New York Jets and the gaping hole in the “center” of the offense
Even though the New York Jets can’t fix this entire roster in one off-season, they are leaving a big hole by not fixing the center position.
The New York Jets have had a very quiet second wave of free agency. The period as a whole seemed to come to a head with the Le’Veon Bell signing and it has been the calming down period from there.
They did sign Brian Poole but not much else has happened. One of the more prominent pieces of news was the fact that the Jets were barely even involved with Justin Houston, who signed with the Colts.
Hey, they can’t sign everyone we want, ladies and gentlemen. It’s impossible.
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But there is one position that the Jets have not addressed at all, other than bringing back a depth player.
One could argue that this position is most important in preserving the safety of Sam Darnold.
Of course we are talking about the center position.
The Jets didn’t even offer a contract to the big free agents at the position, Mitch Morse or Matt Paradis.
Yes, the Jets needed to add playmakers. There definitely are health concerns about Paradis.
Like it or not, the Jets roster was also needed too much talent to fix in one off-season.
But, on the other hand, the importance of the center position cannot be understated.
No matter who is lined up behind Darnold, or to the outside, if he is running for his life, Sam will not be able to find them.
For anyone who needs to be sold, just look at how life has been since the retirement of Nick Mangold. Year one was with the great Wesley Johnson. He put in a Pro Football Focus grade of 51.2 in 2017. We didn’t need to even know that to know how bad he was, we watched him play.
We won’t even talk about Spencer Long from last year. There is no need to make all of you nauseous.
Jonotthan Harrison started eight games at center. Was he as bad as Long? No. But he did give up 12 pressures and 10 hurries. This is not exactly who we want to be calling out pressures on a week to week basis in front of Darnold.
This is why this may be the most dramatic of a need for the team. If they can’t protect Darnold none of it is going to make a difference.
Next. Post combine Jets mock number one. dark
The other day we talked about draft strategy, and that Garrett Bradbury could potentially be an option at the position.
The Jets may need to trade down to make this type of pick but it’s not impossible. If it’s not him, however, it needs to be someone.
Center needs to be a priority, not a filler until next season.
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