GM Joe Douglas of the New York Jets has demonstrated in the past that he is capable of assembling several elite offensive linemen in a single summer. Is he going to be able to pull it off again?
The combine’s most theoretically stressed individual attempted to make the task ahead of them seem anything but exasperating, staring down a season that has come with an all-but-cemented playoff mandate. The team had recently lost both its assistant general manager and director of player personnel after cutting one of his three starting offensive linemen meant to protect the 40-year-old starting quarterback coming off a torn Achilles playing in an offense with a great deal of lateral movement]\
Send someone a life preserver if you come across someone in the professional football sector who is experiencing greater chaos on the road than Joe Douglas in the upcoming weeks. On Day 3 of the NFL combine, the general manager of the New York Jets showed up to the stage ready to sink or swim.
Joe Douglas remarked, “We just had some amazing meetings with our coaching staff.” “Look, there are three ways we can approach this: trade, the draft, and free agency.”
Naturally, Douglas is true. To his defense, his prior experience before moving to Florham Park, New Jersey, indicates that it is feasible to find many competent offensive linemen in a single offseason.
As the Philadelphia Eagles‘ vice president of player personnel in 2016, Joe Douglas was in charge of the offseason additions of Brandon Brooks and Stefen Wisniewski, in addition to overseeing the draft selections of Isaac Seumalo and Halapoulivaati Vaitai. Joe Douglas joined the Ravens as a scout in 2000, and for a few seasons, Baltimore drafted several offensive linemen. For instance, Douglas’s work in Baltimore back in 2007 included double-checking the offensive line possibilities.
Ben Grubbs was taken by the team in the opening round. During his eight NFL seasons, Grubbs was named to the All-Rookie team in his first year of play and went on to make two Pro Bowls. The Ravens picked Marshal Yanda, a player who is about to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and one of the best players in franchise history, in the third round.
Michael Oher was selected by the club in the first round of the 2009 draft, and they also added six-time Pro Bowl center Matt Birk in free agency. Bobbie Williams, who ended up starting six games during Baltimore’s most recent Super Bowl run, was signed by the team in 2012 and Kelechi Osemele was selected.
Is Joe Douglas able to do the same at this time?
Everyone I spoke with at the combine on this year’s draft class seems to agree that the top 12 to 15 guys are excellent. Some organizations, however, believe that there is a decline in skill between the 90 and 110 player threshold. The reason for this is that a growing number of players are opting to return to college, which reduces the pool of available potential. This might eventually affect Douglas’s chances of obtaining a quality starter in the middle to late rounds—arguably the most important aspect of this search for offensive line consistency.
Joe Douglas has a bit of a bullseye on his back going into the draft because of how evident New York’s need is. Every club knows how the New York Jets are feeling right now. A tackle candidate might strive to get ahead of someone who is fascinated with them. The quality tackles go up the board as well if there isn’t the anticipated rush on quarterbacks to begin the draft.
Regarding unrestricted free agents, the top choices are the 33-year-old Tyron Smith, the adaptable Mike Onwenu, Robert Hunt, who brings invaluable offensive experience, and John Simpson, about whom Joe Douglas should be able to obtain great information given his connections to Baltimore.
Similar to the draft, New York’s obvious need—made even more apparent by the owner’s remarks, which made it clear that a “lot better than seven wins” was expected—could give some agents the impression that they have a higher potential financial ceiling when working with the New York Jets. Were they able to pay more?
Joe Douglas brought up the trading market as well. The New York Jets lack a second-round pick in 24 and have three seventh-round picks, which may not be considered useful considering the weak back end of this year’s draft class, but the 2025 free agency class is full of strong offensive linemen. However, the New York Jets may potentially take out a loan against future draft equity, which may increase in value, particularly at this April’s draft.
If Joe Douglas had not realized the full extent of Aaron Rodgers’ abilities, he would not have joined the team in the first place. Even after suffering a setback due to an Achilles injury the previous year, Rodgers signals early hopes for success. The myth that this club had Rodgers, Garrett Wilson, and Sauce Gardner will obscure the fact that Douglas’s offensive line was (relatively) poor and prone to injuries for the rest of the world.
Consequently, Douglas could officially start thinking about the arrangements this week. Even if the likelihood of any strategy succeeding depends on a variety of variables aimed at preventing the New York Jets from having an easy way to defend Rodgers, he didn’t appear to be someone without one.
