New York Jets: Edge rusher should be a 2018 NFL Draft first round target

Priority No. 1 for the New York Jets in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft should be finding an edge rusher.

When you look at the sacks numbers of the New York Jets in 2018, it’s sad. Some fans look at the sack numbers of Muhammad Wilkerson and Leonard Williams and wonder why they’re so low. It’s simple. Their job wasn’t to get sacks. Their job was to disrupt the passer, and the linebackers (especially the outside linebackers) are meant to clean up the scraps.

The edge rushers didn’t get home enough, and it made the pass rush look weak. That is why with the No. 6 overall pick the Jets need to consider drafting an edge rusher, someone who can actually complete the play set up for him.

That’s why they’re considering a reunion with Sheldon Richardson. He can be a more disruptive force than Wilkerson was in 2017. That’s what was so painful about Wilkerson, not the sack numbers, but the lack of effort in being a disruptive force against the pass.

The Jets have plenty of options. Unlike with the quarterbacks the fans desperately want, the Jets will likely have their pick of the litter for the edge rushers at No. 6. They could use the pick on rising star Marcus Davenport (UTSA), Arden Key (LSU), NC State’s Bradley Chubb (if they believe he can play in the 3-4), or versatile linebacker prospect Tremaine Edmunds out of Virginia Tech.

The Jets current group of linebackers is below average at finishing the job set up by the linemen. They need a pure edge rusher to help funnel run plays to the interior, and a pass rusher who can finish the quarterback when he gets off his spot.

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The Jets absolutely need a franchise quarterback, but it’s highly unlikely one of the two guys who will become that guy will be available for the Jets, otherwise it’s a toss-up. If both Josh Rosen and Sam Darnold are off the board, the Jets have very little wiggle room. Edge rusher should be No. 1.