best player within their broader position group.

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