NY Jets targeting potential 1st-round pass rusher with pre-draft visit

NY Jets head coach Robert Saleh abides by the belief that you can never have too many pass rushers. It's why the Jets used the 15th overall pick on Will McDonald a year ago. It's why they traded for All-Pro pass rusher Haason Reddick last week.

And it's why you can never rule out the possibility that the Jets use another premium draft pick on an edge rusher in this year's draft. In fact, the Jets seem to be very open to that possibility.

Bleacher Report's Jordan Schultz reported on Wednesday that the Jets are set to host Penn State edge rusher Chop Robinson on an official top-30 visit this week.

Robinson is a projected late first-round pick in this year's draft and seemingly could be a target for the Jets if they trade down in the first round. After all, teams don't bring in players for top-30 visits unless they at least have some level of interest in them.

The NY Jets would be foolish to use a top-50 pick on another edge rusher

Saleh's mindset, while noble in theory, is flawed. There is absolutely such a thing as too many players at any position.

There comes a point where adding more talented players to the same position group doesn't yield positive results. If anything, it negatively affects everyone involved and diminishes the ability to address other positions.

That's the situation the Jets find themselves in when it comes to pass rushers. The addition of Reddick already makes it unlikely that 2023 first-round pick Will McDonald will see a significant increase in snaps in a fully healthy defensive line rotation.

Adding another highly-touted prospect to the mix only further complicates matters, diminishing the value of both McDonald and said highly-touted prospect. It's the law of diminishing returns in action.

The Jets have poured premium asset after premium asset into their pass-rush corps, and while it's helped develop a defense that led the NFL in sack rate last season, it's also come at the expense of other position groups.

Rather than address other pressing needs, such as wide receiver, in last year's draft, the Jets opted for a rookie pass rusher who played the fewest snaps of any first-round pick in the 2023 draft class. McDonald played fewer snaps than any Jets first-round pick since Vernon Gholston.

That's nothing against McDonald as a player — there just wasn't an opportunity for him to receive more playing time. That's bad asset management, and using another premium pick on an edge rusher this year would further highlight that problem.

Obviously, bringing Robinson, a 2023 first-team All-Big Ten selection, in for an official visit doesn't mean the Jets will draft him. They'd likely have to acquire a pick somewhere between 25 and 50 to fit his projected range in the first place.

Nonetheless, he's clearly someone the Jets are considering if the opportunity arises. It doesn't matter how much the Jets like him as a prospect — there's no argument for the team to use a premium draft asset on another pass rusher.

Robert Saleh must resist the temptation. Lock him in a room. Set up an intervention. Don't let this man draft another top edge rusher prospect.