New York Jets: Time to focus on the offensive line in 2018
The New York Jets need to shift their focus in 2018 to the offensive line in order to take the next step towards becoming perennial contenders.
The New York Jets quarterback situation is murky at best. Fans and the media keep harping on the fact that the Jets haven’t had a franchise quarterback since the days of Joe Namath. They’re missing the whole point.
They point to the Rams and Eagles and see what the second-year quarterbacks are doing. Even though Sean McVay was a huge influence on the improvement of Jared Goff, but the Rams also signed Andrew Whitworth and after that Goff felt much more comfortable. The Eagles had a good offensive line, and then surrounded Carson Wentz with some talent in 2017.
Some people are calling for the Jets to move up in the draft for the missing piece from the organization. However, they would have to mortgage their future to do so, and that would be a huge mistake.
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The Jets need to focus on their offensive line in 2018. The offensive line is the most important unit in all of football. They protect the quarterback and open the holes for the running game. The Jets did very little of each of those in 2017. The interior of the offensive line was the weak link of the team.
According to Football Outsiders, the interior of the Jets offensive line was responsible for 3.75 yards per carry, and that was 29th in the NFL. Pro Football Focus Elite said the interior of the line was responsible for 101 of the team’s 176 pressures allowed.
The Jets need to focus their early draft picks on the offensive line like they did in 2006. That year, they drafted Virginia offensive tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson fourth overall, and they had the 29th overall pick from the Packers. They used in on Ohio State center Nick Mangold.
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They did have Chad Pennington and though he could be the future. That said, it’s meaningless to have a franchise quarterback behind that line. They can’t protect him or run the ball effectively. Without those things the team can’t be successful.