Nate Lynn arrived in New York this week as little more than an extra body for camp. By Saturday morning, after what he did to the Steelers in the Jets’ preseason win, he was a name plenty of people around the team suddenly knew.
The edge rusher turned in a two-sack performance Friday, the kind of burst that can flip an unknown player into a real roster discussion in a hurry. It was enough to light up social media and make sure the Jets’ locker room had him on the radar, too.
Lynn’s path explains why this came out of nowhere for a lot of people. He was an FCS All-American at William & Mary, where he spent his entire college career and piled up 28 sacks along with a team-record 12 forced fumbles over five seasons. He also earned three straight first-team All-CAA selections from 2021-23.
Even with that production, Lynn never got an NFL Combine invite and stayed well off the national radar through the draft process. In an era where so many mid-major standouts jump to Power 4 programs, players like him are harder to find than they used to be.
The Jets signed Lynn earlier this week after he’d been out of work since the Titans waived him in April. He also already had a connection to Aaron Glenn, having previously played for him when their time overlapped with the 2024 Lions.
For now, the performance has at least earned Lynn a longer look. The Jets will face the Giants next weekend, and no matter how much the starters play, Lynn has already done enough to keep getting snaps.
Pro Football Focus was impressed, too, giving him an 89.9 grade, which ranked fifth among Jets players. The service’s grades can be a lightning rod, but when the numbers and the eye test point the same way, people notice.
That said, the leap from preseason spark to regular-season impact is still a big one. Lynn should probably be viewed as a practice squad candidate at best to open the year, barring injury. But with the revised rules allowing 16 practice squad players - plus a 17th spot for a qualifying international player, which doesn’t apply to Lynn because he is from Illinois and played high school football in North Carolina - he may have already put himself in position to stick around.
After nearly four months waiting for another chance, that’s a pretty good place to be.
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