Sports

Jets somehow landed one of the NFL's best safeties for almost nothing

The Jet Press · Jul 22, 2026 10:00 · 4 min read

Jets somehow landed one of the NFL's best safeties for almost nothing — New York Jets safety Minkah Fitzpatrick | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The New York Jets were somehow able to land one of the NFL's best safeties in Minkah Fitzpatrick this offseason for the cost of a measly seventh-round pick. Take a bow, Darren Mougey.

The New York Jets traded a seventh-round pick for one of the NFL’s best safeties back in March. They followed that up by signing him to a three-year, $40 million extension that ranks tied for just 13th among safeties in average annual value.

Yet, for whatever reason, the Minkah Fitzpatrick move has barely made a dent in the Jets' offseason discourse.

Maybe it's the fact that safety just isn't the sexiest position. Maybe the trade happened early enough in the offseason that everyone moved on. Whatever the reason, Darren Mougey landed a three-time first-team All-Pro coming off another excellent season, surrendered almost nothing to get him, and signed him to a contract below his market value.

Day 58 of your 2026 Jets Camp Countdown belongs to the Swiss Army Safety, the Garden State Guardian, and the other Fitzmagic...it's Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Where Minkah Fitzpatrick stands entering Jets training camp

Fitzpatrick’s NFL career has already taken him through Miami, Pittsburgh, back to Miami, and now Florham Park. The Dolphins selected him 11th overall in the 2018 NFL Draft before trading him to Pittsburgh early in his second season.

Fitzpatrick developed into a star with the Steelers, earning three first-team All-Pro selections and establishing himself as one of the league’s premier defensive backs.

Miami brought Fitzpatrick back in 2025, but a regime change and a tricky salary-cap situation led to the Dolphins trading him again. The Jets took advantage, sending a measly 2026 seventh-round pick to their division rivals.

Fitzpatrick should enter training camp as one of the central pieces of Aaron Glenn’s defense. The Jets can line him up deep, bring him into the box, use him in the slot, or send him after the quarterback. He gives Glenn a level of versatility that few safeties can provide.

That flexibility also makes everyone around him easier to use. Glenn can deploy someone like Malachi Moore in the box more consistently or utilize D'Angelo Ponds on the outside if they want to shift Fitzpatrick to the slot, a role he played a lot under Brian Duker in Miami last year.

Fitzpatrick will be the Jets' most important defensive chess piece.

Minkah Fitzpatrick might be the Jets’ best offseason bargain

Fitzpatrick is coming off a 2025 season in which he earned an 81.8 Pro Football Focus grade, ranking seventh among 98 qualified safeties. His 78.3 coverage grade ranked ninth, his 79.6 run-defense grade ranked 13th, and his 77.1 pass-rush grade ranked 11th.

Kyle Hamilton was the only other safety in the entire NFL to earn a grade of at least 77.0 in all three areas. Fitzpatrick remains one of the best players at his position in the league.

Now, his interception totals have dropped in recent years. Fitzpatrick recorded 19 picks over his first five NFL seasons but has just two over the last three. But that number doesn't tell the full story of his 2025 campaign.

Fitzpatrick intercepted one pass, returned a two-point conversion attempt, recovered two fumbles, and produced a strip sack that Miami recovered. He still consistently put himself around the football and directly contributed to five turnover-producing plays.

The Jets could obviously use some of that. Fitzpatrick’s one traditional pick with Miami topped the Jets’ combined team total from a year ago, and his instincts should immediately improve a secondary desperate for playmakers.

His contract makes the move even more of a stroke of genius on the part of Mougey and the Jets. Fitzpatrick will earn roughly $13.3 million per year, putting him behind safeties such as Camryn Bynum and Amani Hooker in average annual value.

Fitzpatrick will turn 30 during the season, which likely affected his market. Even so, the Jets aren’t paying for a player whose production has fallen off a cliff. They’re paying the 13th-highest safety salary for someone who is likely still a top seven or eight safety in football.

Camp Countdown: Your guide to every player on the 2026 Jets roster

What would make 2026 a success for Minkah Fitzpatrick

Fitzpatrick, of course, enters the season with a much higher standard than most players featured in the Camp Countdown series. The Jets are counting on him to stay healthy, stabilize the back end of the defense, and provide Glenn with a veteran presence to lean on in the secondary.

A few interceptions would also be welcome after last season’s historic turnover drought. He doesn’t have to return to the six-interception pace he posted during his best seasons in Pittsburgh. Another year resembling his 2025 performance would give the Jets a top-10 safety capable of impacting every area of the defense.

Fitzpatrick can cover, tackle, blitz, and move around the formation. Glenn now has one of the NFL’s most versatile defensive backs at his disposal, and the Jets acquired him for the price of a seventh-round pick.

This might have been the best move the Jets made all offseason. It’s time more people started talking about it.