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The Jets pick seventh in the first round.
If this player slips to seven, somebody from the Jets should run a 4.5 forty running up to Roger Goodell to give him the card with this guy’s name on it.
Talking about Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham.
Some would argue they should pick a QB, but don’t you get the sense about this year’s first-round QBs that we are not talking about truly elite prospects.
The top two guys couldn’t lift their teams into the 12-team College Football Playoff. While it’s unfair to totally blame Miami’s Cam Ward or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders for that, the bottom line is neither team made the final 12, and that is why the QBs at Power Five Schools are paid the big bucks.
If Jordan Travis is healthy, are Ward and Sanders that much better than the Jets’ 2024 fifth-round pick?
I have no idea, but my gut tells me no.
One thing we should all learn from the Philadelphia Eagles is the importance of stockpiling talent in the trenches. A big reason the Eagles had a great season, culminating with a Super Bowl win, was domination in the trenches.
The Jets need to fix their run defense which was bad two years in a row.
And that starts up front – nobody on that line had a Pro Bowl year, especially against the run.
Graham is just what they need at defensive tackle at a powerfully built 6-3, 320.
They need to be looking for a few 320-pound types to plug up the middle – maybe look in free agency to add somebody like L.A. Ram Bobby Brown or Cincinnati Bengal B.J. Hill.
But no matter what they do in free agency, if Graham is there are seven, they need to rush to the podium.
“Graham is a powerful defensive tackle with outstanding leverage and instincts,” wrote NFL Network lead draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah, a former NFL scout. “He’s one of the most consistent players in the draft class. Against the run, he has an impressive short-area burst to attack blockers. He excels in block destruction. He stacks, finds the ball, chucks blockers to the side and collects tackles.”
Sounds perfect for the Jets, a team that was consistently gashed up the middle because their defensive tackles too often could not get off blocks.
Not only is he huge with quick feet, but he’s relentless.
“He plays with a non-stop motor,” wrote draft analyst Lance Zierlein on NFL.com.
There are some concerns about his arm length, which some scouts fear is on the short side, but he seems to overcome that issue well with his low center of gravity and good leverage from his wrestling background. Look, offensive tackles with short arms are not ideal, but you can probably get by at defensive tackle with them.
Look, the Jets’ new brass needs to end the delusion of some in the former regime, who felt they could get by with 280-pounders who are good at shooting gaps. There was a consistent problem with that. If they didn’t beat the guard or center into the gap, they often got velcroed to blocks due to being so undersized.
The Jets need more size and power up the gut, and Graham would be a perfect addition.
February 24, 2025
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