Jets 2022 Offensive Line and Tight End Targets in Free Agency

 The Jets went out and got their franchise QB in 2021. They also got some key pieces in the draft with Elijah Moore and Michael Carter. There is plenty of excitement moving forward due to this young talented group and 4 draft picks in the top 2 rounds in the 2022 draft. They also have WR Corey Davis and a decent TE in Ryan Griffin. 

On offense, the Jets are rank 15th in passing yards and 28th in completion percentage. The offensive line stats are deceiving because of the situation of having a rookie qb. Also, the Jets are  last in rushing attempts on the year, which is shocking with a rookie QB.  But they are tied  for 11th in rushing yards per carry at 4.4. It's no secret that their lack of attempts hurt their statistical numbers and the team is a much better when they run the football on a consistent basis.. Even though they are last in attempts, they are 26th in yards. So, if they rushed 8-10 more times a game, they would probably be around the middle of the pack in rushing. 

They were also sacked 2.9 times per game which is  26th in the league. But, again that stat is deceiving because of several factors:

1. Having a rookie qb and making poor decisions

2. Some of those are on naked boots which is no one's faults up front.

3. Some were a result of the rb.

4. The Jets get a ton of 5 man pressures because they have a rookie qb.

5. They lead the league in passing attempts. More passing attempts=more sacks

6. They don't run the ball nearly enough, last in rushing attempts

My point is that you shouldn't get caught up in the numbers. They were better than what people thought. 

Moving Forward

Now they have to address some pieces to really take the next step as a program. One of the positions they have to address is the offensive line and tight end. 

The biggest question marks on the offensive line are the following:

1. Who plays right guard?

2. Do they bring Moses back or kick Fant back to right tackle?

3. Who plays center? Do they restructure McGovern  or go to a different option either through the draft or free agency?

What will the plan be. I happen to like Moses and think he should be brought back? If not, do you go after a veteran back up. Would you bring him back and move Becton to guard. Would it be more cost effective?

Imagine an offensive line  of:

Fant-Becton- Mcgovern-Tucker-Moses. I 'm in the minority about moving Becton to guard but that would be a really impressive offensive line. 

But let's dive a little deeper into the options:

Last year's starters.

LT/RT- George Fant-George moved from the right side to the left side after Mekai Becton went down and played really well over there. Arguably, he played better than Becton and graded out quite weil in both the run and pass game. 

LT-Mekai Becton is going to play somewhere next year. Tremendous run blocker with some issues handling speed rushers. He will be back but do you consider moving him to guard? Probably not, but it wouldn't be the worst move in the world. 

LG Aligah Vera-Tucker- Vera Tucker did a real nice job in the run game as a rookie and will be a solid player for years to come. He is excellent in the zone scheme and playside in the gap counter schemes. The areas he can improve upon is pass protection and his trap, counter blocking technique. Thought he struggled at times in those 2 areas. The nice thing about him is he can kick over to right guard if they sign a left guard.

C-Connor Mcgovern- Connor is a good football player that fans seem to underestimate his ability. I don't think he is nearly the problem they make him out to be. To me, he is a top 10 center and a player I would want on my football team. That being said, he does have a huge contract but that can be converted into a 2 year deal with a nice signing bonus, thus giving the Jets more cap flexilbilty.

RG- Laurent Devarney-Tardiff - Tardiff was a nice pickup and great story as he has done a tremendous amount for the community. But in reality there are better answers to play guard. They could really benefit from him coming back in a reserve role but I think they need to go in another direction at starting right guard.

RT- Morgan Moses- Morgan Moses was a good addition and is a very solid right tackle. He has only let up 3 sacks and is a very solid pro. 

Backups

Dan Feeney, Greg Van Roten, Connor McDermott and Isaiah Wilson were some of the key backups on 2021.  I would expect Feeney back, especially for the excitement of Islander games.

Tight End

The Jets 2 tight ends were more run blockers and neither was a top tight end in receptions in 2021. Griffin was #30 in receptions. This an area in which the Jets would like to get a quality receiving te in 2022. 

TE- Tyler Kroft- Had a good year and is a very solid run blocker. Was adequate in the passing game but really not a dynamic wr. 

TE- Ryan Griffin- Not the run blocker that Kroft is but a little more versatile in the pass game.

TE-Trevon Wesco- A one dimensional tight end/full back who givves them some versatility. 

2022 definite returners

Fant, Becton and Tucker will be back and it gives the Jets some flexibility.  Fant could be restructured but I wouldn't mess around with him too much. It may cost you more money. 

Possible Returners

C- Mcgovern is a 9 million dollar savings if cut. The Jets could restructure him give him a 2 year deal and bring him back. Throw him a signing bonus and  maybe a 2 year 12 million dollar deal. I think he's a solid player and worth the investment.

RT Morgan Moses-Here's where it gets interesting. I like Moses and think he would be worth bringing back. But you aren't going to get him for the bargain basement price you got him at last year. Now do you resign him and give yourself some more flexibility with 3 tackles. 

TE-Tyler Kroft and Ryan Griffith are both free agents. What direction do you want to go there. I coould see them bringing one back and then searching for the more dynamic option in free agency.

Free Agency Options

Let's look at some of the free agent options for the Jets at both tight end ,center and guard, the  positions you can see the Jets possibly bringing in thru free agency.

#1 Guard

I don't think the Jets need to focus on a left or right guard because of Vera-Tucker's versatility.He played right guard at USC in his earlier years. People may disagree with me on that but I want the best available guard there.

Below are 9 guys who would be great additions to the Jets offensive line. All are clearly better than what the jets have now. I would be surprised if they don't go after a guard in free agency only because of the depth in free agency at the position.

1. Brandon Scherf  wft     A great player who will be one of the best guards on the market.    He won't be franchised again.

2. Connor Williams cowboys A player who may be franchised but I can see hitting the market because of the cowboys cap issues.

3. James Daniels  Bears    Really came into his own this year after moving around over the years. Is he good enought to be tagged or will he hit the open market.

4.  Austin Corbett Rams    Corbett is really good. Has some good years ahead of him.Can play center or guard which is great for versatility purposes. Do the Rams franchise him or Darious Williams-CB?

5. Andy Norwell Jaguars    A great vet who doesn't seem to have lost a step.   

6. Laken Tomlinson 49ers I think Saleh knows how good he is.

7. Mark Glowinski Colts Mark is a heck of a guard. Could get the franchise tag.

8. Quinton Spain  Bengals Quinton is a very good guard and excellent run blocker. Definitely a great run blocker

9. Patrick Mekari Ravens   A restricted free agent so I don't see the Ravens letting him go but you never know.

#2 Center

The only players in the same class as McGovern are:

Ryan jensen    Bucs       

Brian Allen      Rams

Brad Bozeman  Ravens

These are the only 3 who would be worth replacing McGovern with. Are you going to get them for under $9 milllion per year. These guys are going to command $10 million plus per year so maybe trying to lure Mcgovern back may be a better option.

Other options who aren't the players Mcgovern are and I put in the avearge range include: Ethan Pocic Seahawks

Matt Paradis   Panthers

Patrick lucas packers 

Max  garcia Cardinals    Garcia intrigues me because he can play center/guard, which in today's NFL is a commodity

 

The options are McGovern, one of the players above or drafting a center in the 2nd round. That's how it will play out.

#3 TE

The Jets have 2 free agent tight ends. Both are good blockers and I can see 1 being brought back. Both Griffin and Kroft are solid pros.  Whether they attack the position in free agency or the draft remains to be seen but I can see them signing 1 tight end  and drafting another in round 2 or 3. They also have Kenny Yeboah so will see their thoughts on him. Either way they need two tight ends. 

Here's where it gets interesting in free agency. The tight end class is not very deep. The best tight end is Mike Gesicki. I will be shocked if Gisecki hits the open market. I anticipate him being franchised. But if he gets his wish and he's classified as a wr, he may hit the market because that would cost the Dolphins some $$$. Keep an eye on that. 

That leaves the following:

1. Dalton Shultz cowboys       69 receptions, 733 yards,10.6 ypc Will be available because the Cowboys will mostly franchise Gregory, Williams or Kearse. 

2. Zach Ertz- Cardinals 60 receptions , 638 yards 10.6 ypc Great veteran who has a few years in the tank,

3.Tyler Conklin   min             54 receptions 540 yards 10 ypc He may be the best one of the group,has great upside and is a good route runner. Keep an eye on him but I don't see the Vikings franchising anyone else. HE would be the franchise tag recipient as I see it.

4. CJ Uzomah   bengals       45 receptions ,461 yards 10. 2 ypc Good veteran who may be a nice security blanket for a young qb.

5. David njoku     Browns 30 receptions , 436 yards 14.5 ypc . Njoku is a wr who plays tight end and that's an intriguing player because you can split him out and force some 1x1 matchups on the perimeter. Not an inline tight end but would be a great off the ball option.

         

6. Ricky Seals-Jones   wft A converted wr who has even more room to grow. He adds to his body, he may be an even better tight end in 2022. He's a guy to keep your eyes on.He had 29 catches for 263 yards in 2021.  

7 Robert Tonyan packers     Tonyan was coming into his own before getting injured in 2021. May be a 1 year prove it candidate as Joe Douglas loves.

8 Mo Cox Colts. Mo Cox could be a very solid addition, especially in the run game. He's just a good football player.

Again, this isn't a tremendous free agent class so expect the Jets to draft a tight end.

All in all, the offensive line and tight end positions need to be addressed. 'm curious to see how it plays out.

I hope you enjoyed this article and my thoughts on the offensive line and tight end position.

3rd Down Double Mug Pressures, Sim pressures and Pass Defense Concepts

                                            DOUBLE MUG PRESSURE LOOKS

This article looks specifically at double mug looks and how they cause problems with protections. The defense is hoping for full slide protection which means the line slides one way and the back is responsible for the defensive end. This creates a favorable matchup. You see more full slide protections in college than the nfl level as in the NFL they don't like to put the RB vs. the defensive end in protection. 

The NFL will take one of the mug linebackers with the running back. They call it half man protection because they don't want this mismatch.

From a coverage standpoint, you can play any defense you want from these looks. You can  also play some cover 2, 2 man which is nice because the mug look often forces teams to go 6 man protection and keep the back in. I think this allows you to play more cover 2 man  and even send 5(blitz engage principle) and leave the hook open in 2x2 situations. 

 so for the article we will focus mostly on the protection issues the mug looks cause.

First lets look at the 2 protections you will see when blocking these looks.

FULL SLIDE PROTECTION

Here's 2 examples of Iowa State vs Louisiana-Lafayette. The protection is full slide on 2 of the clips below. The first time they get a hit on the qb, the next time Iowa State gets the sack. 

Both times it was show and bail and rush 4, but they got the protection they wanted. 

#1 They show pressure but bail on the snap. The RB is forced in a 1x1 situation against the running back and the RB whifs and they get the sack against the qb. 

Force the slide

Get 1x1 RB on DE

#2 The same protection as the tackle tries to help late but to no avail as the de #9 comes clean and gets the sack. Nice job and execution by the Cyclones. Again, they force the matchup and get the sack.

They play cover 2 with the double mug look and get great pressure.

They bail with the inside linebackers again and La full slides.

DE on the RB 

Pressure gets home.

The Titans used a similar concept 2x vs the Jaguars. They get an interception. 

Scheme: Mug B gap but drop both LB. The Titans engage their 2 ILB and then drop them into the hook. It's successful as Lawrence doesn't see the Rat defender and gets a nice pick. They ran it because they knew the Jaguars were a full slide team in protection. Nice design and interception. The late drops causes issues.

They get the LBs engaged and drop them into slant windows.

Pressure leads to interception.

Man Protections

The most basic protection you will see in the NFL is 1/2 man protection.They don't trust a rb to block a de. The center will go to one side with the RB assigned to the mug lb. Sometimes the rb will have a double read but he has to block the inside 1st then outside. Below you see the 1/2 man concept. The Jets block big on big , man to the left and bring the center right to the other side. The other thing the pros will do is throw hot off the sam or outside pressure that may come. Without getting too complicated, this is a protection you will see in the pros.  

RB and center are responsible for the 2 inside linebackers.  Some teams like the Bears above will walk the RB up into the A gap.

RB steps up inside.

LB gets pressures #34 right away with the mug look. 

Mug Cross Dogs!

Dolphins run a mug cross dog and it can cause confusion.

It acts as a pic play with the LB.

Here's what the 1/2 man concept looks like. Center makes a right call. Takes the lb on the right side. RB has the LB to the left side. 

Here is the protection again but the Rams are one of those teams that will walk the RB into the gap and slide the center the other way. Here they make the right call but the OT doesn't get off and the sam LB comes clean. Goff should have been sacked but escapes the pressure. They play half coverage to the field and 1/4 to the boundary. Excellent design by the 49ers.

The pressure is a slot pressure! 

Good disguise and cover 24. 

They decide to swap the blitz and who is coming. 

Sam comes free as the tackle never gets out.

Nice design

OVERLOAD PRESSURES 

One of the most common pressure schemes you will see is 4 to a side pressures. Often times teams will try to send 4 depending on what they expect from the back. Here is a great example of this concept by the Vikings in 2019 vs. The Cardinals.

Zimmer made a living with these for years.

They send 4 to the weak side.

6 man pressures

the Vikings go 6 man with a read it concept. If the guard steps to you as a LB you bail and help underneath. It is a cover 0 concept on the backend. Nice design and scheme by Coach Zimmer.

Here is the look below

The Dolphins run a 6 man pressure against the Jets. With Frank Gore in the game, they decide to bring the pressure inside. Once he steps up the DE's dont have to peel and they get a great rush. They play man free on the back. end. Gore steps up to block, rush.

They run a 2 man game with the mug linebackers. They cause confusion and Gore takes one but knocks the center off so he can't help. 

Nice game catches the Jets

On 3rd and 12. They show again and only send 5. This time the Jets somewhat pick up the pressure but the E and Tackle stunt gets home. Lewis gets beat by the defensive end and the help is too late with the rb. 

The earlier pressure forces the Jets to go max protection.

The Dolphins bail and only bring 4 players. They essentially get 2x1 to the weakside and 4x2 to the strong side as they are playing 1/4, 1/4 , 1/2. Nice design but understand that sending 6 earlier got the Jets nervous, they go max and the Dolphins make them pay by only sending 4 and still getting home.

The game causes confusion with the LB blowing up the a gap.

The guard doesn't get off.

The looper flushes Flacco out of the pocket.

Nice design by Boyer and the Dolphins.

Good coverage downfield. No place to go.

Bengals Cross Dog

The Bengals run a similar blitz vs the Broncos in 2021. On a key 3rd and 5 they run a cross dog with their 2 LBs. They get the first LB to occupy both the center and the RB and the looper gets free.

Nice route by the Broncos

Pocket collapses before they get home. 

Nice game inside with the 2 ILB 

Nice stunt and the game. 

Dolphins vs Rams.

Here the Dolphins go double b gap look ? Why double B, you force a slide protection and the end comes free.  It's man free coverage on the back end. 

They ran this pressure the first 2 times in the Ram game. One incomplete, one interception. The Rams have no other choice than to slide left or right because they are in empty.  They feel they can match up with the Rams and they get great pressure.

Vikings

Vikings go double mug run a game and bring 4 to the formation.

Nice design with 3 under 3 deep coverage.

Vikings #2 

Vikings bring 6 vs the Texans and play combo/man. They bring 2 off the edge and drop #90 the ILB. The Mike and the SS combo the TE and the #2 WR. Great job and pressure scheme designed by Zimmer. 

They drop the Mike but still bring 6 with man free coverage

They get the free rusher home! 

The aggressive combo coverage takes away the inside routes by 2 and 3 and Watson has no where to go with the football.

looks like 2 under 3 deep.

These are just some of the schemes and pressures you will see from mug pressure looks. Check back more for some other pressures and schemes.

Here is my youtube video that goes with the clip!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5qPKzISlJ4

Bills vs Steelers.

The Bills used 4-2-5 mug looks vs the Steelers in week 15. The Steelers were o of 7 vs Bills and the Bills got pressure several times. They sacked Big Ben 1x , got 2 interceptions with 1 for a td and also had 2 hits on him. They mixed it up but did an excellent job dropping def lineman underneath to take away the slants and short in routes the Steelers love.

Here are all 7 clips:

3RD AND 3 PATRIOTS VS TITANS.

Patriots show pressure but go cover 2 on the time of the snap with 6 underneath defenders.

Confusion leads to the coverage sack.

Michigan State uses it vs Pitt  in the Peach bowl. Michigan State gives the appearance of sending 6 but drop the ilb and he gets the interception. The coverage was cover 0 with a rat lb. They do a nice job of selling the 6 man protection and getting the free rusher home. The rat Lb also gets the pick after faking pressure. Nice design by Mel Tucker and staff.

Dolphins vs Rams:

The Dolphins ran a 6 man pressure early in the game twice out of base personnel early in the game and the Rams checked to their quick passing game but get a pick later in the game by dropping the def lineman with the appearance of the same pressure. 

6 man pressure- Man Coverage, cover 0

The 1st example is man to man and bring 6. Teams will bring double mug looks and mug the a or b gap with the linebackers. 

Here the Dolphins go double b gap look ? Why double B, you force a slide protection and the end comes free.  

They ran this pressure the first 2 times in the Ram game. One incomplete, one interception.

Here's a Bills mug pressure from a 3 hands look.

They mug the A and B with the LB while playing 3 tech and 5 tech on the other side. Very effective as the rb gets confused in protection. Guard takes the LB, the other bails, but the RB doesn't pick up the edge DB rushing. 

Edge Db comes free, Guard and RB both take the LB,(RB probably on a dual read) 

Tua gets sacked as he has no chance.

Film with the analysis above:

Wide Copy

TIte copy

The Giants run a 4 man pressure from a double mug look. They bring the sam and the play side LB on a delayed blitz. great design by coach Wink Martindale on 3rd down. Sam #39 and Mike #24 come thru the b gap with the DE opposite the pressure dropping. 

Hope you enjoyed all the different mug looks and pressure packages off it.