The Jets didn’t give their starters much runway in Friday’s preseason opener against Tampa Bay, but the short look still offered a useful snapshot of where things stand. The sample was tiny, the opponent’s starters weren’t on the other side, and nobody should get carried away. Still, after more than seven months without real football, there was plenty to sort through.
The cleanest takeaway came up front. New York’s projected starting offensive line put together a tidy, penalty-free night, and it looked like a group working with real rhythm. That matters, because even in a preseason setting, cohesion tends to show up fast when it’s there.
Olu Fashanu, Dylan Parham, Josh Myers, Joe Tippmann and Armand Membou all played 11 snaps and none of them allowed a pressure. None of them were flagged, either.
Fashanu was especially sharp in pass protection, handling his one-on-one assignment and helping keep Cade Klubnik comfortable on Garrett Wilson’s 21-yard catch. It’s worth noting that Fashanu’s matchup, David Walker, is listed as a third-string outside linebacker, but the Jets will still like seeing him do exactly what he’s supposed to do.
Parham’s first outing in a Jets uniform was also encouraging. He didn’t surrender a pressure on seven pass-blocking snaps, stayed clean with no penalties and posted an 81.6 pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus, which tied Tippmann for the best mark on the team.
Tippmann matched that with a no-pressure, no-penalty night of his own, and he also led the starters in run-blocking grade. One pull block in particular helped spring Breece Hall for a 14-yard gain.
Myers kept his sheet clean too, but there was one detail worth watching: some high snaps. That wasn’t an issue for him last season, so the Jets will hope it was just opening-night rust. Given the gamble they’re taking by making him the starter, they can’t afford extra problems there.
Membou’s night was smooth as well, and the most telling moment may have been the stunt pickup he handled with Tippmann. It was the kind of quiet, technically sound rep that suggests the group already has some real chemistry.
The skill players had a lighter workload, but there were still a few notable moments. Garrett Wilson caught 2 of 3 targets for 31 yards, with both grabs moving the chains.
One of them went for 21 yards and stood out because of the adjustment he made to finish the play. Wilson also turned heads before the game even started, thanks to a ridiculous catch in warmups.
Mason Taylor made the most of his opportunities, catching both of his targets for 19 yards. Breece Hall carried the ball four times for 16 yards, with a long run of 14. That one had touchdown potential before he slipped nine yards short of the goal line, which Hall later blamed on the “turf monster” at MetLife Stadium.
Adonai Mitchell was on the field for all 11 snaps with the starters but was not targeted. Isaiah Williams logged seven snaps and, in 11 personnel, lined up as the third receiver with the starting group instead of first-round pick Omar Cooper Jr., who entered with the second-string offense. That’s a detail worth keeping in mind even though Williams didn’t see a target.
All told, the Jets’ starters did what you’d hope against backups in a preseason opener: they looked organized, protected the football and avoided self-inflicted mistakes. Nobody left the field looking like a future star was born, and nobody left sounding alarms, either.
If there was a broader theme, it was this: the offensive line looks like the part of this team that can raise the floor. In a league where a good front can keep an offense on schedule, cut down on turnovers and steady the run game, that’s no small thing. Training camp and this brief preseason stretch have already given Jets fans a reason to believe the offense may operate more smoothly than it has in a while.
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