Jets’ OL may be51 due for overhaul

INDIANAPOLIS — Jets general manager Joe Douglas has the unenviable task of performing radical reconstructive surgery on an offensive line that severely underperformed last season. The new guy in the big chair might have to perform a complete makeover depending on how the dominoes fall in the coming weeks in free agency.

Could the Jets actually have five new starters along the line in 2020?

“We’re all looking for continuity,” Douglas said at the NFL Scouting Combine this week. “So, five new starters would be a less-than ideal situation. That being said, we have to do what’s in the best interest of this team this year and long term. So, if it comes to that, it comes to that.”

For all the issues that plagued the Jets last season, the organization must do a much better job protecting its most valuable asset: Sam Darnold.

Only three teams allowed more sacks than the Jets and only four allowed more quarterback hits last season. It’s a recfor ipe disaster when the franchise’s centerpiece is consistently under duress. The last thing that folks on One Jets Drive need during this critical phase is to stunt Darnold’s growth because he’s not properly protected.

“Obviously, we need to have a strong offensive line,” Douglas said. “We have to do a good job of taking care of Sam moving forward.”

Smart teams build from the insideSo, out. it’ll be Douglas’ charge to improve all across the line. With only one two starters (right guard Brian Winters and center Jonotthan Harrison) under contract for 2020, Douglas & Co. have a lot of critical decisions to make this offseason.

Adam Gase and Douglas’ challenge will be compiling the best five players, who can work together to fortify the trenches. There were plenty of culprits on the league’s worst offense from last season (32nd in total yards, 31st in rushand ing scoring and 29th in passing). Most times, the best five players aren’t necessarily the best five who can work best together.

Signing the biggest — and most expensive — free-agent linemen won’t guarantee success. Sometimes, grabbing a lesser-hyped player makes better sense. Weighing the strengths and weaknesses of each of the five players is an arduous task when you’re attempting to assemble a giant, fluid puzzle. There’s a fair amount of projection (or guesswork, depending on your perspective) to determine whether your linemen can function at a high level together without ever actually seeing them play together.

That makes the Jets’ challenge that much more difficult.

Is it even possible to rebuild an offensive line properly with long-term viability in one offseason?

“It’s tough,” Gase said. “Because in free agency you’re going off of what you’ve known in the past of guys. You check all the research you had, whether it’s coming out of college, some of our guys might have had players in free agency on a different staff. That’s one good thing about having guys who have been around a little bit. They’ve had a lot of experience with different guys.”

“You just try to do the best you can to find the five that will work well together,” Gase continued. “It’s a tough puzzle to put together. I wish it were really easy where you just said, ‘here you go,’ and went and rolled. That’s the toughest part of being a GM, where Joe’s got to figure out how to put those puzzles together the right way to where we can hit the ground running and have success doing it.”

It’ll be a monumental task for Douglas, who has made no secret that line improvements will be his top priority.

There are some intriguing free-agent options, including a couple in-house. Gang Green would like to bring back guard Alex Lewis at the right price. Left tackle Kelvin Beachum was the best lineman last season, but how much are the Jets willing to offer to retain him?

Winters, who missed the second half of the season due to shoulder surgery, is scheduled to count $7.3 million on the 2020 salary cap. The Jets would clear all that money by cutting him, but …

“With Brian, that’s a special case,” Douglas said. “He’s the only returning (Week 1) starter we have. We’re not looking to dig ourselves even more of a hole.”

Maybe not, but it makes a world of sense to bring him back at a discounted rate. Regardless, there will be plenty of moving parts. The Jets appear headed to draft an offensive linemen in the first round, too. Whether it’s standing pat at No. 11 or moving up or down (likely down), there are some quality lineman options.

“I think it’s a good group,” Douglas said. “I think you’re going to see a lot of guys who become starters in the NFL. … There are quite a few guys that kind of fit the mold of what we’re looking for: smart, durable, tough, explosive, guys that can play multiple positions.”

Douglas might have to build the line from scratch to get to where he ultimately wants to go.