Every year, when fans turn to the NFL Draft as their team’s seasons come to an end early, certain prospects rise up boards because of a highlight reel or athletic profile that makes for a great social media post. Sometimes those players turn out well; most of the time, they don’t. So in an effort to avoid that, I want to highlight three players that I’ve seen getting massive hype that I’m hoping the Jets avoid at all costs.
I’m going to start with a player who will likely draw attention from the Jets. Given the team’s big hole at DT after trading Quinnen Williams, using a top pick on the position could be enticing. And Peter Woods has been the consensus top DT in the draft since the preseason. In fact, he was a preseason top-5 pick.
Don’t fall for the hype here, though. Woods is not in any world a top-5 player in this draft class. Woods has just three sacks this season, matching his career total prior to this season. He has an abysmal 4.0% pressure rate this year. To give you an idea, Jordan Davis had the worst pressure rate of any DT drafted in the 1st round since pressures have been recorded, and he was at 6.3%.
To say Woods is a poor pass rusher is an understatement. Yet, he’s athletic enough that you can dream on more, and NFL teams do love to dream on being the ones to unlock a skill that no coach before has been able to unlock. It didn’t work for Davis, who’s never had more than 4 sacks in a season, nor has he ever posted a league-average pressure rate. Woods isn’t the athlete Davis is either.
Woods is a great run defender, but he’s not elite there either. His 11.1% run stop rate is good, but just good. His 78.4 run defense grade is 33rd in the NCAA and 21st among Power 4 schools, minimum 50% snaps. It’s above average, but it’s not an elite mark.
Woods is going to get to the combine and grade out as an elite athlete. And that will carry his profile heading into the draft. But statistically, Woods is a Day 3 guy. Some team is likely going to take a shot on him in the first round, and potentially in the top-15. I’m hoping the Jets aren’t the team suckered into believing that they’re the ones who can help an underperforming prospect hit his ceiling.
Similar to DT, the Jets have a massive hole at CB after a move at the trade deadline. Without Sauce Gardener, the Jets are in need of a CB1. And the odds they turn to the draft to develop a CB are high given their head coach. And one guy I’m worried that Aaron Glenn may fall in love with is Avieon Terrell.
Terrell is a lot like Glenn was as a player in many ways. Undersized at 5 foot 11, but a physical player anyway, Terrell has some skills that make coaches’ mouths water.
He’s a huge hitter with a nose for the football, forcing four fumbles this season. Outside of a rough game against Louisville where he missed 3 tackles, Terrell has proven to be a very strong tackler at the position with just 2 missed tackles in every other game combined this season. He also has three sacks and 17 stops.
While those numbers are all nice, that’s not what you’re taking a CB for. You need someone who can cover and lock down the top WR on the other team. And well, Terrell doesn’t really do that part. He’s given up 3 TDs this season, has 0 INTs, and in the one game he’s played against a fellow NFL prospect this year, he gave up 119 yards in coverage. The majority of which came in coverage of Louisville’s Chris Bell.
In fact, Terrell has topped a coverage grade of just 70 only twice this season. Once against Syracuse and once against Florida State. Two teams that aren’t exactly known for top-tier passing attacks. He couldn’t even manage it against Furman.
Terrell is expected to be a late first or early second round pick, right in line with where the Jets are expected to pick with the Colts’ selection or their own second round pick. I’m hoping that Aaron Glenn avoids selecting the elite run-defending, ultra-physical CB that has had issues in coverage.
The Jets’ offensive line is in a much better place than it’s been in years. It’s not the team’s biggest problem, but their interior does need improving. Josh Myers has been among the worst centers in the league, and John Simpson returned to his career norms after an overperformance in 2024. So the question is how the Jets plan on improving there. And I’m personally hoping they don’t take the top center in the class.
Lew entered the year as the top center in the class, and he’s still there. But I’m not sure why he is. Lew has been okay in pass protection, with only 2 sacks and 4 pressures allowed this year. But both of those sacks allowed came in the same game against Texas A&M, where he played future NFL talent. And in general, Lew hasn’t graded out all that well. He only has a 71 pass block rating this year, even if you just limit that to centers in Power 4 conferences, that’s only 46th of 64. His run blocking hasn’t really been much better; he ranks only 39th of the 64 centers in Power 4 conferences this year.
Lew has drawn some comparisons to Creed Humphrey, but I just don’t see it. Humphrey, in his platform year, had an 80.9 offense grade and an 84.7 run blocking grade. Sure, the pass block grades are similar to Humphrey at 68.9, but Humphrey provided value elsewhere. And not to mention that Humphrey was also the 63rd pick. Meanwhile, Lew is expected to be a borderline first-round guy despite never having a season in his college career as good as Humphrey had in his senior year.
If Lew is there at the top of the third round? Sure, he makes a ton of sense for the Jets to take a chance on. As a top-40 pick? I just don’t understand how he’s in the conversation.
One other thing to consider here that will likely affect Lew’s draft status. He tore his ACL in October against Missouri. Despite this, he is often still ranked as the top Center in this class. But it does raise the chance he falls to a more reasonable spot for his college production.
See More:
* [New York Jets Analysis](/new-york-jets-analysis)
* [New York Jets Draft](/new-york-jets-nfl-draft)