Wyatt has character issues
I'm not talking about me
☀️ Good morning,
We’re officially under two weeks away from the NFL draft, and while the official visit list is pretty static there are a couple of notes on some prospects the Jets have met in some capacity, if not hosted for steak and chips at Florham Park.
🖥️ The Jets have had a virtual meeting with Oregon State running back B.J. Baylor who led the Beavers with 209 carries for 1,259 yards and 13 TDs. He forced 54 missed tackles and had 32 runs of 10+ yards on the season. Oregon State also mainly operates out of a zone-blocking system similar to the Jets.
💪 Gang Green also worked out Georgia Tech safety Tariq Carpenter. The 6’2 230lb Yellow Jacket lined up all over last season, but spent much of his time in the box, with only 110 snaps coming at free safety. He was tagged for 4 touchdowns and failed to record an INT with PFF grading him at 53.2 overall. I haven’t seen a single snap of his.
🎽 The Jets worked out Columbia Cornerback Will Allen Jr. The Lion returned 5 kickoffs last season, averaging 38.6 yards per return and returning one kickoff for a TD. He also recorded 2 INTs and 9 pass breakups on defense last season while allowing a 50% completion into his coverage.
🙈⛔ According to Charlie Cambell of Walter Football, multiple teams are dropping Georgia defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt off their draft boards due to character concerns centered around “multiple domestic violence incidents”.
"He's off our board," said an AFC general manager whose team needs defensive tackle help. "If teams are okay with the character, I think he goes between No. 21-32. He has a lot of red flags."
You can read some details about one of these incidents HERE, but I was unable to find details of “multiple” incidents.
Just a quick reminder that the Jets did bring Wyatt in for a private workout. Those red flags may have played a huge part in the team wanting to meet him in person.
🚘 Lionel Vital who was with the Jets as a Southeast region scout between 1998-1999 announced his retirement yesterday. Vital broke into the NFL as a talent scout with the Cleveland Browns in 1991 while Bill Bellichick, and once Bill moved to New England, Vital followed.
1️⃣0️⃣ According to Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline, there is a belief within the Jets organization that Ohio State’s Garrett Wilson won’t make it to the 10th pick in the draft.
“People inside the Jets’ facility in Florham Park do not believe Wilson makes it to them with their second pick in Round 1, the 10th selection. This means it’s a distinct possibility the Falcons will take him at No. 8. The overall feeling is should the Falcons pass on Wilson at eight and the Jets at 10, the Commanders will swipe him off the board with the 11th pick”
Wilson heads the wide receiver class on a lot of draft boards, and he’s my #1 receiver heading into the draft. Wilson finished with 70 receptions for 1,058 yards and 12 touchdowns. 82.9% of his snaps came out wide and 417 yards came after the catch.
➿ Following yesterday’s newsletter, I was having a conversation with Matt and lamenting how frustrating it was to not have data on how often the edge prospects got doubled in college. A lot of people pay attention to pass rush win %, but that stat has no context. Beating a TE one-on-one for a first-round EDGE prospect isn’t that impressive, but beating a double team of TE and OT is, but according to that statistic each one is the same, which to me doesn’t make sense.
So being the good egg that he is, Matt went away and took a 3-game sample size and documented how often Jermaine Johnson and Kayvon Thibodeaux garnered extra attention:
This is only a three-game sample size so it’s not the final word, but it is a big enough sample size to be significant. Jermaine Johnson drew doubles on 27% of his pass-rush snaps and garnered extra attention on 29.7% of his pass-rush stats. This puts JJ’s pass rush win rate % into perspective, it also makes KT’s number of 22.8% look all the more impressive, that 22.8% mark was the best of his career at Oregon.
👍 Dane Brugler released his 7 round mock draft yesterday and if it went this way for the Jets, I’d be pretty thrilled. “I originally put Sauce Gardner here, but I think head coach (Robert Saleh) and general manager (Joe Douglas) are aligned as they prioritize pass rush more than the corner. Thibodeaux won’t be for every franchise, especially in the top 10, but the Jets are one of the landing spots that make sense.”
🤨 According to Adam Rank of NFL.com, here is what the Jets should do at #4. Not what he thinks they will do but what he thinks they should do:
So to summarise that’s two good players and while I don’t hate the Jordan Davis pick, I’ve mocked him there at #10 myself, not getting either an EDGE defender or a Wide Receiver in the first round would be a horrible outcome.
😅 Tom Brady did a funny by asking Elon Musk to delete his combine photo if he were to buy Twitter. I still can’t stand Brady, but he’s become a bit more tolerable since leaving the dark side in New England.
📃 We got the official attendance list for the Draft and chances are the Jets selection at #4 will be in attendance. With Kayvon Thibodeaux, Jermaine Johnson, Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Drake London, Jameson Williams, Ikem Ekwonu, and Sauce Garnder there, most of the guys the experts are mocking to the Jets will be in attendance. The one name missing from this list is Georgia edge Travon Walker.
💚 TJW? My plan is to always keep it free and available, but you can still support my work and TJW with a small donation, the price of a coffee in a swanky craft cafe.
It would seem that with Tariq Carpenter, the Jets are continuing the practice of developing and converting College Safeties into Linebackers, encouraging that Tariq weighs 230. Very impressed with the Jets sixth round drafting last year. BJ Baylor & Will Allen interest could indicate that the Jets in their dealings will acquire sixth or seventh round picks at this late time.