Aaron Glenn’s principles for players he likes are about as simple as it gets. Just like we always knew that Joe Douglas would target elite athletes early and then culture-building senior captains on Day 3, we know what Glenn wants.
Glenn loves young athletes with prototypical to elite size, who play physical. This isn’t just true with the Jets. Let’s take a look at his draft last year, and the defensive players the Lions drafted in the top-3 rounds when he was in Detroit.
2025 Jets:
Armand Membou: Elite weight
for the position, 99th percentile. Elite physicality on tape. Spent entire rookie season at 21 years old.
Mason Taylor: Elite hand size and arm length. They praised him all offseason last year for his physicality and blocking. Spent entire rookie season at 21 years old.
AZ Thomas: 93rd percentile height with elite length. So noted for his physicality that there were questions that it would lead to penalties at the NFL level. Spent entire rookie season at 21 years old.
2024 Lions:
Terrion Arnold: This one is kind of against type. The size is only average. However, he was noted as a physical heavy hitter who got involved in the run game. He spent his entire rookie season at 21 years old
Ennis Rakestraw: Despite his small size in height and weight, he does have elite length at the position. His defining trait in college was his toughness and physicality. He’s the first player older than 21, spending his rookie season at 22 years old.
2023 Lions:
Jack Campbell: Elite size all around. Known for his elite physicality and toughness in the run game. One scouting report quoted him as “built for the box”. First player on this list who breaks the age mold. He played his rookie season at 23 years old.
Brian Branch: He was very small for a safety at the combine, but Glenn didn’t see him as a safety. Glenn moved Branch around and he ended up playing more nickle than safety, where he does have elite size as a slot CB. Again, noted for his physicality in attacking plays. He started Week 1 at 21, but turned 22 during his rookie season.
Brodric Martin: Ridiculous size and length, dude has 35-inch arms and was just shy of 6-foot-5 and 330 pounds. You’ll never guess that he was noted for his strength and physicality as a prospect. He was 24 years old his rookie year, the oldest defensive prospect that Glenn has ever drafted prior to Day 3.
2022 Lions:
Aidan Hutchinson: Elite size at about 6 foot 6 and a half with great arm length and hand size. Noted as an elite all-around player, was obviously the expected #1 pick in the draft that year before the Jaguars made a shocking and confusing decision to pass on him that probably still haunts Trent Baalke. Turned 22 when training camp began.
Josh Pascal: Elite length despite being undersized height-wise as an EDGE. Noted for his physicality and “frenzied”, as one scouting report said, play in college. Spent the majority of his rookie season at 22, turned 23 in December.
Kerby Joseph: Elite length and hand size even if only average height and weight. Despite being a deep safety was still noted for his thump as a tackler, though this is the only prospect on the list who had overall physicality questions. Started rookie season at 21 years old, turned 22 in November.
2021 Lions:
Levi Onwuzurike: Small for the position, but his arm length and hand size are elite. Well noted for his physicality, you’ll see his scouting reports littered with words like “punishing”, “brute force”, and “powerful”. He was 23 years old his entire rookie season.
Alim McNeill: Long arms, good weight, but he is short for a defensive tackle. Noted for his physicality and strength despite his size. Spent his entire rookie season at 21 years old.
Ifeatu Melifonwu: Elite size, 95th percentile or higher in both height and weight. Again noted for physicality, called punishing, strong, and a consistent finisher. He was 22 years old his entire rookie season.
You can see that Glenn sometimes goes out of his comfort zone, but only for players who still fit most of his criteria. Jack Campbell was older yes, but he was a perfect Glenn player in every other respect. Brian Branch was small, so Glenn figured out a way to turn that to his advantage. But Glenn has very simple rules he follows. Size, Physicality, Age. If you don’t hit all 3, you better be elite in two of those three areas.
2026 NFL Draft
What does that tell us about the 2026 NFL Draft? That’s the key question isn’t it? In my mind, knowing these things I think it eliminates two often considered Jets prospects at two.
Reuben Bain’s incredibly short arms are almost a guaranteed disqualifier for Glenn. Yes, he’s a physical run defender, and yes he’ll be 22 for his rookie year, but it’s hard to say either of those are the elite standard he’d need to ignore the lack of size.
The other is a GGN Favorite, David Bailey. The Texas Tech EDGE is an elite pass rusher, everyone can agree on that. However, he’s an older prospect who’ll turn 23 before Week 1. He’s also specifically noted as a poor run defender in his scouting reports. One AFC scout specifically called out his physicality and his toughness, questioning if he could play all three downs. I simply can’t see Glenn drafting Bailey. He misses out on two of Glenn’s three tenets.
That leaves the most likely selection as Arvell Reese. The Ohio State LB/EDGE is incredibly young – he won’t turn 21 until the end of training camp. Reese is noted for his run defense and tone setting physicality, and he has elite upside as a pass rusher. He fits all three of Glenn’s criteria and in my mind is locked in at number two.
What about other positions? I’d keep an eye on Makai Lemon. Yes, he’s small for the position but he plays with the kind of elite toughness and physicality that Glenn will love. Lemon will be 22 years old his entire rookie season, which is also in line with Glenn picks.
To keep things as simple as possible, if your favorite prospect isn’t a young physical player with prototypical to elite size, Aaron Glenn probably isn’t drafting him.
