New York Jets’ Alijah Vera-Tucker echoes a common sentiment among high schoolers

Typically a fairly quiet presence on social media, New York Jets guard Alijah Vera-Tucker came out of nowhere on Championship Sunday with a tweet that thousands of fans seemed to relate with.

“Day 1,697 since graduating from high school and I have yet to use the Pythagorean theorem,” Vera-Tucker tweeted.

Commonly taught in schools around the world, the Pythagorean theorem (a2 + b2 = c2) is used to determine the lengths of the three sides of a right triangle.

I see where Vera-Tucker is coming from, but surely, Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur must have used the theorem to design this famous play that he called against the Miami Dolphins, right?

Vera-Tucker says he saw “some valid points” in the comments of his original post.

Fortunately, it doesn’t take complex mathematics to understand that the rookie guard enjoyed an impressive rookie year. Vera-Tucker had himself a solid awards season following the conclusion of his debut campaign. He was named as one of the two guards on the All-Rookie teams of Pro Football Focus and the Professional Football Writers’ Association.

Vera-Tucker played left tackle in his final season with the USC Trojans but moved to left guard with the Jets, a position that he had played for the Trojans in 2019.

The tackle-guard versatility of Vera-Tucker is reminiscent of a prospect in the 2022 NFL draft who will be in consideration for the Jets in the first round: North Carolina State’s Ikem Ekwonu.

Ekwonu played the majority of his collegiate snaps at left tackle but dabbled at left guard in 2020. That makes him an interesting prospect for a Jets team that appears to already have its two starting tackles in place (Mekhi Becton and George Fant) but has a hole at right guard. The Jets would likely have to slide Ekwonu inside to guard unless they plan to move on from one of their two starting tackles.

Vera-Tucker was able to make a respectable transition from tackle to guard in his rookie season. Could the Jets try to replicate his success with another tackle-to-guard convert in this year’s draft?

It’s uncertain whether Ekwonu is the route that the Jets will ultimately take, but here’s what is certain: their decision-making process will not involve the Pythagorean theorem in any way.

Play: 👉 the Jet X Offseason Simulator