Through the summer, we will be counting down the Jets roster player by player. We continue the series by discussing Chukwuma Okorafor.
Name: Chukwuma Okorafor
Number: 81
Year With Jets:
2ndProjected Role: Swing tackle
His 2025: The Jets took a flyer on Okorafor in the offseason, signing him to a cheap deal when his stock was at an all-time low. His previous two seasons had not ended well. In 2023 he was benched in season with Pittsburgh. In 2024 he lasted less than one game as New England’s starting
left tackle before once again being benched. He left the team after that one game and did not return.
Okorafor was initially slated to be the starting right tackle, but plans changed after the Jets picked Armand Membou in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. That slid Okorafor into the swing tackle role as the primary backup for both Membou and Olu Fashanu. The two young tackles stayed healthy for the entire season, which relegated Okorafor to the bench. He didn’t play a single snap on offense.
Okorafor was, however, active for 14 games and saw 45 snaps as a blocker on special teams for the field goal team.
2026 will be a success if: Okorafor holds up well when called upon to play. In reality the Jets don’t want to see him on the field. If Okorafor plays it means that something happened to either Membou or Fashanu.
It’s tough to be confident that Okorafor would be effective. The last time he played credible ball was 2022, an eternity in NFL terms. The reality is that it’s hard to find quality depth on the offensive line. If nothing else, Okorafor does have a couple of adequate starting seasons under his belt, which is more than you can say for a lot of number three tackles. Could he help hold the fort for a short stretch if one of the starters suffered a minor injury? That might be the realistic base case scenario.
Hopefully for the Jets they never have to find out.
Odds of making the roster: Most Likely (76-99%)
