If the Jets want to have any shot at contending this upcoming season, they can’t afford to have history repeat itself on the offensive line.
Putrid play in the trenches plagued New York throughout 2019. A lack of quality pass protection severely hampered the offense’s ability to consistently move the ball downfield. Sam Darnold spent half of the year running for his life at the snap of the ball, while Le’Veon Bell seldom had any holes to run through, resulting in one of the worst seasons of his career.
Gang Green’s offensive line struggles can be attributed largely to a lack of cohesion among the unit. A revolving door of starters due to injuries played a major role in the group’s inability to get on the same page, but even when all five starters were healthy and on the field, they lacked the chemistry essential to any good offensive line.
With the COVID-19 pandemic keeping the Jets and other teams around the league away from their facilities and restricted to a virtual offseason program, there is a chance that chemistry, or a lack thereof, could once again factor into the equation.
It goes without saying that the offseason is an essential time for teams to come together and integrate any free agent signings or draft picks. It’s tough to do that when the only sort of integration can be done online and not in person.
This is an issue that is extremely pressing for the Jets considering they are primed to feature an almost entirely new stable of starting offensive linemen in 2020. Alex Lewis is back at guard, but he is the only returner from last year’s offensive line rotation. Brian Winters is still on the roster, but it is only a matter of time before he becomes a salary cap casualty.
First-round pick Mekhi Becton and free agent acquisitions Connor McGovern, George Fant and Greg Van Roten are New York’s four new starters on the line. None of these players have ever played together. They have not even had the chance to meet each other in person yet and training camp is only a little over two months away.
Succeeding in the trenches is about more than just manhandling opposing defensive linemen. A unit’s ability to succeed comes down to its quality of communication. If the entire starting offensive line is not comfortable playing together, there are going to be issues.
The Jets saw this firsthand last offseason when Ryan Kalil signed with the team in August and did not play at all in the preseason. New York’s offensive linemen prepared all offseason with Jonotthan Harrison as the starting center, only to have an outsider with no knowledge of Adam Gase’s offensive scheme come in with less than a month before the beginning of the regular season. Kalil never got on the same page with his fellow linemen and it was abundantly clear on a weekly basis.
If the Jets want to have any shot at contending this upcoming season, they can’t afford to have communication and chemistry issues in the trenches again. Darnold will not have the chance to develop if he spends half the year on his back. Bell will be rendered useless if he has nowhere to run.
At least last year’s group had the chance to work out the kinks in person. The 2020 edition of New York’s offensive line won’t even have that luxury until the regular season nears.