Joe Douglass has possibly taken that to another level. His first year with the Jets was last year, and he inherited a team with a patchwork offensive line. So his first move was to bring in guard Greg Van Roten to compete for a starting role at one of the guard spots. Van Roten was something of a journeyman having played for 4 NFL teams and 1 CFL team. Most recently he started at left guard for the Panthers in 2018 and 2019. He was signed to plug in at left guard and give that position some stability.
Next he had to address the center position which he did by signing a former guard. Connor McGovern started his career playing guard before moving to center his last year with Denver. McGovern has actually raised his level of play since moving to center and seems to be carving out a nice career for himself at that position, however he is also valuable as a guard should he ever be needed there as well.
Adding Van Roten and McGovern on the interior was crucial to the success of this offensive line but adding bookend tackles was also extremely important. That's where Douglas banked on some upside. He signed former Seahawk George Fant. Fant is arguably one of the most athletic offensive linemen in the league. He played just 1 season of college football and played tight end. After going undrafted the 6'5 270 lb tight end who played just 2 games in college, added 26 lbs and started a transition to offensive line. Despite his weight eventually reaching 322 lbs, he began his career in Seattle as a hybrid tight end on tackle eligible plays. A role that was used more than you might think on a Pete Carroll led team with Marshawn Lynch in the backfield. This role was on top of his role as a swing tackle, and he found a lot of success in both spots, enough so that Douglass signed him intending him to start at one of the tackle positions.
Not done yet he added guard Alex Lewis a familiar face from his time with the Ravens where Lewis was drafted as a tackle but moved inside to guard and eventually replaced Kelechi Osemele. Lewis was signed to start at right guard for now and was seen as a short term fix to a position that is desperate for a long term solution.
To further add depth and round out his offseason haul he added center/guard Josh Andrews formerly of the Colts. Andrews had played in 6 games for the Colts in 2019, but played just 57 snaps. He was added as depth behind McGovern, and Lewis both who have had injuries in recent years. Andrews moved on after the 2020 season replaced by former 49er James Murray.
However his most influential move yet was left for the draft. Douglass saw tremendous value in selecting left tackle Mekhi Becton in the first round. Becton was regarded as another player with positional versatility if needed as a guy who could slide in at guard if his play wasn't good enough at left tackle. So far he has stuck around at left tackle, and played well enough that given a chance in the 2021 draft to select another tackle he instead targeted a guard. He also selected tackle Cameron Clark in the 4th round.
In 2021 the Jets drafted Aljiah Vera-Tucker because two last names are always better than one. Vera-Tucker is expected to start at left guard moving Van Roten over to right guard to compete with Alex Lewis who is known for injuries.
They also signed Washington cast off Morgan Moses the long time starter at right tackle who will likely replace Fant as the starter at right tackle making this offensive line one of the deepest in the league in terms of veteran backups.
In a move that snuck under the radar for even me the biggest of football nerds the Jets managed to sign guard Dan Feeney a former 3rd round pick with the Chargers who started 57 of 63 games. While some say he is just a depth piece for the team I disagree, I believe the 26 year old is still young enough and talented enough to take over a starting role. Feeney can play some center as well but I think he should be in a 3 man mix at right guard opposite of Vera Tucker.
As other players to be named Chuma Edoga a former 3rd round pick just 2 seasons ago is still on the roster, Conor McDermott, and Corey Levin are all vying for depth roles on a fairly stacked offensive line that might shake out as one of the deepest lines in the league.
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