Recently, our own Michael Nania detailed a sneaky roster dilemma the New York Jets could face, involving fullback/special teamer Andrew Beck.

On the surface, it makes sense to question the roster status of a fullback/special teamer when there are four running backs (Breece Hall, Isaiah Davis, Braelon Allen, and Kene Nwangwu) and three tight ends (Mason Taylor, Kenyon Sadiq, and Jeremy Ruckert) who are essentially roster locks.

However, there is a way for the Jets to retain Beck on their 53-man roster without cutting any of the seven RBs and TEs projected to make the team.

How the Jets can keep Beck without making a tough RB or TE call

Excluding Beck, the Jets’ offense seems to have at least 24 roster locks. Those locks include two quarterbacks, four running backs, six wide receivers, three tight ends, and nine offensive linemen.

Again, that is the bare minimum. The Jets could certainly elect to roll with three quarterbacks along with 10 offensive linemen, which would increase that mark to 26.

In most situations, I think it’s wise to go with 10 offensive linemen and 10 defensive linemen on the 53-man roster.

However, in the Jets’ case, if it comes down to Beck’s fate, rolling with nine on the offensive line isn’t a big deal.

Ideally, those nine would include the Jets’ starting five (Olu Fashanu, Dylan Parham, Josh Myers, Joe Tippmann, Armand Membou) and four backups (Xavier Newman, Anez Cooper, Chukwuma Okorafor, and Max Mitchell).

The Jets’ interior offensive line depth is extremely concerning, so keeping or dumping one player at the back of the depth chart doesn’t shift the narrative. Whether they roll with nine or 10 total offensive linemen, the concern remains the same.

When looking at the backups, though, Mitchell has starting experience at tackle and guard, providing much-needed versatility in a backup role. Okorafar has multiple years of starting experience at tackle, while Cooper is a sixth-round rookie.

Newman, who has played a total of 31 snaps for the Jets, remains a massive wild card, frankly as Cooper, Mitchell and Okorafor do too.

By going with nine offensive linemen, the Jets should have the flexibility to keep Beck on the 53-man roster. Since Beck helps the Jets as a run blocker, it’s worthwhile trade-off.

Beyond that, Beck was also used as a pass-catcher in the red zone, collecting two receiving touchdowns. That mark was the second-best on the team, as sad as that is.

Beck’s value was also palpable on special teams, where he played an integral role in the team’s historic year in that facet.

The 30-year-old led the team with 315 special teams snaps while throwing several key blocks to facilitate huge returns.

To boot, Beck tied for second on the team with eight special teams tackles while being penalty-free throughout the year. He ended up with an 84.1 special teams grade courtesy of Pro Football Focus, finishing eighth in the NFL among 67 players who logged at least 315 ST snaps.

The Jets should make it a priority to roster Beck. If they choose to keep nine offensive linemen, they should be able to make it happen.