With less than a week left until the 2021 NFL Draft, we have little time available to debate about what may be the plan for our New York Jets. Let’s debate about possibly trading up if one of the big name “Miami Boys” were to drop out of round one. Those two guys being EDGE Gregory Rousseau and EDGE Jaelan Phillips. In the recent months, Rousseau’s stock has absolutely PUMMELED! In September he was projected to go nowhere after #5 overall. Now he’s considered the 3rd best EDGE rusher in the draft, at best. This may come from the fact that he opted-out of playing in 2021 and his lack of speed rush moves. Now, with Jaelan Phillips his situation is a little complicated. He actually transferred to Miami this past year and took Greg’s number (#15). He went onto have a great year and really excelled, but that makes scouts nervous because he could be a one-year wonder and of his injury history. However, when scouting him you can see greatness and he has a great fame just like Rousseau. In some mock drafts, he’s supposed to go as high as #14 but in some mock drafts he’s left out of round one. That’s troublesome, but I’m going to go into deep analysis about these two prospects:
EDGE Gregory Rousseau, Miami
There’s no question on Greg’s athletic ability. He’s a 6’7″ animal and weighs a little over 265 with 11 INCH HANDS! With that incredible physic he is still able to run a 4.68 40 time. He’s very agile and usually has a very impressive and on-going motor. With his size and ability he always finds his way to slide through interior defense. Now, here’s the negative he’s only played one full year of college ball. He’s found a way to be a better nose tackle than edge rusher, and that’s not a compliment. He struggles when he has to use pass rush moves and he doesn’t have a huge arsenal of them. Many evaluators claim that they just see more of an athletic freak instead of a football player. And that is the absolute WORST thing you can say about an EDGE rusher. Those are the main reasons why his stock has plummeted the way it has, however the potential is there. He’s clearly a project, but if a team has someone who can draw double-coverage and allow Greg to get one-on-one matchups then maybe he has a chance in this league. Now, we know Robert Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich are two defensive guru’s and can turn scraps into quality players. Give Saleh, Greg’s ability and that would be scary. We wouldn’t be asking much from Greg in year one because he’ll be lined up with Quinnen Williams, Sheldon Rankins, Carl Lawson, and so much more depth. And he’s already a 4-3 scheme fit for us. Personally if he’s sitting there at #35-40 then I’m calling someone up and giving an offer. He answers your long-term EDGE question, and he has all the raw talent you can ask a young player to have. He just needs someone to help him put it all together.
Measurement and Stats (2019):
Age- 21 (Birthday in April)
Height: 6’7″
Weight: 266 LBS
Arms: 34.375”
Hands: 11.125”
40 Time: 4.68
Sacks: 15.5
Total Tackles: 54
Tackles for loss: 19.5
Pass Deflections: 1
Forced Fumbles: 2
Games Played: 13
EDGE Jaelan Phillips, Miami
Jaelan dropping into round two is a bigger IF than Greg dropping into round two. However, these two prospects are extremely similar when it comes to size. They are both over 6’6″ and weigh more than 260. When he transferred from UCLA to Miami, he made sound waves and filled into Greg’s shoes. He had a MONSTER year in 2020 and makes it exciting when seeing him play. He is a scheme fit because he’s versatile to both the 4-3 defense and the 3-4 defense. He has an excellent motor and is everything you want in an EDGE rusher. Only negatives are the amount of pass-rush moves he has (just like Greg), he could be a one-year wonder, and he has a clear injury history and needs to play better in head-to-head plays with lineman. However, as I said for Greg…. we don’t need him to be a Pro-Bowler from day one. He will have support from the coaches and will be able to take advantage from Lawson’s and Quinnen’s double coverage. If he’s sitting in round two, the Jets must call someone for a trade.
Measurement and Stats:
Age- 22 (At start of Week One)
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 260 LBS
Arms: 33.25”
Hands: 9.75”
40 Time: 4.56
Sacks: 8.0
Total Tackles: 45
Tackles for loss: 15.5
Pass Deflections: 3
Interceptions: 1
Games Played: 10
To recap, these are both two athletic freaks that have shown they can put up big numbers. They are raw prospects and have incredible potential to be a prominent EDGE rusher in the league. They’ll be surrounded by lots of depth, talent and great coaching. If I was a GM I’d say there is A LOT to be excited about when it comes to these two gentlemen. I know a lot of people feel like this is a weak EDGE and DL draft but I kind of disagree. There isn’t a slew of great talent at the DL position but there’s potential and some good player available, none that I’d pick in the top 10 though. If either of these gentlemen drop to round two, I expect the Jets to be scoping the field.
Thanks for reading everybody. This has been Jose Calderon III with FiveBorough Dispatch. Have a great day, everybody!
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