This offseason, Joe Douglas has been extra like Joe Ouglas. His focus has not been on the D.
It has been clear since January that the Jets had been setting out this offseason to bolster their offense after watching it drag them down in recent times. That mission continued within the draft, with Douglas utilizing his first 5 draft picks on offensive gamers.
On paper, the Jets’ offense appears vastly improved over what they put on the market in recent times. That begins with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, after all, and Jets followers know all too nicely {that a} crew that appears a method on paper within the spring might not essentially look that approach on the sphere within the fall. Rodgers’ damage 4 performs into final season ripped up the 2023 model of “this crew on paper.”
However the Jets’ rebuild on offense has gone past simply hoping that Rodgers can keep wholesome this season. Douglas has improved the offensive line with some gamers who include damage and age issues however may appear like steals if they will keep on the sphere in tackles Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses. He then added Olu Fashanu within the first spherical of the draft as an insurance coverage coverage if one of many tackles does go down.
At receiver, the Jets took one other swing in free company with a participant who could possibly be a house run if wholesome in Mike Williams, who’s coming off a torn ACL. They added Malachi Corley as a possible slot receiver within the third spherical of the draft, and now, the Jets really feel fairly good in regards to the weapons Rodgers has round him, beginning with Garrett Wilson and Breece Corridor via Tyler Conklin, Corley and Williams.
Will it work?
We’ll discover out when the season will get right here. However proprietor Woody Johnson is clearly uninterested in watching his protection fireplace on all cylinders whereas his offense backfires week after week.
“It’s actually all in regards to the offense,” Johnson mentioned in February. “For the final 5 years it’s been in regards to the offense. The offense has to attain, maintain the protection off the sphere. The protection is nice.”
Johnson will not be mendacity. The Jets haven’t had a top-10 offense in yards per recreation since 2015. Heck, they haven’t gotten greater than 25 since then. They had been 31 final yr. In the meantime, the protection has been within the prime 10 3 times within the final 5 years and within the prime 5 every of the final two years.
The Jets have been via 9 totally different offensive coordinators within the final 13 seasons. They’ve been via 15 totally different beginning quarterbacks in that point. The one steady factor in regards to the offense over the playoff drought has been its instability.
The Jets really hope that their offense begins to play somewhat extra like their protection. They preach taking part in with violence on protection and judging by a number of of those draft picks, they need to add that to the offense. Corley is called the “YAC King” for what number of yards he will get after the catch. Once you watch his movie from Western Kentucky, he runs over defenders and performs with a toughness the Jets covet.
“I believe I joked with Joe,” Jets coach Robert Saleh mentioned, “if his, if he had a relative sitting on the objective line, he’s going to run him over too.”
Then, the Jets took one other participant who they hopes deliver physicality to the offense with fourth-round operating again Braelon Allen, a 235-pound again who can punish tacklers.
The important thing, after all, is a wholesome and efficient Rodgers, who will deliver his personal edge to the offense.
With the heavy lifting of roster constructing over, it appears like Douglas has successfully upgraded the offense. Once more, appears in April might be deceiving. However perhaps, simply perhaps, the Jets could have an offense that may match their protection this season.
