In the wise words of Michael Scott from “The Office”, “Snip, snap! Snip, snap! Snip, snap!”
That would be one way to describe the herky-jerky nature of Todd McShay’s reporting on what he believes the New York Jets will do at the top of the first round this offseason.
On Wednesday, April 15, McShay released his mock draft 4.0. In that column, he predicted that the Jets would select Texas Tech pass rusher David Bailey with the No. 2 overall pick.
“This pick has come full circle. My early intel was Bailey to the Jets at no. 2 because he’s the most proven pass rusher in the class. Then there were folks in the league who thought the Jets—as they’re building for 2027, when they’ll land their QB—might prefer the ‘higher upside’ guy in Arvell Reese because they have time to develop him. Now we’re back to Bailey, and it’s close to a foregone conclusion in NFL circles,” McShay wrote.
However, on April 18, a mere three days later, McShay completely changed his stance.
“Flying to LA early tomorrow am. I’m going to bed believing Reese is the Jets pick at 2,” McShay posted on social media.
What in the world is going on…
Some Unbelievable Statistics
Reese, 20, will turn 21 before the start of his rookie campaign in the NFL.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini shared a wild stat about Reese’s inexperience on the “Jets Collective” podcast.
“I just wanna throw this number at you, I researched this before we came on, last year at Ohio State, he had only 65 plays where he rushed as an edge rusher. So that’s his entire body of work. He had about 30-something [reps] as a blitzing situation from inside linebacker, but as an edge rusher, there were only 65 pass rushes. He did get 12 pressures, which is an 18.5% pressure rate, which is pretty good … He would be learning on the fly as an edge rusher in the NFL,” Cimini explained.
Reese admitted his own inexperience as a pass rusher during a sit-down with ESPN’s Ben Solak.
Solak was watching film with Reese when he told him that he “never spent time at Ohio State working on pass rush and pretty much was making up all his moves on instinct alone.”
There Are 2 Potential Ways to Take This Information
On one hand, you could look at the limited experience as a pass rusher and be nervous. Reese is expected to become a full-time pass rusher at the NFL level. You have seen him in short spurts do what he will be asked to do a lot more often. That is a risky projection.
Or you could look at it from a different perspective. If he had this kind of production with minimal practice time and reps, just imagine what he could be with more coaching and experience. That is tantalizing potential.
Head coach Aaron Glenn will be calling the defense for the Jets this season. He described play-calling as his “super power” at the NFL Combine. If that’s true, then having the opportunity to select one of the most versatile pieces in the draft should be a no-brainer.
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