NY Jets seemingly making Joe Thuney a top free-agent priority

The NY Jets have seemingly made their intentions clear that they plan to pursue free-agent offensive guard Joe Thuney in the offseason.

The NY Jets will go into the 2020 offseason with a desire to revamp their offensive line after what was a disappointing, abysmal showing in 2019. And one player they’re likely to make a priority is offensive guard Joe Thuney.

Thuney was originally drafted by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft and it didn’t take long for him to crack the starting lineup. The NC State product won the starting left guard job in training camp and the rest is history.

Ove the first four seasons of his NFL career, Thuney has been the model of stability and consistency starting all 64 possible games while remaining a consistent, above-average lineman.

And 2019 may have been the best season if his career so far.

Thuney scored a career-high 77.4 grade from Pro Football Focus and he checked in at No. 91 on PFF’s Top 101 players of 2019. As a result of his impressive play, Thuney was voted Second-Team All-Pro — a well-deserved honor for an excellent player.

With the Jets’ obvious need at seemingly every position along the offensive line, Thuney seems like a perfect free-agent option for the team. And reports seem to indicate that the Jets have a ton of interest in the two-time Super Bowl champion.

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The Athletic’s Connor Hughes recently reported that the Jets — specifically general manager Joe Douglas — were very interested in Thuney even going as far as to say that he’d “be surprised if the Jets don’t come away with either Thuney or Brandon Scherff.”

Scherff is another interesting, albeit more high-profile name that could hit the open market. However, the 28-year-old has injury concerns and there’s no guarantee that the Washington Redskins even let him hit free agency.

Thuney is the durable, more likely option.

Moreover, Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline reported that he’s heard that “several league insiders believe the [Jets] will go hard after Joe Thuney.”

Even Bleacher Report’s Connor Rogers made note of the Jets’ interest in Thuney and labeled him as a “realistic expectation” for Gang Green.

There’s no doubt that Thuney would be an immediate upgrade to what was a disastrous Jets offensive line in 2019. And whether he’s replacing Alex Lewis at left guard or more likely Brian Winters at right guard, he’d be a huge boost to the team’s offense.

The writing seems to be on the wall. The Jets want Thuney and as long as they pay him what he’s worth, there’s a good chance we could see him in green and white next season.