New York Jets: Dissecting GM Joe Douglas’ press conference

Offensive Line to be number one priority

When talking to the media, Douglas made it known that the offensive line was one of the biggest priorities this year. He acknowledged how poor the offensive line was based on how difficult it was for Bell to get going on the ground. Douglas also acknowledged that it’s a priority to keep Darnold protected and upright.

This statement should be music to New York Jets fans’ ears. Anyone who watched the Jets throughout 2019 and prior, it has been like watching the Titanic sink this past couple of years. The amount of defensive players that get through the line is like the gaping hole the iceberg caused on the Titanic.

According to Pro Football Focus, the Jets offensive line was ranked 28th against the active 32 teams in the league. One of the reasons the Jets were ranked low was because the rushing game only averaged 0.7 rushing yards before contact. Another reason the poor offensive line ranking was that they gave their quarterbacks 2.5 seconds or less to pass.

One key point that Douglas mentioned was the Jets only have one 2019 opening-day starter from the O-line returning under contract and that would be Brian Winters. So speculation about how the Jets could cut Winters to open up cap space is misplaced for this year, 2021 is another story.

The offensive line clearly needs to get better and it looks like Douglas will address this issue through free agency and the draft.