Connor McGovern closes 2020 season strong in New England (Film)

Wrapping up a much-improved second half of the season, Connor McGovern went into New England and shined against Bill Belichick's defensive front. Graded as the NFL's seventh-best center from Weeks 9-17 of the 2020 season with a 74.0 overall grade at Pro Football Focus, Connor McGovern put a cherry on top of his second-half sundae with a sprinkling of sweet blocks on an icy Foxborough afternoon. McGovern allowed zero pressures over 38 snaps in pass protection, and in the run game, he helped lead the New York Jets to a delectable average of 5.5 yards per carry over eight rush attempts directed through the A-gaps. Let's dig into the film behind McGovern's impressive season finale. Pass protection The Jets get the ball out quickly here, but I like this rep from McGovern (center, #60). With a 1-tech DT shaded heavily to the inside over both A-gaps, McGovern throws out both arms off the snap. McGovern hits his target on each side, stifling both DTs to prevent any detrimental interior penetration. He might have gotten away with a little bit of facemask contact on the right side, but it's minor. On this play, McGovern assists in picking up three different defenders to create a pristine pocket for Sam Darnold. First, McGovern lays out his left hand and makes some contact on the nose tackle, buying some time for Pat Elflein to adequately pick him up (this is known as a "drag hand"). McGovern then slides to his right and stops the 5-tech from penetrating the A-gap after he beats Van Roten with a double-swipe. While engaging the 5-tech, McGovern turns his head to the blitzing defensive back and covers up the lane to the quarterback by dropping his inside foot and extending his inside arm, prompting the DB to pull out of his rush. Solid stunt pickup by McGovern and Van Roten. McGovern faces a similar defensive alignment that we saw on the first play above, with a DT shaded to the inside over each A-gap. Off the snap, McGovern again throws both hands and makes solid contact on each side. McGovern first engages with the left-side DT. The two DTs exchange gaps as the left-side DT pulls out and loops right while the right-side DT crashes down. McGovern is ready, landing strong contact with his outside arm on the defender's outside shoulder to push him away, where Elflein is waiting to give him another shot. Van Roten and George Fant combine on the other side to pick up the looping DT. Run game Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had the sky hook. Allen Iverson had the crossover. Connor McGovern has the reach block. McGovern's ability to execute reach blocks is the bread-and-butter of his toolbox in the run game. It's one of the most difficult assignments an interior lineman can be asked to take on, but McGovern pulls them off at an excellent frequency. Here, McGovern reaches the left-side 3-tech and pins him to the back side. McGovern is helped out by the DT shifting inside before the snap and then playing the inside post-snap, but with the DT's aggressive head-on engagement, McGovern easily could have been blown into the backfield. Instead, McGovern did a great job of working his hips around the DT to win the desired angle. Nothing fancy here, but McGovern teams up with Greg Van Roten to create plenty of movement on the 1-tech, paving the way for Darnold to pick up three yards on a third-and-1 sneak. The Jets send bodies flying everywhere on this goal-line play to set up an easy 1-yard touchdown for Josh Adams. McGovern absolutely demolishes the A-gap defender. McGovern explodes out of the snap, stays low, and blocks down to his left, landing crushing contact on the DT's inside shoulder and pancaking him into the ground. Outstanding work by Van Roten and Fant as well. Trevon Wesco's finish through the whistle also stands out. After a look at some brute power from McGovern, here's a glimpse of his agility. The North Dakota native gets out to the second level and creates plenty of movement on a linebacker. McGovern leaves the 1-tech for Van Roten and works up to the second level, targeting the back-side linebacker. With plenty of space between him and the LB, McGovern shows great patience, taking his time to square up and position himself with a good angle to make the block. McGovern absorbs the LB's engagement, and in the process, the LB heavily leans forward, giving McGovern leverage to take control of the battle. McGovern rotates his hips upfield and then drives his man, finishing with a shove to the hip that sends him flying. The Jets will most likely be sticking with McGovern, as cutting him pre-June 1 would result in the team taking on $10.7M of dead money while cutting him post-June 1 would still result in $9.3M of dead money. Considering that he is probably penciled-in to a starting spot next season, the Jets badly needed to see a resurgence from McGovern after his rough start, and they got it.