The Morgan Moses signing will make an immensely positive impact on the potential of the NY Jets offense in 2021.
The Washington Post’s Sam Fortier reported last Friday that right tackle Morgan Moses has agreed to a one-year deal with the New York Jets. Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the deal is worth $3.6 million with the potential to get up to $5.3 million.
Needing to upgrade their offensive line as much as possible, the Jets figure that Moses can be a reliable bookend opposite budding superstar left tackle Mekhi Becton.
Adding Moses makes too much sense for Gang Green as his addition provides an inarguable upgrade to the offensive line in several key ways. The most apparent benefit that Moses provides the Jets is an upgrade to the overall talent level of the offensive line, particularly on the right side.
Following the trade-up for Alijah Vera-Tucker in April’s NFL draft, Joe Douglas is likely feeling quite content with the left side of the offensive line.
However, the right side is not exactly in a similar state. While right tackle George Fant was serviceable last season, Moses is absolutely a talent upgrade — PFF graded Moses as the league’s 15th-best tackle out of 89 qualifiers last season, while Fant was graded as the 69th-best.
Questions arise, however, when taking into consideration Fant’s superior scheme fit. He is, after all, much more athletic and quick than Moses — two traits that are highly valued in an outside-zone running scheme.
Regardless of the specific position he’ll play, though, signing Moses undoubtedly provides the Jets offensive line with a significant talent upgrade and additional depth. That’s never something to pass up.
The murkiness over Moses’ scheme fit vs. Fant’s actually reveals another benefit of signing the former: flexibility. The idea has been floated around that Moses could instead replace Greg Van Roten at the right guard position.
The thought of a starting offensive line consisting of Mekhi Becton, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Connor McGovern, Morgan Moses, and George Fant is an exciting one. However, some – including former Jets right tackle Damien Woody in a recent tweet – doubt that Moses would agree to a deal if he were to be playing guard rather than tackle. Only time will tell, but it does seem unlikely that Moses will kick inside.
Regardless, Moses’ presence still provides the Jets with flexibility, as even if he were to start at right tackle, that would then mean Fant could provide versatility off the bench. If a guard were to go down, the possibility exists that the Jets could push Moses to that guard spot and have Fant replace him at right tackle. Fant can also be used as a tight end in addition to backing up both Moses on the right side and Becton on the left.
Speaking of Becton, the standout rookie frequently needed to miss time last season due to injury or endurance issues. Luckily, something Moses is known for is his durability. He has started every single game for the Washington Football Team in the last six years, playing at least 92 percent of the snaps in all of them.
The hope is that Becton won’t become a perpetual injury concern for the Jets, but why not provide some insurance? Moses has proven he has the ability to stay healthy and perform at a high level — any GM wants that on their team.
Another thing that any GM wants on their team is veteran leadership. This Jets team, while absolutely dripping with promise, is still very young. Moses is 30 years old and was drafted in 2014, meaning he’s had plenty of experience in the NFL – experience that will be invaluable to a locker room lacking it. He was a team captain last year.
Even among the current presumed starters on the offensive line, the two most talented players (Becton and Vera-Tucker) are also the two youngest and least experienced. In fact, both of them are far better talent-wise than the veterans they play next to. At least now, Moses closes that talent gap while also providing much-needed experience and advice for the youngsters.
During his introductory press conference as the Jets’ general manager in 2019, Douglas told fans and reporters that he believes building a team starts in the trenches.
Then, on his draft night phone call with Zach Wilson, Robert Saleh told his new young quarterback, “This organization will lift you, not the other way around.”
They say actions speak louder than words, and thus far, Douglas and Saleh have shown that they mean what they say. The addition of Morgan Moses only further solidifies that.
