Taking a look at a Jets linebacker prospect
The New York Jets recently signed former Cincinnati linebacker Jared Bartlett as an undrafted free agent. Today we break Bartlett down in detail.
The 24-year old Bartlett is listed at 6’2” and 237 pounds and was an honorable mention all-Big 12 selection last year after having transferred from West Virginia. He had 204 tackles and 21.5 sacks in his six-year college career.
Background
Bartlett was a three-star high school recruit who redshirted his first season at West Virginia after having played 152 snaps and recorded nine tackles and six pressures in four games.
In 2020, he moved into a rotational role, although he did start two of 10 games as he registered 24 tackles and 3.5 sacks. 2021 saw him in a similar role and he looked to have broken out when he racked up three sacks against Virginia Tech in an early season game. However, he ended the season with just 3.5 sacks. In all, he started three of 13 games and had 31 tackles.
2022 once again saw Bartlett mostly in a rotational role as he made two starts and ended up with 26 tackles and 2.5 sacks. However, his playing time increased in 2023 and he started every game at the bandit position to end up with 49 tackles and 4.5 sacks.
At the end of the 2024 season, Bartlett entered the transfer portal and ended up with Cincinnati, who moved him to an off-ball role and put him in the starting line-up. He was an all-Big 12 honorable mention after racking up 69 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks and three pass breakups, all of which were career marks.
After Bartlett went undrafted, the Jets signed him to an undrafted free agent deal with $72,500 of guaranteed money.
Let’s move on to some more in-depth analysis of what Bartlett brings to the table as a player, based on extensive research and film study.
Measurables/Athleticism
Having played closer to the line of scrimmage earlier on in his career, Bartlett has good strength and length for an off-ball role.
Bartlett put together a solid set of workout numbers at his pro day as he ran a 4.65 in the 40-yard dash and posted 19 bench press reps. His explosiveness and agility numbers were about average.
Usage
Bartlett played the bandit role at West Virginia, which is a unique position that sees him positioned at the line of scrimmage as an edge rusher, but also dropping off into coverage or picking up a man in the slot from time to time. In the NFL, this would be closest to a 3-4 outside linebacker role in a system like Pittsburgh’s but wouldn’t fit cleanly into the defensive schemes for most teams, including the Jets.
He responded well to the move with the Bearcats, which saw him playing off the ball as an inside linebacker. It makes sense that this will be his NFL position too.
Run defense
Bartlett had a productive year as a run defender in 2024, as he responded well to the position switch and posted easily the best run defense grade of his career according to Pro Football Focus. He was fourth in the Big 12 with 11.5 tackles for loss.
He shows the ability to go sideline-to-sideline and to be relentless as he chases down plays in pursuit.
Bartlett is also capable of attacking the line of scrimmage and avoiding blockers to get to the ball carrier.
When playing on the edge, he was less effective and often blocked out of plays, but he was still able to use his quickness and play recognition to make an impact at times.
Coverage skills
Despite playing up at the line, Bartlett typically dropped into coverage several times per game at West Virginia, which prepared him well for moving into an off-ball role.
He didn’t intercept any passes and averaged less than one pass defensed per season but did a good job of limiting yardage underneath as he gave up just 10 yards per reception.
For his career as a whole, Bartlett allowed an 84 percent completion rate when targeted but didn’t give up many big plays and was only beaten for one touchdown.
Tackling
Bartlett’s missed tackle percentage was higher than you’d ideally like to see, although it dropped from 2022 to 2023 and again from 2023 to 2024. He did have a career-high 15 missed tackles last year, though.
Although he only had two forced fumbles in his career, Bartlett closes impressively, has good range and can stop a runner in his tracks.
Blitzing
Despite moving into an off-ball role last year and rushing the passer a lot less than in the past, Bartlett posted a career-high in sacks, perhaps benefiting from the pass rushing skills he developed while playing on the edge at West Virginia.
A lot of his sack production actually came from spying the quarterback and then chasing him down behind the line of scrimmage when he opted to scramble, though.
Bartlett was often in a clean-up role at West Virginia, but did develop the pass rush skills to win a one-on-one matchup and posted solid pressure percentages in that role.
He also batted two passes down at the line last season.
Special teams
Bartlett has plenty of special teams experience with 585 special teams snaps played over the course of his career. He ended up with 11 special teams tackles.
Bartlett, who also rushed kicks and blocked in punt protection and on the kick return units, also had six missed tackles – five of which were in 2023 – and three penalties.
Physicality
Bartlett’s experience of mixing it up with offensive linemen in the trenches serves him well as an off-ball linebacker. He’s not shy about taking on blockers aggressively.
However, he would probably be too lightweight to play up at the line at the NFL level. He got trucked at the goal line on this play.
Instincts/Intelligence
Bartlett’s play recognition is an area that really stands out. He is said to have developed a keen understanding of quarterback tendencies and does a lot of preparation work. The fact he has played multiple positions helps here too.
In the game where he had three sacks in 2021, which saw him earning the Big 12 defensive player of the week award, his coaches credited him with having gone to the sideline to advise them of a specific detail about the opposing team’s blocking scheme. They factored this information into a strategic change that freed Bartlett up to have that big game.
He blows up a screen pass superbly on this play, expertly reading the play and avoiding a blocker in space.
There were admittedly a few coverage busts which Bartlett was involved in, but none of these were clearly his fault.
Attitude
Bartlett is a player who has worked hard at his fundamentals and technique, while developing into a vocal leader at both Cincinnati and West Virginia. He is regarded as a true professional with toughness and resilience.
His on-field discipline was good with just four defensive penalties in his career. Since 2020, his only penalties were for roughing the passer and offside.
He comes from NFL pedigree as his half-brother is Steelers starter Stephon Tuitt. However, he’s had to deal with some adversity in his personal life as his other brother was killed in a car crash in 2021 and his father died suddenly before the 2024 season.
He won the Iron Mountaineer Award at West Virginia in 2022.
Injuries
Bartlett played in 61 games in his college career, so injuries clearly didn’t affect him too badly. He missed one game due to an undisclosed injury in 2021 and had minor injuries that knocked him out of games in 2023 and 2024 but didn’t cause him to miss any starts. One was a shoulder/arm injury.
Scheme Fit
It would make sense for Bartlett to start alongside Boog Smith on the third unit as their skill-sets should complement each other well with Smith taking the Mike role and Bartlett adding some physicality and smarts alongside him.
The experience in terms of playing on the edge might be useful in certain situations but isn’t likely to be something that dramatically affects his basic role.
Conclusions
Bartlett isn’t the first player to make the transition from edge defender to an off-ball role. Mike Vrabel is a good example of someone who was able to start games in both roles and when he played off the ball, he exploited the attacking mentality and physicality he was used to from playing on the line.
In recent times, players like Bryce Huff and Frankie Luvu have come through the Jets system with a similar tweener reputation due to lacking ideal size to play a full time role on the edge. Each had success although their careers have taken different paths.
While Bartlett is one of the more unheralded members of the Jets’ 2025 undrafted rookie haul, his play recognition does stand out on film, so he will be looking to showcase that to make an impression. He’s definitely a long-shot for anything more than a practice squad slot, though.