The play of Jets’ right guard Alijah Vera-Tucker at San Francisco in Week 1 was pedestrian, which was understandable. That was his first tackle football game since he went down with a torn right Achilles in a Week 5 game in Denver last season. He didn’t play in the 2024 preseason, so that game at San Francisco was his first game action in almost a year.
But after getting the kinks out in his backyard (he’s from Oakland), he took a quantum leap in Week 2 against Tennessee, playing much better and expect that upward trajectory to continue against New England on Thursday night, as the cobwebs continue to come off.
Here are some AVT highlights from Nashville:
On the Jets TD drive to start the second half, Breece Hall ran for 20 yards on the right side, and a key block on the play was Vera-Tucker, locking up defensive tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day.
In the middle of the third quarter, on a Hall 8-yard gain up the middle, Vera-Tucker had one of the key initial blocks, locking up defensive tackle James Lynch.
And then on Braelen Allen’s 20-yard touchdown off right tackle in the fourth quarter, Vera-Tucker neutralized defensive tackle Keondre Coburn, helping the runner take the the corner.
Vera-Tucker is a solid tackle, but a Pro Bowl-level guard, and he showed that in Nashville.
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