Jets Waive Former First-Rounder Mazi Smith After Depth-Chart Squeeze

The Jets are moving on from Mazi Smith, waiving the former first-round defensive tackle who arrived last year as a throw-in piece of the Quinnen Williams blockbuster. Smith, the 26th overall pick in the 2023 draft, never carved out a role in New York, appearing in only three games after the trade and eight total on the season.

This one wasn't a surprise. Smith sat sixth on the interior line, buried behind Harrison Phillips, David Onyemata, T'Vondre Sweat, Jowon Briggs and fourth-rounder Darrell Jackson Jr. When the Jets swung a trade for Sweat and signed Onyemata in free agency this offseason, the math got ugly fast for a player who'd already struggled to earn snaps.

The résumé tells the story of a top pick that never popped. In 42 career games across two-plus seasons in Dallas and a brief New York cameo, Smith racked up just 57 tackles, two sacks and six quarterback hits. Those are not the numbers of a player teams fight to keep on a crowded line.

Smith spent a little over two years with the Cowboys before Dallas shipped him to the Jets as part of the package for Williams. Now he's looking for team number three at 24, and he'll likely draw waiver interest from a DT-needy roster given the draft pedigree alone.

The Fantasy Fallout

For IDP managers, there's nothing to see here. Smith was never a startable interior lineman — even in deep tackle-heavy leagues, an eight-game, minimal-snap defender doesn't sniff a roster. His waiving actually tightens the picture for the Jets' front, keeping snaps concentrated among Phillips, Onyemata and Sweat, none of whom offer meaningful IDP value at DT anyway.

Bottom line: if you're somehow rostering Mazi Smith in an IDP format, drop him without a second thought and wait to see where he lands. There's no upside to hold here — he needs a new home and a defined role before he's worth a single waiver claim.