Breaking down the Jets at OL: Depth chart, battles, and keys to success entering 2020 NFL training camp

7/13/2020, 9:10 PM
Jets' Mekhi Becton / Treated Image by SNY
Jets' Mekhi Becton / Treated Image by SNY

As NFL training camp is only a few weeks away, head coach Adam Gase is ready to finally get in the building with his players to start evaluating and putting together his roster.

GM Joe Douglas made some big improvements to the roster on both sides of the ball, which will lead to some heated camp competition.

So over the next few weeks, we’ll look at some of those position groups as well as some key players that will be pivotal in the Jets' success or failure during the 2020 season. Let’s target a group that needed some massive changes after a brutal 2019 campaign…


OFFENSIVE LINE DEPTH CHART (in order)

- LT: Mekhi Becton (rookie), Chuma Edoga
-
LG: Alex Lewis, Jonotthan Harrison
-
C: Connor McGovern (FA addition), Leo Koloamatangi
-
RG: Greg Van Roten (FA addition), Brian Winters
RT: George Fant (FA addition), Ben Braden

2019 REVIEW

So…where do we start? It’s not good either way, as you can tell from Douglas’ promised overhaul to the depth chart.

But we’ll start at tackle with Kelvin Beachum and Brandon Shell. Their Pro Football Focus grades – Beachum at 67.1 and Shell at 63.6 – aren’t bad but they’re very average. Shell also allowed seven sacks, while Beachum allowed four. Neither player played a full season, as Shell in particular was subbed out and replaced by Edoga, who didn’t provide any improvement to the right side either. Oh, and that’s not to mention that Kelechi Osemele’s signing only resulted in three starts out of him before injury kept him out for the season.

Then, there are the guard positions. Lewis was a solid option that Douglas scooped up in free agency as one of his first moves with the Jets. But Winters needed to be replaced by Tom Compton at one point because it just wasn’t working, and the Jets were looking for whatever combination of linemen they could to play consistent ball.

Finally, Ryan Kalil was brought out of retirement to be a constant at center, and a leader in the locker room. But, after seven starts, Kalil suffered a knee injury. Still, he was the league’s second-worst center among qualified players before going down. Harrison stepped in after that.

Overall, the unit just couldn’t glue itself together no matter how much shifting and replacing went on. In turn, Sam Darnold was running for his life and Le’Veon Bell had to dodge tacklers before even reaching the line of scrimmage. And speaking of that, the Jets were second-to-last in run blocking, according to Football Outsiders. PFF also had them averaging 0.7 rushing yards before contract per attempt – the lowest mark by far for any team during the season.

It’s hard to get anything going on offense when the line can’t hold up, so it was outstanding to see Darnold and the Jets make something out of nothing in the second half and manage to win seven games.

0 seconds of 3 minutes, 59 secondsVolume 90%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
Next Up
Tyler Conklin on Jets' season finale: 'You go out there and play your ass off like you're supposed to'
06:06
00:00
03:59
03:59
 

CAMP BATTLE TO WATCH

Honestly, just pick one position and watch. You could easily say this entire offensive line because it’s a group of basically five brand new players (Lewis was there last season).

But if there is one I’m focused on, it’s between the 11th overall pick in Becton and Fant, the first free agent signee. The Jets gave Fant a pretty generous contract despite not being a depth piece with the Seattle Seahawks, and that should indicate that he will be starting at one of the tackle positions.

Then, Becton arrives with that first-round selection, one that could’ve gone to a wide receiver instead. It shows that Douglas wanted his left tackle first, then he would worry about a playmaker. So, while Fant believes that left tackle is where he is suited, Becton is the definite favorite heading into camp.

So watch that battle, even if they don’t start playing on the same side of the line.

THREE KEYS TO 2020 SUCCESS

1. Becton powers the left side: That brute strength, which was on full display at Louisville, needs to pay dividends with the Jets this season. Bell needs someone – anyone – whom he can trust to run behind and Becton was tremendous at run blocking in college. He is also so hard to get around when pass blocking, too, so Darnold should love that. As long as he’s healthy, the results should follow. But frankly, they need to for this line to improve.

2. Douglas got it right with Fant: The biggest question mark is Fant on this new line. He is very athletic, having been a converted tight end. But there are many question marks around the signing. Yes, the Jets can opt out of it after this season. However, Douglas wouldn’t give someone a three-year deal worth $27.3 million if he didn’t believe he would be able to make an impact.

3. Stick like glue: A brand new line can have its challenge, but hopefully for the Jets, they get those kinks out in training camp before the regular season starts. Douglas made the necessary changes, but this group needs to make sure that their chemistry is up to par with the rest of the league, and they can function fluidly. It won’t take one player to change his play to turn things around with this group. It’s a collective matter, and Douglas will be crossing his fingers they make that the case.

Popular in the Community