Reporting live from Florham Park, NJ—The New York Jets have seen firsthand how difficult it is to win football games without a quality offensive line.
Things are expected to be different this year, though. The addition of seventh overall pick pick Armand Membou is set to stabilize the offensive line for years to come.
Speaking after practice at Jets minicamp, offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand discussed the state of the Jets’ offensive line, including the status of third-year center Joe Tippmann.
Jets’ Offensive Line Depth
Engstrand was a part of a Detroit Lions offensive line that was one of the best in football over the last few years. One of the reasons for that ranking, outside of their stars, was the fact that they had excellent depth across the board.
That is exactly why Engstrand is looking at his offensive line as a full collective, and not just through their projected starters.
“You’d love to say that you have the five right away and you know it, but in reality, you’re going to play 10 guys maybe, eight, nine, 10 guys throughout the season,” Engstrand explained. “They’re all going to have to learn how to play with each other, but we don’t have a specific timeframe or a specific date and training camp, ‘By practice 12, we got to have it.’ That’ll make itself clear when it does.”
As things stand, New York’s starting offensive line will look something like this:
- LT: Olu Fashanu
- LG: John Simpson
- C: Joe Tippmann
- RG: Alijah Vera-Tucker
- RT: Armand Membou
Among their top role players, veterans like Josh Myers, Max Mitchell, Chukwuma Okorafor, and Carter Warren are also expected to have backup roles.
New York seems pleased with how the offensive line is looking like right now – even if there’s one position that seemingly isn’t fully decided on yet.
Center Position Battle
Jets general manager Darren Mougey made it clear during league meetings this offseason that starting center Joe Tippmann would compete for his role with veteran Josh Myers.
The news came at a surprise at the time. Tippmann was a top-10 center in the league last year, per Pro Football Focus. For him to have to compete for a starting role is a bit of a surprise.
Through offseason workouts, though, Engstrand has been thrilled with what he has seen from the third-year center.
“He’s done a phenomenal job in there, setting the huddle, making the Mike points, making the calls, getting the O-line going the right way,” Engstrand said. “That’s one thing that we’re kind of noticing as we go is it looks like things are coordinated up front.
“We’re going, we’re targeted properly, we’re going to the right guys, whether it’s in the run game or the pass game, and he’s done a nice job with that.”
As a former second-round pick, there’s reason to think Tippmann will eventually end up being the Jets’ starting center in 2025.
Once that position is solved, though, the Jets’ offensive line will continue to take shape, and be in a position to become one of the franchise’s deepest in years.
