Jets Hire New Offensive Staff + Senior Bowl

Edition #316

Good morning!🌟

Today we’re going to shift our focus. We’ve spent a lot of time the last two weeks talking about the offensive coordinator and the quarterback, and while we wait for some dominoes to fall, we’re going to start ramping up our draft coverage.

Obviously, we will touch on the hire of Nathaniel Hackett and Keith Carter, but we spoke about Hackett at length yesterday and I plan to get into Carter next week. I’m somewhat underwhelmed by the hire but like with any hire/draft/signing, I’ll wait to pass judgment.

The popular phrase is “The Draft Starts in Mobile” and for many people, that’s 100% accurate. Scouts, personnel, executives, and some owners descend on Mobile Alabama to get a glimpse at some NFL draft prospects.

Today we’re going to focus exclusively on the offensive linemen, why? Because it doesn’t matter who you have at quarterback if you can’t protect them.

💼 The Jets confirmed that they have hired Nathaniel Hackett as their OC. We spoke about the former Denver Broncos man yesterday so we’re not going to go over it again. I chalk that up to a very brave choice by Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas, can he capture some of that magic in Green Bay where he was OC but not calling plays, or will it be Denver all over?

✅ Robert Saleh said that Nathaniel “checks all the boxes” and while they interviewed around 15 candidates for the position, they kept circling back to Hackett. He also explained that he understands some of the hesitations considering what happened in Denver, but that it was important to look past “recency bias”. Saleh better hope he's right as this is the kind of hire that could get him fired.

👴 Saleh also confirmed what everyone knows. The Jets will be looking to add a veteran Quarterback and re-tool the offensive live. He did however state that Hackett’s past connections with QBs (Rodgers) weren’t a reason for the hire, which he has to say, just in case the Jets don’t land him.

👍 The Jets also announced that they have hired Keith Carter to be the offensive line coach and run game coordinator. From the Jet’s official site:

“Carter has been coaching since 2005 and working predominantly as an NFL assistant since 2012. Most recently, Carter served the past five seasons as the Tennessee Titans' offensive line coach. He led a line that helped the Titans offense finish in the top 6 in Red Zone offense in each of the last four seasons, including a first-place finish in 2019. The Titans produced a top-five rushing attack in three of his last four seasons in Nashville and his line blocked for Derrick Henry's 2,027-yard campaign in 2020.

Carter and Jets HC Robert Saleh have been connected for more than a decade. He was the offensive quality control coach and Saleh was the defensive quality control coach on HC Pete Carroll's Seattle Seahawks in 2012 and '13. The 2013 Seahawks won Super Bowl LXVIII, played at MetLife Stadium, which 10 years later will become his new home stadium.”

🏈 In one of the more ridiculous things I’ve seen this off-season. GMFB had something about Sauce Gardner playing madden and swapping out Zach Wilson for Mike White, which forced Sauce to come out and say that White was already in the game when he got handed the controller. I mean I’m not sure what we’re doing here anymore.

The fun starts on Tuesday the 31st of January with the first slate of practices, culminating in the game on Saturday 4th of February.

Players can really help their stock during Senior Bowl week, and the Jets will have a representative down in Mobile. Offensive Assistant Pat Bastien will be coaching the running backs on the American team.

Today we’re going to focus on the offensive lineman to keep an eye on over the course of the week. I’m delighted to say that I have secured media credentials for the week (virtual) so I’ll get access to all the practice footage, which means that all subscribers to TJW will have access as well, as I’ll be sharing plenty of it right here.

You know the two top guys in Paris Johnson and Peter Skoronski, but who else is there?

Here are 10 names to keep an eye on over the course of the week, and 10 players I’ll be focusing on here at TJW.

1. Darnell Wright - Tennessee - OT (American Team)

Wright was a 5* prospect coming out of high school and he’s largely lived up to that billing in Tennessee. He’s played on both sides of the line as an LT, and RT and even dipped inside to RG as a freshman in 2019. Undoubtedly he is a tackle at the next level, showing plenty of burst off the line and moving well for a man his size (335lbs). What he’ll need to show is an ability to adjust to speed rushers. He can lurch at points and lose balance and while he has power in the run game he can lose the leverage battle.

Wright is coming off a very good season where he allowed 0 sacks and just 8 pressures across 507 pass-blocking snaps. He’s a better pass protector than a run blocker at this stage of his career, but like all players, he can improve scout perception in Mobile.