The Jets have a big problem, and it’s an even bigger problem than it appears on the surface.

The Jets now have two starting offensive linemen on IR joining their starting quarterback. Arguably the two most important positions on any football team (pass rusher might be number two).

Duane Brown went on IR prior to the week three matchup against the New England Patriots with a hip injury. This was after spending all offseason rehabbing from a shoulder injury. He was close to awful in the two games he played for the Jets to open the season.

Brown is eligible to return prior to the Jets week eight matchup against the New York Giants. What will be interesting is to see if he returns to the starting lineup when he is healthy.

Alijah Vera-Tucker went on IR this week with a torn Achilles he suffered against the Denver Broncos. This is the second year in a row that AVT suffered a season ending injury while playing in Denver. Last year he tore his triceps and was out for the year.

Aaron Rodgers also suffered a torn Achilles just four plays into his Jets career. To lose your starting quarterback and two of your best offensive linemen would be an issue for any team. But for the Jets, it’s a bigger problem. Let me explain.

This isn’t the Mike Maccagnan Jets. Maccagnan was content to piece meal the offensive line with scrap heap free agents and day three draft picks. Jets fans might want to forget the days of Brian Winters, Kelechi Osemele, Ryan Clady, Kelvin Beachum and Spencer Long. It was a completely ignored position.

But this isn’t the Mike Maccagnan Jets. Joe Douglas took over the team prior to the 2019 season (but after the 2019 draft) and immediately went to work on building a strong foundation up front. Since taking over Maccagnan drafted Mekhi Becton and Alijah Vera-Tucker in the first round, Joe Tippmann in the second round, Max Mitchell in the fourth round and signed Duane Brown, Billy Turner, Connor McGovern and Laken Tomlinson to free agent deals.

So why isn’t it working?

Nobody can deny that Douglas is putting the resources up front. It’s a similar problem to the one the Jets have at quarterback. They drafted a QB number two overall and then traded for arguably one of the best of all time. So why don’t the Jets have a top o-line and a stud qb?

Cliché time. The best ability is availability. The Jets are simply seeing too many players go down with injury. Becton was the number 11 pick in the 2020 NFL draft. Since then, we have seen him in 20 games now in his fourth. He had to come out of the game three times against Denver.

New York traded up to take Alijah Vera-Tucker 14^th overall in 2021 draft. In his last two seasons we have seen him in 12 games total.

Duane Brown played 203 games prior to joining the Jets. He averaged over 14 games a season during that span. In his second year in New York, he has played in 14 games total.

The Jets have seen Max Mitchell miss time last season with an illness and even saw Joe Tippmann exit the game for a while during the Broncos game this past week.

And those who aren’t out because of injury are simply not performing up to standard. I have written at length about the issues surrounding Zach Wilson at the QB position. Laken Tomlinson and Connor McGovern have been healthy this year, but they aren’t performing well.

How can a team survive, let alone thrive, when its top performing pieces aren’t available and the ones that are available are not performing.

The Jets are pouring precious limited resources into the offensive line and quarterback positions with very little returns on their investments. 

Jets get their second win but possibly at big cost

The Jets managed to get their second win of the year against the Denver Broncos by a final of 31-21.  Things looked bleak for New York at halftime as the offense was non-existent behind Zach Wilson. The Jets went into the half down 13-8, but all the points the Jets scored to that point (two […]

Featured image via Kirby Lee – USA TODAY SPORTS