New York Jets Interior Offensive Lineman Cementing Status Among NFL's Best

The New York Jets have a star in the making anchoring the interior of their offensive line, and the data backs it up.

Oct 20, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Jets center Joe Tippmann (66) heads to the field to play the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

One of the areas of their roster that the New York Jets focused on upgrading coming into the 2024 season was their offensive line.

In 2023, the offense unraveled for several reasons, but a major factor was the inability to win in the trenches. The offensive line struggled mighty as the team dug deep into their depth chart, using third-stringers and practice squad players with regularity.

Changes were made, as veteran left tackle Tyron Smith and guard John Simpson were signed in free agency. The team acquired Morgan Moses for a second stint with the franchise in a trade with the Baltimore Ravens and selected Olu Fashanu out of Penn State in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Along with the infusion of talent and better health helping improve the unit, the development of center Joe Tippmann has paid dividends as well.

A second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Wisconsin, Tippmann was thrown right into the fire as a rookie. He played in 16 games and by Week 3 was inserted into the starting lineup.

The results were not pretty.

Tippmann was the No. 30 center per PFF with an overall grade of 61.0. He was decent as a run blocker with a grade of 67.4, which was No. 22 in the NFL. But, he struggled mightily as a pass protector.

His pass-blocking grade of 52.7 was well below average, placing him at No. 41.

He has made remarkable strides across the board with his performance, as he is now one of the better players in his position in the league.

As shared by Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic, Tippmann is coming off a stellar performance against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 16. He didn’t allow a single pressure on 49 dropbacks by Aaron Rodgers.

It was the 11th time in 2024 that he has allowed one or fewer pressures in a game, as he has ascended the PFF rankings during his sophomore season.

Among qualified centers, he is the fifth-highest-graded player with an overall score of 75.7. He has made incredible improvements with his pass-blocking with a grade of 67.5. His run-blocking has also been taken to another level with a grade of 77.4, which is also fifth among centers.

For an offense to consistently find success, they need their offensive line playing at a high level. Things are certainly looking bright for the Jets in that regard, as they have three building blocks to rely in for the future.

Tippman, Alijah-Vera Tucker and Fashanu are a strong trio to build around in the trenches. What was viewed as a weakness just a year ago now looks like a strength and the backbone of the offense for ownership to sell potential general manager and head coaching candidates on.