When the New York Jets announced they had signed Naye Lynn just 11 days ago, it was the type of news that most fans scroll past on their timelines without blinking an eye.

Suddenly, this late-August scrap-heap pickup has played his way into being a must-keep for the Jets.

With the type of track record Lynn has put together, the Jets would be foolish not to keep him on their 53-man roster.

The Nate Lynn train keeps chugging

Lynn picked up a sack in Friday night’s preseason loss to the Giants, bringing him to three sacks in just two games.

All three of those sacks were “legit”. Last night’s sack saw Lynn beat the right tackle to the outside with a double-swip/rip move. He proceeded to bend the corner and pick up a solo sack on Jameis Winston.

The thing about Lynn, though, is that he didn’t just magically happen to rack up three big plays out of nowhere. He has steadily built an undeniable resume of preseason dominance over the past three years.

A 2024 undrafted free agent out of William & Mary, Lynn signed with the Detroit Lions, while Aaron Glenn was their defensive coordinator. Lynn had a fantastic preseason debut and was on track to make the team, but he suffered a torn ligament in his shoulder and missed the entire season.

Lynn had another standout preseason for the Lions in 2025, but was waived as part of final roster cuts. He eventually caught on to the Tennessee Titans’ practice squad, but never played a regular-season game.

At this point, though, Lynn’s regular season debut is long overdue. No matter how meaningful you think the preseason is, it’s impossible to deny the consistency of his production across three seasons.

Lynn has played seven career preseason games, and he was tremendous as a pass rusher in all but one:

  • 2024 Week 1 (DET): 5 total pressures on 13 pass-rush snaps (38.5% pressure rate), 1 sack, 84.9 PFF pass-rush grade
  • 2025 HOF (DET): 3 total pressures on 17 pass-rush snaps (17.6% pressure rate), 0 sacks, 81.8 PFF pass-rush grade
  • 2025 Week 1 (DET): 4 total pressures on 12 pass-rush snaps (33.3% pressure rate), 1 sack, 85.5 PFF pass-rush grade
  • 2025 Week 2 (DET): 0 total pressures on 25 pass-rush snaps (0.0% pressure rate), 0 sacks, 57.7 PFF pass-rush grade
  • 2025 Week 3 (DET): 3 total pressures on 16 pass-rush snaps (18.8% pressure rate), 0 sacks, 92.6 PFF pass-rush grade
  • 2026 Week 2 (NYJ): 4 total pressures on 17 pass-rush snaps (23.5% pressure rate), 2 sacks, 85.9 PFF pass-rush grade
  • 2026 Week 3 (NYJ): 2 total pressures on 14 pass-rush snaps (14.3% pressure rate), 1 sack, 63.0 PFF pass-rush grade

Overall, on 114 pass-rush snaps across seven preseason games, Lynn has racked up 21 total pressures, with five of those being sacks. He has an 18.4% pressure rate and a PFF pass-rush grade of 87.0.

For context, Pro-Bowl Denver Broncos edge rusher Nik Bonitto had an 18.3% pressure rate last year. Yes, obviously it is apples to oranges to compare a 114-snap preseason sample to a full regular season—this is merely to demonstrate exactly how good Lynn’s preseason numbers are to those who do not have a reference point for what constitutes an elite pressure rate. The 2025 league average for edge rushers was 11.8% (PFF).

The Jets have four locks on the edge: David Bailey, Joseph Ossai, Kingsley Enagbare, and Will McDonald. After that, though, there is room for another edge rusher to sneak in.

Lynn had better be that guy.

Outside of a great quarterback, there are few individual skills more valuable on a football field than pass rushing off the edge. Lynn deserves a chance to translate his preseason consistency to the regular season. If he can establish himself as a solid rotational rusher for the Jets, he will go down as a major steal for the franchise.