INDIANAPOLIS — The focus of this Jets offseason so far has been on the two Ps — pass rushers and playmakers. But the real story may be whether they can find a different P — protectors.
Sam Darnold is going to need some protection if he is going to reach the potential the Jets believe he has. The offensive line has been a position the Jets have tried to patchwork for most of the past decade. They have not drafted an impactful offensive lineman since taking Nick Mangold and D’Brickashaw Ferguson in the 2006 draft.
For general manager Mike Maccagnan, he needs to figure out a way to rebuild this offensive line over the next few months … and that won’t be easy.
Last year’s line had moments when it played well, but it was never dominant. The Jets were 26th in the league in rushing offense. Pro Football Focus ranked them as the 25th best offensive line at the end of the 2018 season.
Maccagnan can sign Le’Veon Bell or add another offensive weapon for Darnold, and it won’t matter if the Jets can’t keep him upright or open holes for the running backs.
“I would say right now that’s a position that we’re going to look very strongly at in free agency, that’s no surprise I don’t think to anybody out there,” Maccagnan said. “And I think there’s some good players in the draft, but it’s an area we’re going to look at going forward. It’s definitely an area we want to improve upon. But we do think we have some good pieces still in place to work with.”
The Jets currently have three starters returning on the line — left tackle Kelvin Beachum, right guard Brian Winters and right tackle Brandon Shell, who is coming off a knee injury. They let center Spencer Long go, who signed with the Bills, and guard James Carpenter is a free agent and unlikely to return. Jonotthan Harrison, who took over for Long at center late in the season, is a free agent and may be re-signed.
The problem for the Jets is there are not a lot of attractive options out there to fix the line. The free-agent tackle market is thin. Patriots tackle Trent Brown is the best available, and he only had one year as a starting left tackle. Inside, the Jets could sign the Rams’ Rodger Saffold, but there figures to be tough competition for him. At center, Mitch Morse and Matt Paradis are the top choices.
The draft options don’t look much better. There are no offensive linemen projected to go in the top five, so you can rule out the Jets taking one at No. 3. If they trade back, it is possible they would look at Alabama’s Jonah Williams, though many people around the league believe he is more of a guard in the NFL. Florida’s Jawaan Taylor and Andre Dillard of Washington State are the other potential first-rounders, but they are more likely to go later in the first round.
The Jets don’t currently have a second-round pick, and it seems unlikely they can draft a lineman ready to start immediately in the third round or later.
New coach Adam Gase said it is possible some players already on the roster could win starting jobs. That is hard to see, though.
The Jets have ignored the line for nearly a decade. They had one of the best lines in football during the AFC title runs of 2009 and 2010, but let it slip over the years. They have not drafted a lineman in the first two rounds since Vlad Duccasse in 2010. Maccagnan has only drafted a lineman twice in his four drafts, and both came in the fifth round.
The offensive-line neglect has caught up to the Jets over the past few years as Mangold and Ferguson retired and the Jets failed to develop players behind them.
Maccagnan’s moves at pass rusher and playmaker will draw the headlines over the next two months. What he does to protect Darnold could determine the 2019 season and Maccagnan’s future with the team.
