New York Jets 2018 NFL Draft Targets: Jerry Tillery

New York Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan will have to hit on the middle of the 2018 NFL Draft and Jerry Tillery is a second-day pick that could do just that.

The New York Jets could try to rid themselves of the locker room nuisance known as Muhammad Wilkerson. Taking Jerry Tillery in the 2018 NFL Draft would be a great replacement. Tillery plays nose tackle in the Notre Dame system. That said, he has the athleticism of a 3-4 defensive end. He has a similar size (6-6, 306 pounds) and build of Wilkerson. He has used his athleticism to his advantage against centers in college football.

Even though he currently plays nose tackle for the Fighting Irish, in the Jets system, he can easily make the move to be the book end with Leonard Williams. The scheme of the Fighting Irish have him playing nose tackle in a 4-3 base defense.

He has a variety of moves and a rare combination of size and quickness. He has four sacks, 8.5 tackles for loss and forced a fumble in 2017. Tillery has made his presence known on the defense of Notre Dame. He will do the dame with whatever team takes him in the draft.

Grade: Round 3-4 pick

Do to his athleticism,Tillery is versatile. He can play inside in a 4-3 scheme, like he does at Notre Dame, or he can play on the end of a 3-4 scheme. He doesn’t do anything great, but he is good at a lot of things that scouts are looking for in a lineman at the NFL level.

Next: 2018 NFL Playoffs: Picks, predictions for Wild Card Round

Since he isn’t great at one thing, he will drop in the draft, but that doesn’t make him a bad player. He’s more of a scheme fit than anything. May teams will pass on him, because he doesn’t fit a scheme.