New York Jets: 9 XFL players who can help Gang Green in 2020
By Ed Stein
Offense
It’s no secret that Gang Green’s offense struggled for consistency in 2019. The offensive line was flat out bad. Franchise quarterback Sam Darnold missed games early in the season due to mono. Tight End Chris Herndon who was counted on to be a big contributor, after a surprising 2018, only played one game which was sandwiched between a drug suspension to open the year and a season-ending rib injury.
Douglas has done a good job of signing interior linemen such as Alex Lewis, Greg Van Roten, and Connor McGovern. Offensive tackle remains a problem. George Fant and Chuma Edoga can’t make Gase happy. Upgrades are necessary
A player Gang Green has to pay serious attention to is Storm Norton. The former Toledo offensive tackle has made NFL stops in Detroit and Minnesota. At 6-8 he’s a behemoth and one thing that can’t be taught is size. He was the first lineman taken in that phase of the XFL draft and turned out to be one of the league’s best.
Judging by his pre-draft scouting reports, Norton had some areas of his game to improve. For example, his college team always played him in a two-point stance, so the three-point technique was something he had to re-learn. It would be fun to see Norton’s massive frame plowing the road for running back Le’Veon Bell.
There is no safety net behind Darnold. As the New York Jets learned last year a reliable backup quarterback is a necessity. Quarterback, PJ Walker was dynamite for undefeated Houston. The former Temple University signal-caller completed 119-of-184 passes (65 percent) for 1338 yards with 15 touchdown passes against just four picks.