With no postseason football for the 14th straight season, it is time for the part of the year where the New York Jets shine: the offseason!
In addition to finding their new general manager and head coach, New York needs to retool and rebuild specific aspects of their roster. Most of this will likely come through the NFL draft, where the Jets have the seventh overall pick.
Whether it is along the defensive line, offensive line, wideout, or cornerback, there are some highly talented prospects that New York could add to their core of young players.
Follow along as we introduce and preview some of the top prospects the Jets could target in the first round of the 2025 draft!
DL Mason Graham, Michigan
To put it lightly, the Jets’ defensive line was rough this season.
The unit had major weaknesses against the run, starting on the interior. Leki Fotu and Javon Kinlaw were pushovers despite playing next to Quinnen Williams. On the edge, Micheal Clemons was a constant liability.
The main “run-stuffers” for New York were anything but that. The only reason the Jets had some success stopping the run was through the play of linebackers Quincy Williams and Jamien Sherwood.
Against the pass, the defensive line failed to generate pressure consistently. Will McDonald and Quinnen Williams were the only players on the team to rack up more than five sacks.
If New York wants to fortify their defensive line in both phases, there is a ready-made player that could revitalize their unit overnight.
Throughout his three-year career at Michigan, defensive tackle Mason Graham displayed the all-around talent to be a force at the NFL level. Currently mocked to the Jets at number seven in the NFL Mock Draft Database’s consensus mock draft, Graham is one of the high-level prospects expected to be available at New York’s draft slot.
As a run defender, the 320-pound Graham plays with high-level strength and power. He controls the point of contact and is aggressive against all types of blocks.
This shows up in his numbers; according to PFF, Graham posted run defense grades of 78 or better in all three of his collegiate seasons. Even more impressively, he improved in this metric every year, culminating in an elite 92.4-run defense grade in 2024 (first among FBS defensive tackles).
Graham shows just as much upside against the pass, racking up 76 pressures and 12 sacks in his three seasons. In 2024 alone, he ranked ninth among FBS defensive tackles with a career-high 34 total pressures.
Alongside Quinnen Williams, Graham would help to form one of the better interior defensive line duos in the NFL. He would allow the team’s linebackers to play more freely against the run while also giving McDonald and the returning Jermaine Johnson more one-on-one matchups on the edge.
There are plenty of reasonable options for the Jets in the first round of the draft, and how the team operates during free agency will likely dictate who they target. But when all things are equal, it is very hard to find a better overall player than Graham.
WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado
It seems highly unlikely that Travis Hunter will make it to the Jets at number seven. If he does, though, the Colorado product would be a perfect fit for New York.
Hunter is the reigning Heisman winner, mainly due to his incredible ability on both sides of the ball.
Playing cornerback for the Buffaloes, Hunter had an elite 90.8 coverage grade (via PFF) on 428 coverage snaps. He only allowed 212 receiving yards, had seven pass breakups, and racked up four interceptions. He even contributed to Colorado’s run defense, notching 13 defensive stops.
As a wide receiver on offense, Hunter was even more dynamic. The Colorado product posted 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns on 96 receptions. He produced 2.51 yards per route run, made 11 contested catches, and converted 55 first downs.
Hunter has everything you could want in a wide receiver/cornerback hybrid, whether it is speed, shiftiness, ball skills, or overall athletic ability. To put it in simple terms, Hunter is one of the most special players to come out of college in a long time.
If New York somehow lands Hunter, he would pair with Sauce Gardner to form a phenomenal cornerback duo while also adding an extremely explosive element to the team’s passing game. No matter what side of the ball he would focus on, Hunter’s dynamic ability would allow him to be a massive star in a city that has made plenty of them.
WR Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona
Outside of Hunter, Tetairoa McMillan is likely the best wide receiver in the class.
Standing at 6-foot-5 and weighing 212 pounds, McMillan is an imposing presence on the football field, and he has special movement skills for his size, too.
In 2024 alone, McMillan had 430 yards after the catch, 2.87 yards per route run, and an ADOT of 13.7. He had 19 contested catches on 31 attempts while also forcing 29 missed tackles.
Throughout his college career, McMillan accumulated 3,414 yards and 26 touchdowns on 213 receptions. He is capable of moving all over the formation, with over 100 snaps in the slot and over 350 snaps out wide in each of his three seasons.
Assuming Davante Adams is not in New York in 2025, McMillan would be a perfect fit alongside star wideout Garrett Wilson.
Wilson could attack the middle of the field and be the team’s lethal YAC threat. Working off of this, McMillan could help take the top off the defense as the primary jump ball and vertical threat.
As a duo, defenses would not be able to double-team both wideouts consistently. McMillan and Wilson would have to see some single coverage. If teams tried to double-team both players, it would leave them vulnerable to the Jets’ rushing attack.
McMillan is not a perfect player (his eight drops in 2024 are worth noting), but for a team that badly needs pass-catching help beyond Garrett Wilson, he is one of the best possible players the Jets could pick at number seven overall.
OT Will Campbell, LSU
Depending on what position he is viewed at, LSU’s Will Campbell could slide a few spots in the draft. Campbell played left tackle for the entirety of his career at LSU, but some evaluators project him as a guard in the NFL.
New York likely has four of its five offensive line spots solidified, with the exception being right tackle. If the Jets like Campbell as a right tackle and are interested in attacking that position with a first-round pick, the LSU product is one of the surest things in the entire class.
Campbell was an elite pass protector for the Tigers. In three seasons at LSU, Campbell allowed four sacks and 49 total pressures on 1,593 pass-blocking snaps. His numbers are even more impressive when isolating true pass sets; in three seasons, Campbell allowed no sacks and 28 pressures on 620 opportunities.
As a run blocker, Campbell showed upside in the 2023 season with an 84.9 run-blocking grade at PFF, although he dropped to a 68.6 grade in 2024.
Campbell has smooth technique and has executed at a high level since he set foot on the field as a true freshman in 2022. Whether at guard or tackle, he is a plug-and-play option for whatever team selects him in the 2025 draft. If the Jets feel that they need to add another high-tier player in the trenches, Campbell is a player they need to consider.
EDGE Abdul Carter, Penn State
Playing edge rusher full-time for the first time in his career, Abdul Carter displayed upper-tier pass-rushing prowess in 2024. He racked up 66 total pressures, second-most in the nation, turning 13 of them into sacks. This gave him an elite 92.4 PFF pass-rushing grade, which was the third-best mark in all of college football.
In addition to his pass rushing, Carter had 43 defensive stops, two forced fumbles, and two pass breakups.
With his overall athleticism and defensive playmaking ability, Carter can do anything a defensive coordinator asks of him.
As a former off-ball linebacker, Carter could provide some sporadic coverage snaps alongside the Jets’ linebacker duo while forming a lethal pass-rushing combination with Will McDonald. If the Jets hire a coach like Brian Flores or Aaron Glenn, Carter would be the kingpin around which the defense is built.
Considering the Jets’ current situation, there are not many players that could be considered “must-add.” But whether he falls to them or the Jets consider trading up, Carter is one of the early players in the 2025 class who would fall into this category. With his college production and projected NFL profile, Carter could be a real game-changer if he lands in the Big Apple.
