The offensive line is slowly becoming a strength for the New York Jets. With first round picks across the board, it appears as though the steady building of the trenches is beginning to pay off. In this year’s iteration of Jeremy Fowler’s scout poll, two of the Jets’ offensive linemen received top ten votes.
Fowler’s list polls the real insiders in the league, “ESPN surveyed league executives, coaches and scouts to help us rank the top 10 players at 11 different positions.” The list is not a legacy list, it is a working document of the best players right now. Resume is not considered. More than 70 voters were polled and their tallies compiled.
The list wasn’t exactly riddled with Jets contributors, however, in one section in particular both Jets’ starters earned a nod. That section was the interior offensive line. In the honorable mention category it was revealed that 2021 first round selection Alijah Vera-Tucker and Jets left guard, 27-year-old John Simpson, both received votes to enter the league’s top ten.
“Simpson was an unheralded signing coming over from Baltimore, inking a two-year, $12 million deal with the Jets in 2024,” wrote Michael Nania of Jets X. “He delivered a stronger season than many expected. Simpson’s 77.3 grade at PFF placed one spot behind Vera-Tucker on the guard rankings.”
Other Jets That Made The Poll
One surprising exclusion from the Poll is Jets center Joe Tippmann. Tippmann anchors down the interior of this offensive line that my colleague and Jets writer Paul Esden Jr., believes “has the chance to be among the best in the league.”
Tippmann did not receive a single vote, despite finishing as PFF’s eighth ranked center last season at just 24-years-old. It is worth noting that the league’s centers were lumped in with the guards for this poll, making it an extremely large pool to pick from.
There was not a single edge rusher, safety, or tight end that received a vote.
Breece Hall created a wave of headlines when he free fell from the second ranked running back in 2024, all the way to the bottom of the list earning just an honorable mention for his 876 yard season.
Quinnen Williams also fell quite a few spots. Like Hall, he was the second ranked defensive tackle in last year’s poll. This time around the Jets’ middle man rounded out the league’s top five.
Quarterbacks and linebackers are coming next in Fowler’s poll, and Jets fans shouldn’t hold their breath as far as high rankings are concerned. However, the final two days belong to cornerbacks and wide receivers. It will be intriguing to see where Garett Wilson and Sauce Gardner rank among the top talents.
No Stability At Offensive Tackle
Understandably enough, not a single Jet received votes at offensive tackle. This is because there wasn’t a single player who played more than two thirds of the offensive snaps at that position this past season.
Olu Fashanu was taken 11th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. He hopes to become the tackle of the future in New York, however, his rookie season he took just 533 snaps, a mere 50 percent.
The same story played out for his now retired teammate, Tyron Smith. Smith played in 55% of snaps for the Jets in his final season in the NFL.
The most production the Jets got came from the New England Patriots newest tackle, Morgan Moses. Moses tallied 67.7% of the snaps, but finished with the 64th lowest positional grade on Pro Football Focus.
If the Jets want to see more names on next year’s list, they’re going to need a lot more stability on the edges of this front five.
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