The NFL preseason is flying by as the Jets prepare for their second exhibition contest—a road tilt against the Steelers—on Friday. The latest preseason game is yet another opportunity for head coach Aaron Glenn to assess and analyze who deserves to be on this year's 53-man roster, especially with the deadline rapidly approaching on Sunday, Aug. 30 at 6 p.m. ET. Even though there's still over a week for veterans and rookies to make their case to New York's coaching staff, some players are well on track to stick around beyond the cutdown deadline. Various Jets are having training camp performances that are too promising to ignore, including this trio that may have flipped the depth chart with what they've done this summer. 3. Isaiah Williams, WR There's no denying what type of special teams contributor Isaiah Williams could be after last season. Claimed by the Jets off the Bengals' practice squad, the former undrafted wideout finished the 2025 campaign with the best punt return grade (92.4) on Pro Football Focus, as well as the second-best overall return grade (90.2). At the same time, some fans wondered what his upside might look like after posting 26 catches for 193 receiving yards in 15 games. Fast forward to the offseason, and Williams is on pace to move up the Jets' WR depth chart. He isn't going to leapfrog Garrett Wilson or Adonai Mitchell any time soon, but it won't be surprising if he's the WR3/4 come Week 1 of the regular season. Glenn and his staff have had nothing but great things to say about Williams, and even Sports Illustrated's Nick Faria has remarked about how solid the third-year pass-catcher has looked in practice. Despite struggles from the offense, Williams remained a consistent performer during practice. He made multiple catches within traffic and even laid out a pancake block on a Buccaneer defender on a running play. The very next step, Williams caught a pass and began talking smack to the opposition.Nick Faria, Jets OnSIWilliams only played eight offensive snaps in the Jets' preseason opener vs. the Bucs, per PFF, so it's safe to say that Glenn & Co. aren't looking for him to prove himself. Throw in the fact that first-round pick Omar Cooper Jr.—who was seen as a WR3 candidate the moment he was drafted—hasn't had the smoothest of sailings lately, and it's easy to imagine Williams playing a key role early in New York's season. 2. Brady Cook, QB The Jets' quarterback situation has been a mess for years, and Brady Cook has been a part of the problem. No one would've blinked twice had Gang Green dumped the former UDFA out of Missouri after a forgettable rookie season that saw him go 0-4 while compelting 57.5% of passes for 739 yards, two touchdowns and a 55.4 passer rating with seven interceptions in four starts. But much like with Williams, a strong summer has shifted Cook's outlook. His training camp hasn't been perfect, but Cook's performance in last week's preseason opener has fans believing that he can be a viable third-string quarterback option for the Jets. The 24-year-old QB saw the most action among the team's signal-callers, completing nine of his 15 passing attempts for 108 yards. Brady Cook is in the driver's seat for the Jets' QB3 job after his performance in the first preseason game. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectCook's chart-flipping performance is aided by Bailey Zappe's preseason implosion. The former Patriots/Chiefs/Browns quarterback had two interceptions—including a Pick-6—against the Buccaneers, effectively knocking him out of the third-string role and into limbo. It's hard to trust any QB who has a performance like that in a low-stakes game. Cook would really have to blow things to lose his footing on the QB3 situation. And, who knows? If the Jets want to protect Cade Klubnik and keep him out of action in Year 1, perhaps they'll consider Cook for the QB2 role again if he remains sharp throughout the summer's final stretch. 1. Dane Belton, SExpectations weren't exactly high when the Jets signed Dane Belton to a one-year, $4 million contract in free agency. Although the Iowa product was coming off a career-best performance that saw him tally 120 total tackles, five broken-up passes and two sacks in 17 games with the Giants, the fact that Belton had never been a full-time starter left fans to wonder what sort of impact he'd have. He hasn't played a regular-season game yet, but Belton is doing and saying all the right things to win the Jets over so far. His strong work ethic and training camp production have put him on Glenn's radar, and all signs point to him starting in the Jets' secondary opposite Minkah Fitzpatrick. That's a surprise, given that Andre Cisco—whose outlook is fading—was initially expected to land a starting role. Dane Belton is already on Jets head coach Aaron Glenn's good side before the regular season even begins. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectJets fans should expect that Belton's promising summer isn't a flash in the pan, as he has every reason to remain motivated throughout the regular season. Playing on a one-year contract should lead to the veteran safety putting his best foot forward if he wants to be paid in March, whether his next contract comes from the Jets or another team. If what we've seen this summer is a sign of things to come, the 2026 season could be a career year for Belton. Get Jets On SI straight to your inbox: sign up for our free newsletter here.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow