Houston’s ‘Alien’ could be wearing Green soon

The Jets’ desire to acquire more picks by trading down in the first round of the NFL Draft Thursday night might not be fulfilled, setting up a potentially intriguing scenario. Who should they select at No. 3? Although I’ve been told the Jets believe Alabama defensive lineman Quinnen Williams is destined for stardom, folks in the building are infatuated with Houston defensive lineman Ed Oliver’s otherwordly skills.

“He’s an alien,” one team source told me about Oliver.

Oliver has strong support in the organization from those who believe he has the tools to wear a gold jacket one day. There are, however, fair criticisms about him that have sparked a healthy debate on One Jets Drive.

The general sentiment is that Williams and Oliver can be instant game-wreckers and are on a higher plane than Kentucky’s Josh Allen, who would be the popular pick among a fanbase starving for an edge pass

rusher.

My understanding is that general manager Mike Maccagnan also likes Allen, whose production (17 sacks in the SEC) is extremely impressive. Maccagnan has contractual control over the 53-man roster, so his opinion ultimately matters most.

Oliver is easily the most intriguing option for Gang Green. There are some folks on One Jets Drive enamored by his rare explosiveness and suddenness. He moves like a linebacker.

There are others who have questioned why those supreme athletic qualities didn’t result in better raw numbers in college.

Oliver only had 13½ sacks in 32 career games, but an eye-opening 53 tackles for loss. Houston played him an inordinate percentage of snaps at nose tackle in their 3-4 scheme, resulting in consistent double teams.

The 6-2, 7/8, 287-pound Oliver’s lack of size and length have prompted concern from some scouts across the league, but I’ve been told in no uncertain terms that the Jets, frankly, believe that is overblown. (My understanding is that Oliver actually played most of his career closer to 280 pounds.)

Oliver has drawn comparisons to Rams All-Pro Aaron Donald, who played for new Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. Truth be told, the Jets believe that comparison is fair even if Oliver isn’t as refined as a pass rusher coming out of college as Donald was coming out of the University of Pittsburgh.

Oliver’s relatively short arms (31 3/4 inches) prompted me to check his wingspan: It’s 77 3/8 inches. Donald’s wingspan: 77 3/8 inches. There’s also this fallacy that Oliver would not be a good scheme fit in Williams’ defense. Oliver would be perfect as a three-technique tackle (lining up on the outside shoulder of the guard) in Williams’ 3-4 penetrating one-gap scheme, as he’s a one-gap penetrator who moves like a linebacker — and he was lining up at nose tackle.

Here’s another interesting element to the Oliver research: My understanding is that former Houston head coach Major Applewhite wasn’t the biggest fan of the player.

The player and coach had a notable public heated sideline exchange last season when an injured Oliver – gasp! – was wearing a jacket reserved only for active players on the sideline.

Applewhite was in line for a job on Adam Gase’s staff before an eleventhhour change to accept a job as an analyst at Alabama. Applewhite has conveyed that Oliver might not be the easiest player to handle.

Regardless, the player’s prodigious gifts have gotten some on One Jets Drive wondering how many great things he could do for Gang Green.