2022 Edge/Pass Rushers STATS for quick-glance comparison

[Greenseed4]

This class is secretly loaded at the EDGE position.  As my humble service to the JN community, I have compiled them all here for quick-glance comparison of some potential mid-round targets if we miss out on the top two.  (Players are marked with 2 asterisks (**) for each of the following: double-digit TFL,  double-digit sacks, 50+ total tackles).

 

Aidan Hutchinson (6'6, 265): 13 GP - 58 tackles, 15.5 TFL, 14 sacks ******

Kayvon Thibodeaux (6'5, 250): 10 GP - 49 tackles, 12 TFL, 7 sacks**

George Karlaftis (6'4, 275): 12 GP - 39 tackles, 10 TFL, 4.5 sacks**

David Ojabo (6'5, 250): 13 GP - 35 tackles, 12 TFL, 11 sacks ****

Drake Jackson (6'4, 250) 10 GP - 37 tackles, 8 TFL, 5 sacks

Jermaine Johnson (6'5, 262) 12 GP - 70 tackles, 17.5 TFL, 11.5 sacks ******

Kingsley Enagbare (6'4, 270) 12 GP - 43 tackles, 7 TFL, 4.5 sacks

Cameron Thomas (6'5, 270) 14 GP - 71 tackles, 20.5 TFL, 10.5 sacks ******

Logan Hall (6'6, 275) 12 GP - 47 tackles, 13 TFL, 6 sacks**

Myjai Sanders (6'5, 258) 13 GP - 34 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks

Nik Bonitto (6'3, 240) 11 GP - 39 tackles, 15 TFL, 7 sacks**

Zach Harrison (6'6, 265) 10 GP - 25 tackles, 6 TFL, 2 sacks

Sam Williams (6'4, 265) 12 GP - 56 tackles, 14 TFL, 12.5 sacks ******

Arnold Ebiketie (6'3, 256) 12 GP - 62 tackles, 18 TFL, 9.5 sacks ******

Will McDonald IV (6'4, 245) 12 GP - 36 tackles, 14 TFL, 11.5 sacks  ****

 

[Barry McCockinner]

I suspect the combine will weigh heavily on the Jets edge rankings. They'll be putting a premium on speed.

[Greenseed4]

On 12/30/2021 at 10:24 AM, Barry McCockinner said:

I suspect the combine will weigh heavily on the Jets edge rankings. They'll be putting a premium on speed.

I agree. 

I think a lot will depend on Carl Lawson's recovery, and if he loses a step with his injury.  He should still have his strength to bull-rush, but  we also have JFM and Kyle Phillips... both big, bull-rusher types. 

We need a speedy/twitchy/bendy dude to fly around the edge.  Which is why I think we'd lean more toward Kayvon, Ojabo, Bonitto, or Ebiketie.  But if a dude like Jermaine Johnson can put up some crazy 3-cone numbers I could see him flying up draft boards. 

[Jets Voice of Reason]

Hope everyone gets to have a combine this year. The pro day stuff has been very annoying to deal with.

[BCJet]

What Im curious to see is how these Edge guys fit into our defense.

It appears that Bryce Huff is too small to be an every down DE in this scheme at 6'3 255.  Hes been pretty good as a rusher on passing downs, but if he really is more of a situational pass rusher, then does that eliminate a player like Jermaine Johnson or Ojabo for this scheme?

Looking at SF they had Bosa at about 270 (but a damn strong 270) and Arik Armstead at close to 290.  So maybe JFM can be play the Armstead role and then we can use someone like Johnson as a pass rusher in year 1 and a replacement for Lawson in year 2?

This seems increasingly important is we are going to aim to find OLBs like Fred Werner who can run well but who play at 230/235.

I really wish Saleh would look into a schematic change along the DL so they can let guys like Foley and JFM play more 2-gap on run downs and take some pressure off the LBs and let us keep speed on the field at DE.

[Greenseed4]

1 hour ago, Jets Voice of Reason said:

Hope everyone gets to have a combine this year. The pro day stuff has been very annoying to deal with.

Something to consider, whether combine or pro day, opinions on these players will change after we see true measurements.  10-15 pounds and a couple inches can make a huge difference. 

[Barton]

How you gonna take Karlafis in the top 10 when he has 4 freakin sacks? Ditto for Thibodeaux with only 7 sacks, as a top 3 pick? Good Lord. 

[UntouchableCrew]

I’m starting to lean toward Ojabo or Jermaine Johnson at edge.

I want to see how these guys test though. 3 cone is really important for edge rushers.

[PLO]

2 hours ago, Barton said:

How you gonna take Karlafis in the top 10 when he has 4 freakin sacks? Ditto for Thibodeaux with only 7 sacks, as a top 3 pick? Good Lord. 

I don't think Karlaftis is a top 10 pick myself, he's not really a guy who gets after the QB. 

[Greenseed4]

18 minutes ago, PLO said:

I don't think Karlaftis is a top 10 pick myself, he's not really a guy who gets after the QB. 

Karlaftis with Carl Lawson would be redundant and ineffective. 

[PLO]

32 minutes ago, Greenseed4 said:

Karlaftis with Carl Lawson would be redundant and ineffective. 

Thing is with Karlaftis is that he's stiff below his hips, so he can't really rush that well going outside an opposing tackle. Also, for a guy who is apparently very strong in the upper body he struggles against bigger players. Guess what type of players he will be facing in the NFL. 

Compare him to Thibs or Ojabo, both have freakish athletic traits, including that bend you need to rush outside a tackle. 

This is also a deep class at pass rush, the value for getting an iffy prospect like Karlaftis with a first round pick just isn't there. There are a number of players who play "lower value" positions who are just much more "sure fire" with those first picks we have. 

 

[Greenseed4]

1 minute ago, PLO said:

Thing is with Karlaftis is that he's stiff below his hips, so he can't really rush that well going outside an opposing tackle. Also, for a guy who is apparently very strong in the upper body he struggles against bigger players. Guess what type of players he will be facing in the NFL. 

Compare him to Thibs or Ojabo, both have freakish athletic traits, including that bend you need to rush outside a tackle. 

This is also a deep class at pass rush, the value for getting an iffy prospect like Karlaftis with a first round pick just isn't there. There are a number of players who play "lower value" positions who are just much more "sure fire" with those first picks we have. 

 

Weird, long way of saying you agree with me. 

[derp]

Starting defensive tackle is a free agent and there’s a DT/DE hybrid in this class with more sacks than half the list…

*ducks*

Think we should brace ourselves. A lot of positions aren’t need/value fits early, Jets have multiple picks, value getting pressure from the front…

[Chrebetfan80]

On 12/30/2021 at 1:39 PM, Greenseed4 said:

I agree. 

I think a lot will depend on Carl Lawson's recovery, and if he loses a step with his injury.  He should still have his strength to bull-rush, but  we also have JFM and Kyle Phillips... both big, bull-rusher types. 

We need a speedy/twitchy/bendy dude to fly around the edge.  Which is why I think we'd lean more toward Kayvon, Ojabo, or Ebiketie.  But if a dude like Jermaine Johnson can put up some crazy 3-cone numbers I could see him flying up draft boards. 

Interesting things happening in the nfl regarding achilles injuries.  We're all worried about lawson and rightfully so, but Cam Akers may play again in the playoffs THIS YEAR after tearing his in camp.  Thats remarkable. 

[section314]

Guy who is interesting to me is Sam Williams. Very productive in the best conference. How he does in the pre-draft process will be worth watching.

[Jets Voice of Reason]

23 minutes ago, section314 said:

Guy who is interesting to me is Sam Williams. Very productive in the best conference. How he does in the pre-draft process will be worth watching.

I've been a fan this season. I think he has a shot at testing well, although I'm curious to see the agility numbers. He's got straight line speed for sure. A bit raw in terms of pass rushing moves and I think he has ok but not great hips on outside rush. Definitely interested as a day 2 pick depending on what we do in round 1 at edge as long as he tests reasonably well.

[Barton]

Karlaftis runs like Bobby Boucher in The Waterboy.

[Claymation]

Travon Waker is one of my favorite edge prospects in the 2nd.

[David Harris]

On 12/30/2021 at 8:36 PM, Greenseed4 said:

Karlaftis with Carl Lawson would be redundant and ineffective. 

I don't know about that.  Lawson is quick and shifty along with having great technique.  Karlaftis is more a brute strength rusher also with great technique.

I personally think Karlaftis is going to blow the combine away.  And remember he is only 20 years old!  He only has 4.5 sacks because he was literally double and triple teamed almost every single play and he handled those double teams very well.  I think he'll be a top 10 pick.  His measurements will be very important at the combine and he's the number one guy I'm interesting in seeing there.

[IndianaJet]

Ojabo officially declared.

 

 

[sec101row23]

15 minutes ago, IndianaJet said:

Ojabo officially declared.

 

 

He’ll be a legit top 10 player once draft day rolls around.   Wait till they measure him and see his wingspan, he’s impressive.  He’s a bit raw because he hasn’t been playing football his entire life and some may not like that in a top 10 edge, but he’s going to be a very good pro.  Cant have enough edge rushers.  

[BurntDice]

Thoughts on possibly snagging Drake Jackson AND Travon Walker if we trade down? Jackson has some technique issues, but has the speed/athleticism to play a good edge in this system. Walker can be a good hybrid dt/edge. They both have upside, and have potential to be dominant. 

[Greenseed4]

1 hour ago, David Harris said:

I don't know about that.  Lawson is quick and shifty along with having great technique.  Karlaftis is more a brute strength rusher also with great technique.

I personally think Karlaftis is going to blow the combine away.  And remember he is only 20 years old!  He only has 4.5 sacks because he was literally double and triple teamed almost every single play and he handled those double teams very well.  I think he'll be a top 10 pick.  His measurements will be very important at the combine and he's the number one guy I'm interesting in seeing there.

Lawson is built like a fire hydrant, I feel like we need a bendy/twitchy guy to bookend him.  I'm not saying Karlaftis won't be good, in fact I liked him more than Hutchinson at the beginning of the year, I just think we need a long-armed quick guy to beat his OT on the edge and make the QB step up into our QW/Lawson deflated pocket.    

[Greenseed4]

In fact, one of the sub-plots of this thread is to point out that mid-round guys have the same if not better production than the top-2. 

Sam Williams, Arnold Ebeketie, Nik Bonitto, Jermaine Johnson.... 

 

Here's a scenario I'm playing out lately... we take the OT at #4, trade Becton to a cap-strapped team for an expensive veteran pass rusher (Leonard Floyd, Robert Quinn, Danielle Hunter) and then draft a mid-tier PR later in the draft. 

1A. Neal 

1B. (trade down) WR 

2A. PR/TE

2B.TE/PR 

[sec101row23]

17 minutes ago, Greenseed4 said:

In fact, one of the sub-plots of this thread is to point out that mid-round guys have the same if not better production than the top-2. 

Sam Williams, Arnold Ebeketie, Jermaine Johnson.... 

 

Here's a scenario I'm playing out lately... we take the OT at #4, trade Becton to a cap-strapped team for an expensive veteran pass rusher (Leonard Floyd, Robert Quinn, Danielle Hunter) and then draft a mid-tier PR later in the draft. 

1A. Neal 

1B. (trade down) WR 

2A. PR/TE

2B.TE/PR 

I don’t think trading Becton makes any sense what so ever.  He would still have almost $5.5M in dead cap while actually not saving any money.   Besides, you could probably just trade a mid round pick for Hunter since he’s most likely going to be a cap casualty for Minnesota next year.  

[kdels62]

27 minutes ago, Greenseed4 said:

In fact, one of the sub-plots of this thread is to point out that mid-round guys have the same if not better production than the top-2. 

Sam Williams, Arnold Ebeketie, Jermaine Johnson.... 

 

Here's a scenario I'm playing out lately... we take the OT at #4, trade Becton to a cap-strapped team for an expensive veteran pass rusher (Leonard Floyd, Robert Quinn, Danielle Hunter) and then draft a mid-tier PR later in the draft. 

1A. Neal 

1B. (trade down) WR 

2A. PR/TE

2B.TE/PR 

Considering I don’t think Neal is particularly better than Cross, Raimann, or Mitchell I’m very meh to the idea. I’d rather a double dip cost saving overhaul on the Dline.

[jetstream23]

On 12/30/2021 at 11:21 AM, Greenseed4 said:

George Karlaftis (6'4, 275): 12 GP - 39 tackles, 10 TFL, 4.5 sacks**

David Ojabo (6'5, 250): 13 GP - 35 tackles, 12 TFL, 11 sacks ****

This is starting to feel like the probably sweet spot for the Jets if they land in that 4 to 7 area.

[Greenseed4]

1 hour ago, sec101row23 said:

I don’t think trading Becton makes any sense what so ever.  He would still have almost $5.5M in dead cap while actually not saving any money.   Besides, you could probably just trade a mid round pick for Hunter since he’s most likely going to be a cap casualty for Minnesota next year.  

There are a lot of moving pieces to this hairball theory, but the money isn't one of them. 

It's kind of the same deal as trading Sam this year, right? We just spent $5M dead cap on Sam, to then draft his replacement and get more years on the position at a lower per year for the foreseeable future.

[sec101row23]

27 minutes ago, Greenseed4 said:

There are a lot of moving pieces to this hairball theory, but the money isn't one of them. 

It's kind of the same deal as trading Sam this year, right? We just spent $5M dead cap on Sam, to then draft his replacement and get more years on the position at a lower per year for the foreseeable future.

It’s apples and oranges.  Sam was going into his 4th year with 3 seasons of poor play and didn’t figure into the future of this franchise.   Becton is going into year 3 having played less than one seasons worth of games.  Plus an offensive lineman has position versatility, where a QB doesn’t.  I’m not sure how trading Becton right now, when his value is at the absolute lowest it can be, should even be a thought.  

[Beaver]

On 1/3/2022 at 10:15 AM, section314 said:

Guy who is interesting to me is Sam Williams. Very productive in the best conference. How he does in the pre-draft process will be worth watching.

Definitely considering he was also playing on a 3 man front.  Ole Miss ran a 3-2-6 defense.

[Greenseed4]

15 minutes ago, sec101row23 said:

It’s apples and oranges.  Sam was going into his 4th year with 3 seasons of poor play and didn’t figure into the future of this franchise.   Becton is going into year 3 having played less than one seasons worth of games.  Plus an offensive lineman has position versatility, where a QB doesn’t.  I’m not sure how trading Becton right now, when his value is at the absolutely lowest it can be, should even be a thought.  

I think we should always explore ways to make the team better.  Becton on the bench doesn't do that. 

[sec101row23]

1 minute ago, Greenseed4 said:

I think we should always explore ways to make the team better.  Becton on the bench doesn't do that. 

Trading him now does nothing to accomplish that.   

[section314]

5 minutes ago, Beaver said:

Definitely considering he was also playing on a 3 man front.  Ole Miss ran a 3-2-6 defense.

Wow.

[Greenseed4]

On 12/30/2021 at 2:19 PM, Barton said:

How you gonna take Karlafis in the top 10 when he has 4 freakin sacks? Ditto for Thibodeaux with only 7 sacks, as a top 3 pick? Good Lord.

On 12/30/2021 at 5:17 PM, PLO said:

I don't think Karlaftis is a top 10 pick myself, he's not really a guy who gets after the QB. 

 

On 12/30/2021 at 5:36 PM, Greenseed4 said:

Karlaftis with Carl Lawson would be redundant and ineffective. 

 

On 12/30/2021 at 6:22 PM, PLO said:

Thing is with Karlaftis is that he's stiff below his hips, so he can't really rush that well going outside an opposing tackle. Also, for a guy who is apparently very strong in the upper body he struggles against bigger players. Guess what type of players he will be facing in the NFL. 

Compare him to Thibs or Ojabo, both have freakish athletic traits, including that bend you need to rush outside a tackle. 

This is also a deep class at pass rush, the value for getting an iffy prospect like Karlaftis with a first round pick just isn't there. There are a number of players who play "lower value" positions who are just much more "sure fire" with those first picks we have. 

 

 

On 1/4/2022 at 4:40 AM, Barton said:

Karlaftis runs like Bobby Boucher in The Waterboy.

 

On 1/4/2022 at 10:34 AM, David Harris said:

I don't know about that.  Lawson is quick and shifty along with having great technique.  Karlaftis is more a brute strength rusher also with great technique.

I personally think Karlaftis is going to blow the combine away.  And remember he is only 20 years old!  He only has 4.5 sacks because he was literally double and triple teamed almost every single play and he handled those double teams very well.  I think he'll be a top 10 pick.  His measurements will be very important at the combine and he's the number one guy I'm interesting in seeing there.

 

On 1/4/2022 at 11:53 AM, Greenseed4 said:

Lawson is built like a fire hydrant, I feel like we need a bendy/twitchy guy to bookend him.  I'm not saying Karlaftis won't be good, in fact I liked him more than Hutchinson at the beginning of the year, I just think we need a long-armed quick guy to beat his OT on the edge and make the QB step up into our QW/Lawson deflated pocket.    

 

On 1/4/2022 at 1:26 PM, jetstream23 said:

This is starting to feel like the probably sweet spot for the Jets if they land in that 4 to 7 area.

just for funsies… 

College stats 
John Abraham (6’4, 263) 31 GS, 13 sacks, 27 TFL

George Karlaftis (6’4, 275) 26 GS, 14 sacks, 29 TFL

 

on edit: I think I’m leaning speed to pair off the edge with Lawson. 

[section314]

6 hours ago, Greenseed4 said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After watching this, I’ve changed my mind. He seems like a Carl Lawson protege in his preparation, and made me think about Clay Matthews’ college production.  (He totaled 5.5 sacks and 13.5 TFL in four years).

Clay Mathews then entered the league and went to four straight pro bowls with double-digit sacks, and 15-18 TFL in three of his first four years. 

The reason? Motor and motivation. Clay was 100% about football, and I see the same passion in Karlaftis, who is still coming into his own.  He is absolutely worthy of our first draft pick, and ironically, has a very similar build to John Abraham, our oft-cited last great pass rusher.  
 

just for funsies… 

College stats 
John Abraham (6’4, 263) 31 GS, 13 sacks, 27 TFL

George Karlaftis (6’4, 275) 26 GS, 14 sacks, 29 TFL

Interesting.