The Jets have signed former Chiefs defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi, as ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler was first to report. Kansas City chosen Nnadi within the third round of the 2018 draft, and he had spent his entire profession with the club, winning three Super Bowl titles along the way in which.
From his rookie season through 2023, Nnadi primarily operated as a starter, and he also established a fame for durability. As ESPN’s Wealthy Cimini notes, the soon-to-be 29-year-old defender has missed only two games as a result of injury in his seven-year profession.
Nonetheless, he didn’t hit the open market with much momentum. Nnadi was relegated to a reserve role in 2024 and saw just 221 defensive snaps, which was by far a career-low mark. In that limited sample, he also earned an abysmal 35.8 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, which was even worse than his 40.6 grade in 2023.
The Jets, though, don’t necessarily need Nnadi to be a world-beater. The club saw Javon Kinlaw parlay a one-year pillow contract to work as Quinnen Williams‘ primary sidekick on the inside of the line of defense right into a three-year, $45MM cope with the Commanders — this despite a mediocre 53.2 PFF grade — and the hope is that Nnadi can provide an identical regular presence at a fraction of the associated fee.
Although financials haven’t yet been disclosed, Nnadi’s performance over the past several seasons would suggest Latest York is just not breaking the bank here. As such, the signing will certainly not preclude the club from pursuing additional upgrades within the draft, with Cimini classiyfing Nnadi — together with recent adds Byron Cowart and Jay Tufele — as a depth piece (we had not previously written on Tufele’s acquisition).
Phidarian Mathis — a former second-round pick of the Commanders whom the Jets claimed off waivers late within the 2024 campaign — stays in the combination as well. Your entire group, in fact, will take a backseat to Williams, certainly one of the sport’s best interior players who’s coming off his third straight Pro Bowl season.
Nnadi has amassed 233 tackles, five sacks, and a forced fumble in his regular season profession. He has contributed 38 tackles and a sack in 18 games of postseason work,
