The New York Jets need a run-stuffing defensive tackle
The New York Jets have many needs this offseason if they want to compete for a Super Bowl. With limited cap space, though, they will need to fill some of those needs in the draft.
One of the positions where they could look to do so is defensive tackle. Quinnen Williams is the only one of the Jets’ four-man rotation from 2023 who is currently under contract with the team for 2024. Even if they re-sign Quinton Jefferson and Solomon Thomas, that still leaves a hole in the Al Woods role. After Woods tore his Achilles, the Jets are highly unlikely to re-sign him for another year.
Therefore, the Jets might seek to find a run-stuffing defensive tackle in the middle rounds of the draft. They don’t have a second-round pick, which means the earliest they could make such a run is on Day 3. They have one third-round pick, two fourths, a sixth, and a projected three seventh-rounders from compensatory picks. Still, since they’re looking for more of a one-trick pony than an all-around defensive tackle, there should be some solid options in that area.
Run defense is very difficult to evaluate statistically. We’ll do the best we can to evaluate the options without having broken down their tape in depth.
What does Al Woods’ role entail?
It’s worth noting that Pro Football Focus lists Woods’ primary role as playing in the B-gap, where he lined up on 87.1% of snaps. PFF does not differentiate between 2, 2i, and 3-technique in their breakdowns, though, making it difficult to evaluate exactly where the players lined up. They list Woods as having played 87.1% of his snaps at defensive left tackle or defensive right tackle.
Woods’ primary role was at 2i, meaning that he lined up on the guard’s inside shoulder. He did not play the true big-man 0 or 1-technique, but he still played inside and was meant to stuff run gaps.
Marcus Harris, Auburn
Harris is just 6-foot-3 and 295 pounds, which means that his size profile is not ideal for the run defender the Jets are looking for. Still, out of 187 interior defensive linemen with at least 200 run defense snaps, Harris’ 87.4 PFF run defense grade ranked No. 1. He also had a 10.2% run stop rate, ranking eighth. He did have some issues with missed tackles, ranking 117th with a 14.6% rate.
Harris played 74.9% of his snaps in the B-gap, although they were likely more at 3-technique than at 2i. He’s more likely to be a Quinnen Williams backup than take the place of Woods on run downs.
As a pass rusher, Harris was okay, posting a 7.2% pressure rate. That’s certainly not going to be his forte at the NFL level. Still, Harris is listed as the 194th-best prospect on the NFL Mock Draft Database consensus big board, which is the 17th pick in the sixth round. He’s worth mentioning here.
Tyler Davis, Clemson
Davis fell just short of qualifying as a defensive tackle, as he had 197 run defense snaps. He’s 6-foot-2 and 300 pounds, not exactly as big as a typical 2i-technique but bigger than Harris. Davis’ 90.8 PFF run defense grade would have ranked first had he qualified, while his 7.7% run stop rate would have ranked 26th. Davis did not miss any run defense tackles in the 2023 season. He had a 7.7% pressure rate, showing that this is not his primary strength.
Davis played 71.9% of his snaps in the B-gap, although they may have also come more at 3-technique.
Thomas Christopher pointed to Davis as a possible Jets Day 3 target. Davis is listed at No. 103 on the consensus big board, which is the first pick of the fourth round. The Jets could potentially snag him in that round.
McKinnley Jackson, Texas A&M
Jackson has more prototypical size for a nose tackle at 325 pounds, although he is on the shorter side (6-foot-2). Jackson played 54.7% of his snaps in the A-gap and 41.6% in the B-gap and is probably a better 2i fit due to his size.
His 76.9 PFF run defense grade ranked 24th, and his 6.2% run stop rate ranked 60th. Getting those stops is not considered as much of the primary role for a 2i-tech, as they’re trying to eat up space to allow other defenders to rally to the tackle point. However, missed tackles were a problem for him in the run game, as his 24% rate ranked 179th.
Nazir Stackhouse, Georgia
Stackhouse is also more of a typical nose tackle at 6-foot-3 and 320 pounds. He played 47.5% of his snaps in the A-gap and 50.9% in the B-gap and could be a 2i.
Stackhouse’s 74.8 PFF run defense grade would have ranked 31st if he had qualified. His 5.8% run-stop rate would have ranked 82nd. He did not miss any run defense tackles.
Stackhouse is not even listed on the big board, but PFF ranks him as their No. 138 prospect. That’s a fifth-round value, a pick the Jets do not currently have.
I could see them drafting a “project” AND signing a pro. It’s an area of need but the “Same Ol’ Jets'” narratives will kick in saying they are dumb for drafting ANOTHER DL. I expect them to draft a DT.