It’s not the easiest job in the world for an offensive lineman to move from one position to another and make such a seamless transition. It’s another thing to make that type of switch twice. For any ordinary offensive lineman, it’s a tough task.
Good thing for Jets fans that Alijah Vera-Tucker is no ordinary offensive lineman.
Vera-Tucker has now moved from right guard to left tackle to right tackle over the last two weeks and has played at an elite level at all three spots. Head coach Robert Saleh described his position switches as “lights out.”
After starting the first three games at right guard, Vera-Tucker moved to left tackle after George Fant was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury. Then, Max Mitchell went down with a knee injury against the Steelers. The Jets placed him on injured reserve after activating Duane Brown from the list.
As a result, Vera-Tucker shifted over to right tackle with Brown returning to his spot at left tackle. While his grade of 56.5 on Pro Football Focus against the Steelers wasn’t the greatest, he had a solid 68 in Week 3 and a 79.2 at right tackle against the Dolphins, his highest grade this season.
You’d be hard-pressed to find an offensive lineman as versatile as Vera-Tucker, who played both guard and tackle at a top level while at USC, which helped him be selected 14th overall after the Jets traded up with the Minnesota Vikings to grab him. In just his second season, Vera-Tucker has now played four of the five offensive line positions, after starting every game at left guard in 2021, and has played all four very well.
His versatility will also bring up a very interesting discussion for the Jets coaching staff in terms of which five to start when everybody is healthy. That’s a story for another day. For now, the Jets have so far his a home run with their 2021 first-round pick and for defensive linemen facing Vera-Tucker, it’s lights out.