Once a weakness, the Jets offensive line could be a strength in 2025

Antwan Staley, New York Daily News on May 27, 2025

Published in Football

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NEW YORK — Two seasons ago, the Jets’ offensive line was one of the team’s biggest concerns.

But now, at least on paper, it could be one of their biggest strength entering the 2025 season.

“Obviously, you try not to pay attention to the outside noise, but me personally, I think we can be one of the better groups in the NFL,” Jets left guard John Simpson said. “But that says a lot, but I do have the confidence in this group to be able to have that title.”

In 2022, the Jets’ offensive line saw 11 players start at least one game, the most in the NFL at the time. The following season, the Jets used 14 different offensive line combinations in 17 games, also the most in the league.

Those days appear to be in the rearview mirror, as the Jets have invested heavily in the offensive line over the last two offseasons. In 2024, the Jets signed Simpson to a two-year, $12 million contract. That same year, they also selected left tackle Olu Fashanu in the first round, who they hope will help anchor the offensive line for the next decade.

After right tackle Morgan Moses‘ departure to New England in March, the Jets continued to fortify the offensive line by drafting Armand Membou seventh overall in April’s draft. He will join a Jets offensive line that returns four of five starters from last season [Fashanu, Simpson, center Joe Tippmann, left guard Alijah Vera-Tucker].

“It’s big time in terms of the continuity,” Simpson said. “Just having the guys knowing each other and knowing our playing styles and being able to work off each other without even saying a word sometimes.

“It plays a big role in who you got next to you for sure. I think it is a big deal.”

While the Jets will return several starters on the offensive line, that doesn’t mean the players won’t have to compete for their jobs, especially under first-year coach Aaron Glenn. In March, the Jets signed former Packers starting center Josh Myers to a one-year, $2 million deal. At the time, it appeared he would be Tippmann’s backup, but Jets general manager Darren Mougey said at the owner’s meetings that Myers would “compete” with Tippmann for the starting job.

Myers, 26, has more experience after starting 56 games in four seasons. Tippmann has started 31 games in three years.

Tippmann, 24, allowed five sacks in 1,067 snaps last season and committed four penalties. According to Pro Football Focus, he graded out as the ninth-best center in the league.

Myers was the 46th-ranked center last year, according to PFF. However, he allowed one sack and committed four penalties in 1,006 snaps with the Packers.

Tippmann could still hold on to his starting center spot, but Glenn and Mougey will make the former second-round pick earn it. Simpson told reporters that Tippmann and Myers have been “battling their asses off” in OTA practices.

But it is hard to evaluate offensive line play until the pads come on during training camp.

“The physical part, you really can’t, but the mental part, you can do a great deal,” Glenn said about positional battles. “That’s what we try to do now, is make sure mentally we understand exactly what’s going on, offense, defense and special teams.

“The players know that, when it comes to the physical part, I mean, no one makes the team in their underwear, but mentally, we want to see where everybody’s at.”

McDonald could be more dominant in Year 3

After his terrific sophomore campaign, could Jets pass rusher Will McDonald be even better in 2025?

If last week’s OTA practice is any indication, that certainly could be the case. Throughout practice, McDonald regularly pressured Fields and registered a would-be sack.

After having three sacks in 15 games as a rookie, McDonald had a breakthrough 2024 season. He finished with 28 tackles, 10.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss.

McDonald has gained 15 pounds this offseason, according to Glenn. That would put him over the 250-pound mark after McDonald was listed as 236 pounds last year. The extra weight should help him because a better run defender and Glenn doesn’t believe the added weight will hurt McDonald’s speed.

“We never want to take that away from him,” Glenn said. “That’s his superpower. It’s just his speed off the edge. I think he understands for him to be at his best and to be able to max everything out of his potential, he needs to get stronger, he needs to get bigger, and not to a point where it’s going to stop him from having that speed ball that he has on the edge, but for him to be able to set an edge, for him to be able to take on these 320-pound tackles.

“He knows he has to be able to do that, so just from him having the awareness of that, I mean you give him a lot of credit on that, but that speed ball he has, I don’t think that’s ever going away.”

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