{"id":777436,"date":"2026-02-26T11:44:33","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T11:44:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/777436\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T11:44:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T11:44:33","slug":"jets-dt-draft-target-raves-about-meeting-with-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/777436\/","title":{"rendered":"Jets’ DT draft target raves about meeting with team"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s only been a couple of days since prospects arrived at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, but the New York Jets have met with almost all of the top prospects coming out to April\u2019s draft.<\/p>\n

Top defensive players like Ohio State\u2019s Arvell Reese<\/a> and Texas Tech\u2019s David Bailey<\/a> confirmed meetings with Gang Green over the last several days. They were each complimentary of the Jets\u2019 process with them.<\/p>\n

New York isn\u2019t simply focused on targets for the second overall pick, though. With a second first-round pick at No. 16 overall, they have plenty of due diligence to account for.<\/p>\n

One of their recent discussions centered around a defensive prospect who was once considered a bona fide top pick.<\/p>\n

Jets meet with top lineman<\/p>\n

Before the 2025 college football season, Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods was considered a lock for one of the top overall picks in the 2026 draft. Like many players on the Tigers, though, Woods\u2019 performance was less than stellar.<\/p>\n

After posting three sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss in his 2024 sophomore season (11 games), Woods dropped to two sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss as a junior in 2025 (12 games).<\/p>\n

While Woods is still projected to go in the first round, his stock has fallen a bit around the league.<\/p>\n

New York doesn\u2019t appear deterred, though. Woods confirmed to Jets X-Factor<\/a> on Wednesday that he met with the Jets in person, one of his 18 total interviews over the last several days.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a great meeting,\u201d Woods said. \u201cWe were talking about ball and installing defenses. It was a great experience just to be able to talk to them and get their feedback.\u201d<\/p>\n

Woods detailed that his conversations with the Jets went beyond proving what he could do on the field. He also made it clear he wanted advice on where he could improve his play.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always ask, \u2018Where can I get better?\u2019 moving from college to the NFL to better my game,\u201d Woods said. \u201cThey (the Jets) had great things to say about that. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just appreciative of that organization.\u201d <\/p>\n

Comparisons to top players like former Jets All-Pro Quinnen Williams pleased the soon-to-be 21-year-old. Woods has closely followed the careers of some of the top defensive tackles in the sport.<\/p>\n

And it sounds like he would be thrilled to join a team like the Jets in 2026. <\/p>\n

Peter Woods draft profile<\/p>\n

Clemson has a rich history of quality defensive tackles in the modern NFL. Dexter Lawrence and Christian Wilkins were former first-round picks of the Tigers who went on to have All-Pro and Pro-Bowl-type careers, respectively.<\/p>\n

Woods has the talent to join them, but his profile is not without concerns, including his short arms. Most NFL scouts believe that short arms can be a precursor to defensive tackles being unable to shake blocks at the professional level.<\/p>\n

While Woods\u2019 arm length has been a talking point among many scouts at the combine so far, Clemson\u2019s first-team All-ACC defensive tackle hasn\u2019t heard those same concerns from teams that he has met with. His 18 interviews with NFL teams show strong interest across league circles despite some of the physical limitations he faces.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t appear as if Woods\u2019 arms will hurt his draft stock too much, either. In Mel Kiper Jr.\u2019s most recent mock<\/a> before the combine, he predicted the Jets would select Woods with the 16th overall pick.<\/p>\n

New York certainly needs interior defensive linemen. Woods would fit a sore need along the roster. <\/p>\n

But as he prepares for his workout in Indianapolis, it is apparent that Gang Green won\u2019t be the only team interested in Woods\u2019 work. They\u2019ll have to get in line.<\/p>\n

Reporting from the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Ind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s only been a couple of days since prospects arrived at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, but the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":777437,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2051],"tags":[7,3228,226,1917,255,2321,2097,6,15,1967,3231,3916,3234],"class_list":{"0":"post-777436","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-jets","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-free-content","10":"tag-jets","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-jets","13":"tag-newyork","14":"tag-newyorkjets","15":"tag-nfl","16":"tag-nfl-draft","17":"tag-nfl-scouting-combine","18":"tag-ny-jets-news","19":"tag-ny-jets-players","20":"tag-standard"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116136763193796109","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}