Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end Jack Sawyer has had a breakout season. Whether it’s finishing off the game against the Longhorns with a dream sequence of sack-recovery-touchdown or balling out against Notre Dame with three sacks in Ohio’s National Championship win, the 22-year-old pass rusher has been steadily improving his draft stock.
Advertisement
With the NFL draft inching closer, Sawyer is now among the hottest pass rushers available. And obviously, multiple teams will be eager to bolster the outer edge of their defensive line with him, where the Buckeyes star primarily lines up. He also played in the hybrid ‘Jack’ position a few years ago.
Before we delve into the teams where Jack fits in the best, let’s first look at what Sawyer has to offer. At 6’5″ and 260 pounds, Jack’s biggest attribute is his massive frame. With 56 tackles and 9 sacks this season, Jack is a fine technician who utilizes his physicality well both as a run stuffer and a pass rusher.
And as we saw numerous times this season, Sawyer has always turned up in the biggest fixtures, showing his pedigree when it mattered. But there are some chinks in his armor. As good as he is physically, the Buckeyes star doesn’t have the explosiveness or pace in him that his peers like Abdul Carter and Nic Scourton exhibit.
Despite his lack of dynamism, Jack has a whole lot of positives that will add value to multiple NFL teams, especially these three:
3) Cincinnati Bengals
The biggest issue for the Bengals this season was their defense. Joe Burrow kept racking up points, which even put him in the MVP conversation, but the secondary struggled to hold its own. Apart from Trey Hendrickson, who recorded the most sacks (17.5), the rest of the Bengals’ defense was noticeably ineffective. For context, the Bengals ranked 25th in the league this season for total sacks (36).
The fact that Hendrickson contributed half of the total sacks further proves why they need a pass rusher with leadership and bite like Jack Sawyer. Moreover, with reports hinting at the Bengals cutting off Sam Hubbard this offseason, Jack is a younger and cheaper replacement.
2) New York Jets
With the grapevine strongly hinting that Lions DC Aaron Glenn is New York Jets-bound, it’s safe to assume that Woody Johnson’s team will continue following their age-old philosophy of prioritizing the defense.
While the Jets were amongst the crème de la crème in total offensive yards allowed, they were uncharacteristically mediocre in rushing yards allowed [17th], rushing TDs allowed [28th], and red zone defense [19th].
From coaching instability to Haason Reddick’s contract dispute, which led to significant fines, there are several areas the secondary needs to improve. This is where Jack Sawyer could be a blessing for the team.
For starters, the Ohio State star’s physicality can help thwart WRs from advancing further up the field. Secondly, Woody Johnson and Co. need not worry about Reddick’s ongoing contract issues and could save money by replacing him with a young and fit talent like Sawyer.
1) Atlanta Falcons
While Jack can see himself as a starter from the get-go with the Bengals and the Jets, the Atlanta Falcons present the Buckeyes pass rusher with the opportunity to learn under one of the greatest pass rushers in recent memory — Grady Jarrett.
Jarrett, for the last 10 years, has been terrorizing QBs with his physicality, thus in Jack Sawyer, Garrett and the Falcons have a fitting apprentice. From a broader perspective, this season showed us that the Falcons’ defense left a lot to be desired. David Onyemata’s supporting role to Jarrett was simply not enough [45 tackles, 3 sacks].
The rest of the defense, meanwhile, showed up in flashes but was largely unnoticeable in the season finale against the Panthers. Given the promise Jack Sawyer has shown since 2021 in CFB, one thing we do know is that he will always step up in big games. With promise, physicality, and consistent presence, Jack will certainly offer the most value proposition for the Falcons.
