The consistency Morgan Moses brings to the table will tremendously benefit the NY Jets offensive line in 2021 and possibly beyond.
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The Morgan Moses signing is a clear example of why fans shouldn’t be so reactionary to moves that “weren’t” made.
Going into the 2021 offseason, it was abundantly clear that the New York Jets needed to continue to address the offensive line. While 2020 wasn’t as bad as 2019, in terms of offensive line play, it was still well below average while also lacking depth.
Joe Douglas did little in free agency to address the position and fans, including myself were worried going into the 2021 NFL draft that the Jets wouldn’t be able to land a top-tier prospect. The Alijah Vera-Tucker selection did a lot to ease those concerns.
Nonetheless, work still needed to be done for rookie quarterback Zach Wilson. After so many years of bad offensive line play, everybody now gets how important the position is.
Douglas opted not to take any more offensive linemen in the draft, leaving fans questioning both the right guard and right tackle position, not to even mention the depth at the tackle position.
The month of June rolls around and the Washington Football Team releases Moses, who, like Mekhi Becton, is a mountain of a man at 6-foot-6 and 335 pounds to go along with 35-plus-inch arms (Becton is a bigger mountain).
There were two other factors that made Moses appealing to fans. One is that he has shown the best ability, availability, as he has started every game the past six years for the Football Team. Secondly, he has been a consistently average(ish) tackle save for a year ago when took a massive jump per his statistics.
Showcasing an upward trajectory for a player who could have 3-4 legitimately good years left, if not more as an offensive lineman, sometimes results in a guy aging like fine wine.
Rumors came and went that the Jets were speaking to Moses, but fans eventually started to doubt that Moses would sign with the Jets. As nothing leaked from the Jets front office of value, everyone assumed it was the inside job of an agent to drive his price up for another team. Who could blame fans for thinking that? Jet fans have been screwed over before as the Jets were commonly used as only a team to drive the price up.
Moses ended up signing with the Jets, but for much less than expected, as he signed a one-year, $3.6 million deal that will hit $5.3 if he plays over 80% of snaps. It’s an absurd result considering Moses was projected to fetch about $7 or 8 million per year on any new deal.
Kudos to Douglas, who took a bottom-three offensive line and transformed it into a possible top-10 unit if things hit right.
Not only did he address the starters with a couple of first-round picks—and two vets in Connor McGovern and Moses, who are both average-to-plus starters—but he also addressed depth. Douglas has added the likes of Josh Andrews (no longer with the team), Alex Lewis, Dan Feeney, Cameron Clark and George Fant.
Let’s take a look at some plays showcasing Moses’ major strengths and weaknesses. Below, you will also find a full list of strengths and weaknesses, plus a two-plus-hour Morgan Moses film review (Jet X members only).
Podcast episode
Highlighted strength: Power
One of the few flashy plays you will see from offensive lineman is provided here.
Moses (right tackle, No. 76) drops into his pass set towards the edge to his right, but the edge takes an exit angle into coverage. Moses then looks inside as he wants to find the nearest threat which happens to be the unlucky 4i-tech.
Moses steps towards the defensive tackle, loads up both arms and “plows” the hell out of the defender, sending him to his back.
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The Moses acquisition is a direct result of good CAP management. Because a lot of teams are in dire straits, with the CAP, JD may not be done. Douglas has 3 sixth round picks in 2022, he has traded late picks for players before. Morgan & AVT will enhance the performance of the player next to them, great news for the new Right Guard. Curious, Douglas is very forgiving on players who are on bad Offensive Lines, he has stuck with McGovern, but more striking he signed Feeney who was terrible, but the whole Charger Offensive Line was a disaster. The hope here is that JD has a keen eye for Offensive Line talent. Douglas has also shown incredible patience, with Lewis & GVR, not sure they will work out but they have a chance. The Lewis situation bears watching, pretty murky, things we don’t know, fans were calling for Alex to be cut in March, but Douglas stayed patient, reworked his deal, and now Lewis May have a shot in training camp or traded to the Steelers for a seventh round pick.