10 players the Jets coached at the Senior Bowl who they could draft

Narrowing 65 down to 10 was very difficult

Good morning,

First of all my apologies for there being no newsletter on Friday, I was attending a family funeral on Thursday and that really wiped me out.

We’re back to our normal schedule this week and we’re also just a few weeks away from the 2022 NFL Draft, so that’s going to be the focus for April.

When you write newsletters five days a week, sometimes the creative well runs dry. I was sitting struggling with an idea when I received this tweet from Tommy, who’s well worth a follow on Twitter.

Tommy 🦁 @tommyjets

@DWyattHupton Hey Mate. Can you do something on what guys from the Senior Bowl the Jets will draft? And or what U of Cincinnati guys could get drafted since our new assistant DL coach came from there ?

Today we’re going to focus on 10 players the Jets coached at the Senior Bowl who could be Jets come the end of this month. Don’t forget that the last time the Jets coached the senior bowl, they dipped into the pool heavily and it largely worked out for them.

Connie Carberg @ConnieScouts

@DWyattHupton @tommyjets Last time Jets coached @seniorbowl their 1st, 2nd and 4th round all were from it! Hit on 2 of 3 #Jets

I have been looking at draft records of teams following their stint coaching the senior bowl, and teams tend to take at least one if not more players they coached.

So for the sake of this list, I’m only going to focus on players the Jets coached down in Mobile Alabama. Ready to get into it? Let’s go.

There were 65 players listed on the National Team for the Senior Bowl, so whittling that down to 10 has been relatively difficult, but here is my list.

Kerby Joseph - Safety - Illinois

A lot of people talk about Kyle Hamilton, Lewis Cine, and Jalen Pitre…but Kerby Joseph is one of my favorite safeties in the entire draft.

Right now I have him as my 2nd rated safety in the draft and I would argue that the statistics back that up.

Joseph was tied for the most interceptions in college football last season with 5, but he was the only safety to record 5 interceptions and allow less than 50% into his coverage (47.4%).

I don’t remember Joseph standing out at the Senior Bowl, but I was so focused on the likes of Strange and Muma that I may have missed it.

He won’t blow you away with his speed but he has the length and range the Jets could use on the backend partnered with Whitehead. He may not test elite but he plays with outstanding instincts. This won’t be a popular take but I personally think he’s one of the best safeties in the draft.

Cole Strange - Guard/Center - UT- Chattanooga

I’m not sure what else I can say about Cole Strange that I haven’t already said, but he’s my favorite prospect in the entire draft.

I’ve spoken to Cole and he’s got his head on his shoulders, and after his senior bowl showing he’s firmly in the conversation as a day two pick.

I loved him at guard before the Jets signed Laken Tomlinson, now I love him at depth for the guard positions and as the eventual replacement for Connor McGovern at the center position.

Strange worked at the center during Senior Bowl week and he excelled in the drills and game, he negated pass rush from division one seniors and make his mark on the coaching staff.

He’s athletic and strong, uses leverage perfectly, and maintains consistent hand placement to counter double moves.

If Strange is gone by the time the Jets pick in the 3rd round I won’t be shocked…when we first started talking about Cole he was seen as a 5th round prospect. The rest of the NFL seems to have caught up.

Charlie Kolar - Tight End - Iowa State

Before the 2021 draft I was adamant that the Jets should do what they had to do to get Kolar. Charlie then decided to head back to Iowa State for his senior year.

He put up 731 yards and 5 touchdowns while coming down with 65.2% of his contested catches. That’s an outstanding number.

Kolar isn’t a run-after-catch guy, he’s firmly a reliable target who will make your QBs life a hell of a lot easier.

The Jets have seriously upgraded the tight end room this off-season by adding Uzomah and Conklin, but this is the deepest TE class in recent memory and the Jets shouldn’t bypass the opportunity to get a steal.

Draft chatter has Kolar falling to the 4th or 5th round, and personally, I have a 2nd round grade on him, which equals a steal. I’ve chosen Kolar instead of McBride because Trey likely going at the top of the 2nd round, and after the work the Jets did I don’t think they’ll be in the market for a TE at a premium draft pick.

Kolar had a QB friendly 3.3% drop rate and lined up all over, spending time as a traditional in-line tight end, as well as receiving from the slot and lined up out wide.

Bo Melton - Wide Receiver - Rutgers

Melton’s numbers don’t jump out at you, he had 56 catches for 642 yards and 3 touchdowns, but he’s also an outstanding return man and that needs to be factored into his evaluation.

He’s a two-time captain at Rutgers and the QB play for the Scarlet Knights was inconsistent and that’s putting it nicely. Melton is a true football player and his knowledge of defensive concepts stands out on tape.

The issue with Melton is that he comes from a smaller program and he doesn’t have any outstanding physical prospects.

But, here’s what he does well. He’s a good route-runner with outstanding ball tracking skills, he has good body control and catches the ball away from his body.

If you want to see Melton at his best, go back and check out some of his tape from 2020. But even in 2021, his 6.3 yards after the catch per reception number really stands out to me. He’s a late-round guy that could make the team as a special teamer before working his way up the receiver depth chart. I’ve got a 5th round grade on him.

Troy Andersen - LB - Montana State

Anderson’s tape may be one of the more enjoyable ones in college football. Looking at his relative athletic score, you can probably see why:

After being an all-conference pick at quarterback in 2018, he became an all-conference pick at linebacker in 2019 and 2021. He also has spent time as a running back and has a lot of talent with the ball in his hands, theoretically, he could provide you with production in all three facets of the game.

But…it’s at linebacker that most teams will see his future. He’s a big, fast and explosive backer who comes downhill with authority. He has the length for the position and produced a fine set of numbers in 2021 with over 100 tackles, 3 sacks, 11 total pressures, and best of all? He allowed just a 52.6% completion into his coverage last season. The Jets need linebackers who can cover and he does that.

The downside is that Anderson is still quite raw at the position, he doesn’t play with consistent techniques and the instincts just aren’t as sharp as some of the better prospects in the draft. Most of that is the fact he came late to a full-time LB role, and a lot of the deficiencies can be coached up if you have the right people…the Jets absolutely have the right people for that.

Travis Jones - Defensive Tackle - Connecticut

Did anyone improve their stock more than Travis Jones over Senior Bowl week? He was near unblockable at points and constantly won his one v ones.

Jones has started since his freshman year with the Huskies and he has performed every single year. 2021 may have been his best yet with 25 total pressures and 4 sacks, all while defending the run as well as anyone in college football.

Jones is an interesting prospect because although he’s likely a new name to many draft analysts, he’s been on scouts’ radars for years.

He’s a player who has the size and strength to hold up inside and his ability to also collapse the pocket will be appealing to the Jets who struggled to consistently generate an inside pass rush.

Jones has early 2nd round talent and I would not be shocked to see the Jets target him at #35 if they go elsewhere in the first round. I’ve spoken with several people who confirmed the Jets absolutely loved Jones at the Senior Bowl.

Boye Mafe - Edge - Minnesota

Mafe is a very tough evaluation because he flashes elite top of first-round talent and then supplements that with 5-6 plays of a 4th-5th round guy.

Do you believe he’s that first-round talent who flashes or do you think he’ll settle into that rotational middle-round prospect? That’s what you need to decide.

Mafe has the explosion to really exploit a wide-9 alignment that the Jets play. He has the strength in his hands to make linemen very uncomfortable and his chop is perhaps the best chop of any edge player in the draft.

When I’m looking at prospects I always look at the instincts, how well does he read the game…with Mafe I came away thinking he was as raw as they come at understanding concepts and how offenses are trying to attack the defense. He’ll need significantly work at the next level to play faster.

All that being said if he falls to the late 2nd I wouldn’t be against the Jets making a move for him. You can plug and play him as an explosive pass-rusher before developing him into an every-down edge player through years two and three.

Perrion Winfrey - Defensive Tackle - Oklahoma

I didn’t know whether to include Winfrey in this list or not. He had a very good week of senior bowl practices and he left a good impression on scouts…but his 2021 season was nothing to write home about.

He did offer some excellent pass-rush from inside registering 6 sacks and 29 total pressures, but he was a bit of a disaster against the run, and I’m not sure the Jets need any defensive tackles that can’t play the run…we have enough.

Over the course of the season, PFF gave Winfrey a 49.6 grade against the run with a 28.6% missed tackle rate, which is truly horrendous. Every time I watched Winfrey I got the impression that he was a click slower than those around him, he’s a little late off the ball and that’s dangerous in the NFL.

But let’s just focus on the positives, he has the ideal build for a defensive tackle, he does get through the line to make tackles for a loss and he plays through the whistle, which may annoy opponents but will endear him to teammates and fans.

I have a late 2nd to late 3rd grade on him. He’s a guy who would either be great or propping up a practice squad in 2-3 years.

Chad Muma - Linebacker - Wyoming

Do I really need to comment in this section? You know that I absolutely love Chad Muma, more than most people. I have a high 2nd round grade on him.

He led all linebackers in college football last season in terms of tackles and he has a real nose for the ball. He has sideline to sideline range and shows a real awareness in the depth of his drops, getting his hands into the passing lanes.

Muma didn’t play on the best defense in college football and had he have been at an Alabama or a Georgia, I firmly believe we’d be speaking about him as a first-round talent.

He has the short-area quickness to read and react in zone and the size to man up against bigger tight ends in man, he’s also a leader on the defense and was constantly making sure his teammates were aligned properly.

I don’t see a lot of holes in Muma’s game, he could do better with not biting on play-action and his recovery speed will be tested in the NFL.

If the Jets take him in the 2nd and line him up as the potential replacement for CJ, you won’t hear any complaints for me. He could play as a WILL or SAM at the NFL level, but his true home will be MLB.

Abraham Lucas - Offensive Tackle - Washington State

Are you as bored as I am of the OL in the first round discussion? I firmly believe the Jets would be making a mistake if they selected Ekwonu in the top 10, instead they should target Abraham Lucas in the 2nd round or a Zach Tom in the 5th.

Lucas was one of the best tackles in football last season, he plays on the right side of that Washington State line and he allowed 0 sacks and 9 pressures while having a pass-blocking efficiency rating of 99.0…that’s pretty good.

He doesn’t play with the power you’d want from a man his size and that’s the only reason he’s not being spoken about as a first-round prospect. But for the Jets, he ticks all the boxes.

If Becton and Fant start in 2022 and the Jets decide to move on from Fant in 2023, then you have Becton move to LT and you slot Lucas right in there at RT…and you do that without spending a first-round pick.

Lucas has the lateral agility to really pull off the zone system the Jets run, he’s a big unit with a good first step…he’s not an easy man to move off the line and his mirroring technique allows him to stay with speed rushers. Draft Lucas, you won’t regret it.

Some of the players listed below are good scheme fits like Christian Watson, Jeremy Ruckert, and Verone McKinley III, but I wanted to have a good mix in the 10 selected, and with players like Watson the Jets would likely need to move around to select him, not sure he’s worth the #10 overall pick and not sure he’ll last until the #35.

Here are the players that just missed the cut for this list: Jalen Pitre (Baylor, S), Coby Bryant (Cinci, CB), Tariq Castro-Fields (Penn State, CB), Verone McKinley III (Oregon, S), Myjai Sanders (Cincy, Edge), Alec Pierce (Cincy, WR), Jeremy Ruckert (Ohio State, TE), Romeo Doubs (Nevada, WR), Christian Watson (North Dakota State, WR)