New York Jets must target EDGE Jayson Oweh in 2021 NFL Draft
The team that had the most opportunity to reshape their roster this offseason was the New York Jets. Not only did they have over $70 million in available salary-cap space, but they also had nine draft picks (prior to Sam Darnold trade). Of those nine draft picks, five of them were in the top 100. Two of those selections were added during the Jamal Adams trade before the season.
This offseason, the Jets needed to add all the help they can get. General manager Joe Douglas has been extremely active in changing the culture and personnel in his locker room. He fired Adam Gase and replaced him with San Fransisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.
Along with the great work he has done with San Fransisco’s defense, Saleh is known as a player’s coach and brings a work ethic and culture wherever he’s been. A lot of players want to play for him and those who have played for him rave about him.
Besides adding Saleh, Douglas has added multiple free agents to his roster that could contribute right away. A theme that could be taken away from the free agents he signed is that he signed younger players who have a lot of potential and could reach that potential in a new situation on a new team.
Players who fit that model that the Jets signed include former first-round picks Corey Davis, Sheldon Rankins, and Jarrad Davis. Carl Lawson is another talented player that the Jets brought in who could have a breakout season since he will have the full-time role he lacked in Cincinnati.
Veteran players like Tevin Coleman and Lamarcus Joyner are looking to bounce back to the players they were earlier in their career. Both Coleman and Joyner have joined the New York Jets and are on their third teams.
After trading away Sam Darnold to the Carolina Panthers, the Jets will almost certainly take a quarterback with the second overall pick. But the Jets could fill the other needs remaining on their roster with their other early picks. Their needs include cornerback, interior offensive line, running back, linebacker, and edge rusher.
A couple of edge rushers the Jets could attempt to draft within the first 40 selections are Gregory Rousseau, Azeez Ojulari, Joe Tryon, Ronnie Perkins, and Jayson Oweh. Oweh is the player who the Jets should put on the top of that list edge rushers.
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Jayson Oweh Prospect Bio
Jayson Oweh was a redshirt sophomore defensive end this past year at Penn State. The 2020 season was the first time Oweh was a full-time starter for the Nittany Lions. During his first two seasons, Oweh had 25 total tackles and seven sacks despite only starting one game.
During the season, he emerged as one of the best edge rushers in the country. He was named First Team All-Big Ten for his performance. The insane part about Oweh as a prospect is that despite not having a single sack last season, he has shown enough for teams to see him as a player who should be selected between the late first round and the middle of the second round.
Even though Oweh didn’t put have any sacks last year he did have 6.5 tackles per loss in his seven games. That is along with the 38 total tackles he had on the season. PFF ranked Oweh as the second-best defensive end in the 2021 NFL Draft class. Their run defense grade on him went from 59.5 to 89.7 last season.
During his Pro Day Oweh was listed at 6-foot-5 and 257 pounds. His hands are listed at 9.25 inches and his arms are listed at 34.5 inches. According to Mark Gaughan of Buffalo News, Penn State reported that Oweh ran a 4.36 forty-time even though Senior Bowl Director Jim Nagy reported that he ran a 4.39 after talking to scouts. Gaughan also gave perspective on how insane of a forty-time that is for a defensive end reporting that it is the fastest time a defensive end has recorded at the even since the NFL started recording combine data in 2003. He also had a 39.5-inch vertical jump and a broad jump of 11 feet, 2 inches.
New York Jets
Why Jayson Oweh is a great fit for the New York Jets
The Jets have two opportunities to select Jayson Oweh. They may be able to select him either at pick No. 23 or No. 34. Depending on how high the rest of the league values Oweh, the New York Jets have to decide when is the perfect opportunity to select Oweh and get the optimal value.
What makes Oweh so appealing for the Jets is the same reason why some teams should not touch him. He is extremely raw as a player. Oweh started playing football in only 2016. On top of that, he only started eight of 20 games played in college. His raw ability and lack of sack production from this past year could be enough to differ a team that needs a pass rusher who will be near his ceiling when he enters the league.
Since New York is a rebuilding team with a young and talented defensive line, they could look at Oweh as a prospect they could develop during his first couple of seasons. In San Fransisco, Robert Saleh unlocked the potential of defensive linemen like Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner, Nick Bosa, and D.J. Jones, and Kerry Hyder. Oweh has the tools to be a great defensive lineman and Saleh can help him get there.
Saleh is arguably the best coach to take advantage of all the tools Oweh has and develop him in the places where he needs work. On top of his performance, last season Oweh’s athleticism could really excite Saleh. If the New York Jets defensive coaching staff can combine Oweh’s athleticism, ability to defend the run, and create pressure with some refined pass rush skills, he would have all of the tools needed to be one of the premier edge defenders in the NFL.
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That kind of player along a defensive line that features Carl Lawson, Quinnen Williams, Sheldon Rankins, John Franklin-Myers, and Folorunso Fatukasi has the potential to be even more dangerous than the unit Saleh had in San Fransisco, which led them to a Super Bowl.