Jets Starter Goes From Highest Paid to ‘Most Underrated’ by Fans

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

Michael Carter II was the belle of the ball for the New York Jets. He was handsomely rewarded as the highest-paid slot corner in football. A three-year $30.75 million contract that included $13.61 million guaranteed.

However, this past season was marred by injuries, forcing Carter to miss four games of action. He appeared in 13 games, but only made one start. The array of injury issues forced the Jets to use a rotation at cornerback to try and help MC2 as he tried to play with the injury. He only appeared in 32% of the defensive snaps, by far a career low.

Now, after a down year, Carter has been labeled the “most underrated” player on the Jets’ roster.

Jets analyst Joe Caporoso asked his nearly 40,000 followers to explain who the most underrated Jets player on the roster is. The most popular response was Carter.

Who is most underrated player on #Jets roster? @BadlandsTOJ

— Joe Caporoso (@JCaporoso) May 23, 2025

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“The obvious answer is Michael Carter,” a Jets fan said.

A Jets fan responded, “MC2 I think. I would’ve said Q but last two years the league woke up.”

Several fans just responded simply “MC2” with no further explanation.

Carter Is One of the Great Jets Draft Success Stories That No One Talks About

MC2 originally entered the league as the No. 154 overall pick in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL draft.

He had experience as both a safety and a cornerback coming out of Duke. After the Jets drafted him, they converted him to a full-time nickel/slot defender.

Across his four seasons, Carter has appeared in 60 games and has made 21 starts. During that period, he has racked up two interceptions, 24 pass deflections, three fumble recoveries, and 209 total tackles.

The Jets haven’t had many success stories in the mid-rounds, but Carter is certainly one of them. Not only did he develop into a full-time starter as a day three pick, but he also became one of the best at his position.

Sauce Gardner gets all of the love because of his nickname and the All-Pro love, but Carter is the secret sauce in the Jets’ secondary that makes it go.

Carter performed poorly last season, but it is less about a random drop-off and more about the array of injuries he was battling. Carter toughed it out for his teammates and played way more than he should have last season.

This year it seems like he has fully recovered and is ready for a major bounceback.

Brandon Stephens Better Be Ready to Buckle His Chinstrap Because NFL Teams Are Coming

If Gardner and Carter return to form, opposing NFL offenses are going to be left with only one choice: target the hell out of the other starting cornerback, Brandon Stephens.

Stephens has an uneven reputation coming from the Baltimore Ravens as someone with a propensity for giving up big plays.

However, the coaching staff believes in his abilities and they think they can coach out any of his problems. If they’re right, the Jets have the potential of being one of the best cornerback groups in the league. If Stephens flops like a dead fish, then he could prove to be a huge liability next to his young standout teammates.