NY Jets: Le’Veon Bell says his ‘best football is still coming’

NY Jets’ running back Le’Veon Bell is clearly confident heading into 2020.

NY Jets‘ running back Le’Veon Bell appears confident and ready for what he hopes will be a bounce-back 2020 season. And really, anything will be an improvement over last year’s disastrous campaign.

Bell joined the Jets in the 2019 offseason after signing a hefty four-year, $52 million contract with the organization. The three-time Pro Bowler was expected to immediately provide a major boost to the Jets’ offense both on the ground and in the air.

Unfortunately, that didn’t exactly happen.

Bell rushed for a measly 789 yards and three touchdowns on an abysmal 3.2 yards per carry which ranked dead last among qualified backs in the NFL. Simply put, it was a challenging season for the former Pittsburgh Steelers standout.

But Bell has been very vocal over the past week or so about his status for 2020. And it appears as though he’s putting last year behind him and looking forward to the upcoming season.

Bell took to Twitter on Friday to declare a very simple, yet bold statement and that was that he has “yet to play [his] best football.” He followed that up by insisting that he “doesn’t even recognize” the 2013-2019 version of himself.

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Intrepid statements from the man once widely regarded as the best running back in football. Bell put together some incredible seasons in Pittsburgh, but could 2020 really be the best season of his football career?

The NY Jets will have to give Le’Veon Bell more help this season.

Well, if he’s going to fulfill that prophecy, he’s going to need a little help along the way.

The Jets’ offensive line ranked second-to-last in DVOA, per Football Outsiders, last season with only the Miami Dolphins trailing behind them. And considering the Dolphins’ offensive line ranked as one of the worst lines in NFL history, that’s not much of an accomplishment.

Combine that with an inept offensive coaching staff that seemed intent on setting Bell up for failure and it’s no wonder he didn’t succeed in his first season with the Jets.

Going into 2020, things will have to be different — for Bell’s sake and for the sake of the team.

The offensive line overhaul conducted in the offseason must pay dividends and head coach Adam Gase must do a better job of utilizing his uber-talented running back.

If not, it doesn’t matter what promises Bell makes.

Bell has vowed that 2020 will be the best season of his career. But to truly make good on his promise, he’s going to need some help.