NY Jets offensive line named one of most improved units by PFF

The NY Jets made it a priority to improve their offensive line in the offseason and the folks over at Pro Football Focus believe their efforts will pay off.

The NY Jets went into the offseason with the goal of fixing many of their most pressing roster needs. But no need required more urgent addressing than the offensive line.

Fortunately, the Jets made it their offseason duty to improve that position.

From the free-agent additions of Connor McGovern, George Fant, and Greg Van Roten to the drafting of Mekhi Becton and Cameron Clark, the Jets left no stone unturned when it came to the offensive line this offseason.

And for their efforts, they’ve begun to receive some praise for how general manager Joe Douglas handled the offseason.

Pro Football Focus recently released a list of the most improved offensive line units in the NFL and the Jets came in at third on the list behind the Cleveland Browns and AFC East rivals, the Miami Dolphins.

PFF praised the signings of McGovern and Van Roten who both ranked as above-average starters in 2019. The former received a 72.0 grade placing him as the No. 10 center in the NFL while the latter’s 65.6 grade ranked him as the No. 15 left guard.

The article also talked about the high-upside selection of Becton. While they did speak to the possible concerns with the Louisville product’s pass protection early in his career, they made note of his already excellent run-blocking skills.

“We wrote prior to the draft that his lack of true pass sets in a Louisville offense that heavily featured play action and designed rollouts in conjunction with his struggles when he did see true pass sets was cause for concern. That isn’t to say he won’t turn into a solid pass protector at the NFL level. He is coming off an 82.5 pass-blocking grade in 2019 with the Cardinals. We simply don’t know as much about him in pass protection to say it’s a safe bet. His run-blocking projections, on the other hand, are very favorable.”

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The two projected starters on the Jets’ offensive line that weren’t mentioned are both holdovers from 2019 in left guard Alex Lewis and right tackle Chuma Edoga. While both will have to compete for the starting job in training camp, it’s presumed that those two will be starting Week 1.

Lewis filled in admirably for Kelechi Osemele once he went down with an injury but is still a below-average starting option all measures. The real intrigue comes with Edoga.

The 2019 third-round pick will have to beat out Fant for the right tackle job, but the Jets are still high on him and hope that he could be the future at that position. If Edoga could take a step towards being a viable starter in 2020 it will do wonders for the state of the offensive line.

Of course, there are still plenty of other question marks about the Jets’ offensive line. Will McGovern and Van Roten regress after career years in 2019? Can Becton prove that he’s more NFL-ready than most have given him credit for?

Both of those questions will be answered once the season (hopefully) starts in September.

But at least for now, the Jets appear to have done an excellent job of improving what was one of the worst offensive lines in football last season.