New York Jets linebacker Jamien Sherwood, who has recorded 308 tackles over the past two seasons to rank second in the NFL, credits the game of chess with shaping how he reads the chaos of the football field. The 26-year-old, who has become one of the loudest figures on the Jets defense after an introverted youth, outlined the conceptual link between the two games during an exclusive interview with Mirror Sport via The Mirror U.S.
Anticipation on the field and the board
“It’s about anticipation,” Sherwood said. “In football, defense tells you a story. When they break the huddle, they get into a formation, they get in certain personnel groupings. Then there’s the down, the distance, the time on the clock, there are so many situations.”
“In chess, you're still telling a story. You're trending in some direction. The move that you make right now is to set up moves down the road. In football, the moves made on a play is to set up the game down the stretch. They go hand in hand.”
Sherwood began playing football in Pop Warner in Martin County, Florida, and took up chess in the third grade after his friends joined a club. “I knew nothing about it, but because my friends were doing it, I joined in,” he said.
A chess match with Jim Harbaugh
Years later, during a college visit, Sherwood played a chess match against then-University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh. “They taught me a lot, and eventually, years later, when I was on a college visit, I got to play one of the head coaches in a chess match: Jim Harbaugh, at the University of Michigan. As the time was ticking, I started rushing my last moves, so he beat me. It is what it is. He got a run for his money.”
Asked which chess piece he would be, Sherwood initially suggested the queen before settling on the knight. “I would just say the queen, only because they can move wherever they want all around the board. I do like a rook, but... actually I take all that back: I’m the knight. It’s cool that they can move in an L shape, and one of my best setups is with the knight.”
Optimism for Year 2 under Aaron Glenn
Sherwood is entering the second season of a three-year, $45 million deal with the Jets, who finished 3-14 in 2025 under head coach Aaron Glenn. Despite that record, Sherwood is confident that improvements will come in Year 2.
“There's so many words that I could use to describe the way that Coach Glenn is running the show, how he wants the defense to look - and every word that I would describe him as is bleeding into our defense, is bleeding to each player,” Sherwood said. “We come here ready to work every day. Not to say that that wasn't the case in the past, but you can see that there's a fine line for greatness and everybody's trying to chase that.”
Sherwood praised Glenn's consistency and preparation. “One thing he likes to say is: ‘Don't get tired of repeating the same things.’ Every day, we're gonna come to work. We're gonna sit in meetings for a long time. We're gonna go to walkthroughs, eat lunch. You're gonna see the same people every day. But the way that he goes about his job and how he has to prepare us, it feeds us.”
“It makes us even more hungry because if our coach can do it and he's not even stepping in between those white lines anymore, we can do it as well. So again, all in all, everybody that's a part of this organization is blessed to have him as a coach. We're blessed to play for this team and we're excited for this year.”
The Jets return to the UK with Touchdown Tailgate, an immersive fan watch party celebrating the start of the NFL season in London this weekend.
