New York Jets: Five important players for 2018 season not named Darnold

Spencer Long

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We have talked a lot about this in the off-season but it deserves repeating. The offensive line was bad last year. Brian Winters was bad, although he played a lot with injury. James Carpenter arguably had his worst year for the Jets.

The worst of them all was Wesley Johnson. Calling him a turnstile might be insulting the turnstile. To put it bluntly, he stunk. The Jets were ranked 26th in the league in pass blocking efficiency per Pro Football Focus. Johnson was ranked as the 35th best center in a league that only has 32 that start.

Johnson had to go and Mike Maccagnan brought in Spencer Long. Now healthy, he is an immediate upgrade. Even with injuries, Long was ranked as the 19th best center by PFF. Being healthy he will get better, and an injured Long was far better than a healthy Wesley Johnson.

The other part of offensive line play is communication. Everybody has to know what everyone else is doing. That didn’t work out so well last year with the diminished guard play. A player like Long will make the guards better. Long will be an important piece to Jets success in 2018.