The Jets have to hope many of their players don’t act their age in 2026.

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In some cases, that is hoping that players are not washed up. In other cases, that is hoping that players can mature faster than normal.

The Jets are in an interesting position in their rebuild under general manager Darren Mougey and coach Aaron Glenn. The duo has transformed the roster that it inherited when they took over in 2025. That has involved injecting some youth into the team, mostly through the draft. But this year they also decided to add veterans to fill a leadership void that was glaring during last year’s 3-14 train wreck of a season.

“I think it’s important when you’re trying to build a team that you have a good mix of [veteran leadership] so the young guys can learn,” Glenn said, “and as they learn, they continue to pick those things up and as they grow older, they’re able to pass those things down to other young guys. And to me, that’s exactly how you want your team to be built.”