Not sure how much or how big JD will go into the OLine he came into the season thinking Becton would continue his ascension because he showed he was potentially a franchise LT. And he still does, was a monster in run blocking and showed promise as a pass blocker who really did a good job on the big time DE’s last year. The fact that a 300 lb lineman fell into his leg, I won’t ding too much because everyone thought he tore his ACL up. But from then til now, more people question what he is. Which leads me to Fant. Fant came here on a unique deal, had an uneven campaign last year, won the job at RT over Moses which some fans didn’t understand then moved to LT and became one of the better pass blocking LT’s this year. Now he’s being heralded as the guy that needs to stay at LT. FTR, It’s a good problem to have that Fant was that good at LT and can play RT in a pinch, just in case Becton can’t stay healthy next season. McGovern came over as a very solid center and he’s been every sense of that guy as a Jet. Rated 7th best at center according to pff, I see no reason why CM won’t come back as the starter next year, a solid veteran presence anchoring the line. AVT has shown that he has what it takes to be one of the better guards. Moses has been solid all year that I’m sure he’d be welcome back here. GVR was the obvious weak link in the line and I think the Feeney signing plus the Clark potential growth at G, the staff felt would be enough to supplant GVR. None of that happened. GVR really struggled all year and it was until LDT came in that the line really was a solidified across the board. I’d absolutely go to next year with Becton/AVT/McGovern/LDT/Fant with Moses if he comes back as the 3rd Tackle/hedge for Becton. Grab another veteran or two swing G/T guys to replace the likes of Feeney and continue to draft a T/G in the mid to later rounds who can fit scheme wise in hopes that you can find a future starter. it’s a bit unrealistic to expect stud young guys from left to right, which is why I wouldn’t mind running it back with the base of the group that’s here now and grabbing and drafting guys who can hopefully be the future at positions where the starters are getting older. I wouldn’t be shocked if McGovern and Fant get extensions to get a few extra years and to move money around. CM is 28 and Fant is 29 and both are entering their final years of their original deals. They absolutely have more football left in them.
Good thoughts there on the o line. I am looking at the above, and there are a few points here. - Can we sign LDT? He is UFAs and may demand starter's money or leave for a contender having proven his worth with the Jets this year. - With Becton being injury prone and also struggling with weight and production during camp, it's almost a must to sign a guy like Moses. Imagine what we would do this year if we didn't have him. - Even with all this, is this line really good or just OK? I expect improvement from AVT, and hope Becton won't bust out, but still. I feel like we need to keep bettering the OLine. - There is an amazing C prospect coming out of Iowa - Linderbaum. He gives us a really good shot at a Mangold like player for years to come. Also having all pro caliber anchor at C rather than just a solid one like McGovern can improve the rest of the line. Perhaps McGovern can slide to right guard too if FA LDT bolts.
I think they need to work on this metric for football. You can have the best Safety in the NFL and if there isn't a pass rush any good QB will complete passes against him. I don't have numbers, but in my opinion the rank of importance would look like: 1. QB by a mile. 2a. LT 2b. Edge 2c. WR 3a. CB 3b. C 4a. TE 4b. LB 4c. S 4d. G 4e. RB
Your rankings are pretty similar to what the numbers say aside from LT, C, and EDGE being middle of the pack and S being near the top. I think if we look at the best teams in the league, they more commonly have elite TE's and WR's than OL's. I think they also more commonly have elite CB's and S's than edge rushers. The best edge rushers this year belong to the Steelers, Browns, Bengals, Bears and 49ers. The best CB's and S's belong to the Bills, Chargers, Packers, Rams and Cowboys. The best OL's are roughly the Browns, Colts, Patriots and Bucs. The best receivers this year belong to the Rams, Bucs, Packers and Chiefs. Admittedly those are very rough rankings but I think they at least vaguely illustrate the point.
I think another aspect that has to be taken into account is the specific players playing these positions. If you have a great QB like Rodgers or Brady you can probably accept a little less quality in the OL and invest that in the WR/TE because an elite QB knows how to maximize his protection and make quick decisions to get the ball out. I thin the same thing can be said for all the positions: if you do have a great S and CBs you can get by with a slightly less quality Edge and vice versa.
The line has been just average mostly due to GVR and Moses…right side was getting beat like a drum. It solidified with Fant at LT, LDT at RG. This may show the weaknesses lie, looks like mostly run blocking Linderbaum over McGovern May potentially be an upgrade but moving him to guard, a position he hasn’t played in years may not work. Not sure, and you’d be asking Linderbaum to be a top 5 center in order for that to be an optimal upgrade. Looks like for this OLine to take that next step, Fant to RT, LDT or another guard at RG, natural progressions from Becton and AVT, and McGovern to at least be top 10 center like he has been.
I would be all over the Linderbaum pick as well. Great point with the line being just ok, none of us should be happy with an “ok” offensive line. Grab two olinemen if they are there.
The thing that’s so frustrating about not having a tightend is that it’s not incredibly hard to find a veteran to plug the gaping hole we’ve had at the position for a decade. Have we spent more than one pick on Wesco and signed the lowest tier guys? Tightends don’t need to have an elite physical skill set to be effective. They need to understand how to find holes in the zone. There’s no doubt that Kelce is fantastic as a YAC player but what makes him a Hall of Famer is that he settles in zones miles away from zone defenders and has plenty of time to run away from them when he turns and runs. Dalton Schultz, Mark Andrews, Ty Conklin, Dawson Knox, and Jonnu Smith were all mid round picks in the past couple drafts. We haven’t even tried to find guys like this.
Who was the last solid Jets TE? Dustin Keller? Lol… Most the good teams have a solid to good TE to help their QB out and the Jets continuously miss in this area. Truly baffling.
its a difficult position that requires patience and effective player development. The Jets are bad at both so it’s not a surprise. Colts sign Mo Alie-Cox, he never even played varsity football. They developed him into a quality TE. The Jets sign often injured, or flawed, cast offs from other teams and expect them to be different players with a change in uniform color
Yeah you would think with how many rookies or developmental projects the Jets took, they would do the same at TE this season. Guess Yeboah is that guy…maybe he finally gets meaningful snaps today.
I agree, but hope that we can replace Moses. IMO he has been a huge disappointment. He had been one of the top OTs in the game until this year. He just isn't a good scheme fit or his ability is falling off the cliff. I'm hoping that the Jets will draft one high that can beat Moses out, as there doesn't look to be much in FA. There are a number of good OT prospects in the draft this year that the Jets could grab in the 1st or 2nd round. I'm hoping that JD will take one of them. I would love to see Becton bounce back, have a great season and stay healthy at LT. I'd love for the Jets to add Linderbaum primarily because of the protection he'd give Zach up the middle, because there are no other really good C prospects in the draft this year, 2022 will be McGovern's last year under contract and he isn't that great a pass protector anyway, and I haven't heard of any great underclassman C like I did Linderbaum or Creed Humphrey. That said, I'd hate to not add an Edge, topnotch WR prospect or a TE in the 1st 2 rounds because we took Linderbaum. In terms of the OL, I think the ideal offseason for me would be for JD to re-sign LDT or sign one of James Daniels, Connor Williams, or maybe Will Hernandez for RG, draft Linderbaum with their 2nd 1st round pick (Seattle's, after taking one of Hutchinson/Thibodeaux with their own 1st round pick), then draft their new RT with their own pick in the 2nd round. I remember that Hernandez was very good coming out of college, but don't know how he's done in the NFL or if he is a scheme fit. Daniels was an excellent C prospect but since he's been playing OG that would give them great flexibility. They could conceivably release McGovern and save a chunk of cap space. They could sign a FA C to replace Feeney to backup Linderbaum if they didn't sign Daniels. That would give us an OL of Becton, AVT, Linderbaum, LDT/Daniels/Williams/Hernandez, 2nd round draft pick/Fant at RT. They could draft a developmental OG in the 5th round for depth.
