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Something I wrote in the new issue of Jets Confidential
. . . coming out next week.
“Some people might argue he needs to do a better job at other positions, but nobody can argue that Joe Douglas is a top-shelf evaluator of offensive line talent.”
Just look at the trade-up to get guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, or the signings of center Connor McGovern and offensive tackle George Fant – all three moves have worked out very well.
As for the selection of Mekhi Becton, it certainly looked pretty good in 2020, when his run blocking was superb, but then the Jets changed to a zone-blocking scheme, going from Adam Gase’s to Mike LaFleur’s offense, and Becton wasn’t as good a fit. You don’t see offensive tackles his size in a zone-blocking scheme. Clearly he needs to lose some weight, but Douglas had no idea they would be moving from Gase’s offense to LaFleur’s offense when they drafted Becton.
But today, let’s get into three players that Douglas brought in during last season, put them on the practice squad, and had Jets line coaches John Benton and Jake Moreland (now in Denver) develop – Dru Samia, Ross Pierschbacher and Isaiah Williams.
Obviously Vera-Tucker is going to be the left guard in 2022 and for many years to come, but who is going to be the right guard in 2022 – it could be Samia, Pierschbacher or Williams.
Now it’s possible they sign a free agent like Chicago’s James Daniels or San Francisco’s Laken Tomlinson, but if they stay in-house, one of these three guys could land the job.
Samia was pretty highly-regarded entering the league as a 2019 fourth-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings, coming off a senior season at Oklahoma where he was named Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year. Not sure why things didn’t work out in Minnesota, but Oklahoma consistently produces quality NFL offensive linemen. Samia had a chance last season to hit the reset button and fix some things on the Jets practice squad.
Another great college offensive line school that produces a lot of professionals is Alabama, and that is where Ross Pierschbacher came from. Pierschbacher was a fifth-round pick of the Washington Whatevers in the 2019 draft. The Washington thing has me confused. If I write that he was picked by the Washington Commanders, that would be factually incorrect, because they weren’t called that when he was picked.
But I digress.
Pierschbacher is a corn-fed lineman from Iowa, a rare big-time Iowa high school line prospect who didn’t go to the Hawkeyes. He was a team captain at Alabama, so fits the kind of player the Jets are looking to add in their cultural reboot. He’s not an elite athlete for guard, but he’s smart, tough, technically sound and knows what he’s doing out there.
As for Willliams, I’d be lying if I told you I know a lot about the University of Akron product because I don’t see a lot of MAC games, but the guy has certainly paid his dues, as the Jets are his 11th team in three different leagues.
February 22, 2022
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