Alijah Vera-Tucker has everything to lose in make-or-break season

The NY Jets were confident they had found a long-term building block of their offensive line following Alijah Vera-Tucker's promising rookie campaign in 2021. The former first-round pick was among the best rookie offensive lineman in the NFL and looked set to anchor the Jets' offensive line for the foreseeable future.

But a torn triceps suffered seven games into the 2022 season ended his sophomore campaign prematurely. While that was an unfortunate setback, Vera-Tucker returned healthy to start the 2023 season and looked to pick up where he did before his injury.

Unfortunately, tragedy struck again, as this time Vera-Tucker, an individual who didn't miss a single game due to injury in college, suffered a torn Achilles in the Jets' fifth game of the year, once again prematurely ending his season.

Those two injuries — while unrelated and potentially freak accidents — have threatened to derail the career of one of the Jets' most promising offensive building blocks. The 2024 season will be a make-or-break year for the former USC star.

The NY Jets need a healthy Alijah Vera-Tucker in 2024

At his best, Vera-Tucker has looked like one of the better offensive linemen in the entire AFC East. While some Jets fans tend to overrate Vera-Tucker from time to time, it's hard to truly put a number on his value.

This is a player who has started games at four different positions for the Jets in just 28 career games. He's been moved everywhere from left guard to right guard to right tackle to even a little at left tackle.

Combine that with a rotating cast of inept offensive linemen he's been forced to play alongside and it's safe to say we likely haven't seen the best of Vera-Tucker in the NFL. An entire year of playing one position alongside competent offensive linemen could do wonders for Vera-Tucker's stock.

But he first has to stay healthy. The Jets offered Vere-Tucker a vote of confidence this offseason when they opted to pick up his fifth-year option, guaranteeing his $15.3 million salary in 2024.

That suggests the Jets don't necessarily view Vera-Tucker as an injury-prone player. They seem to believe that his two major injuries were just strokes of misfortune and not a sign of things to come.

That's a fair take, given that Vera-Tucker's two injuries were unrelated and that he had no prior injury history before entering the NFL. Had both injuries been to the same part of the body, the Jets might have reconsidered their decision.

Still, Vera-Tucker needs to prove that he can not only stay healthy for a season but that he can be the player the Jets believe he can. The Jets don't just see Vera-Tucker as an average starter — they view him as a player with All-Pro potential.

Vera-Tucker is already one of the best run-blocking guards in the NFL. Jets running back Breece Hall is averaging a ridiculous 6.08 yards per carry with Vera-Tucker on the field as compared to his 3.97 yards per carry without his star offensive lineman. The numbers speak for themselves.

That said, Vera-Tucker is still a work in progress in pass protection. The 25-year-old has allowed pressure on 8.1% of his pass-blocking snaps at guard since 2022, per Pro Football Focus. That's one of the worst rates among all guards over the last two years.

Part of that can be attributed to his constant position-switching and a lack of talent around him. That number also includes the games he played at tackle, which were expectedly worse in comparison to his guard games.

Still, the Jets don't only need to see a healthy Vera-Tucker in 2024 — they need to see a better Vera-Tucker. The 2024 season will be a make-or-break year for Alijah Vera-Tucker. His future with the organization depends on it.

This article is part of the "Summer Spotlight" series on The Jet Press, dedicated to highlighting individual players on the Jets roster throughout the summer. Stay tuned for more features as we provide in-depth profiles and insights on various Jets players before the season kicks off.

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