Is Keith Carter up to Task of Developing Young Jets Linemen?

Jets offensive line coach Keith Carter should be a very busy man in 2024.  Working for a team with Super Bowl aspirations, he’ll have a mix of proven elite talent and high-ceiling unproven blockers up front.  Some will play more than others while others just work to get better.  But all of them will fall under Carter’s tutelage.  Is he up to the task?

Jul 25, 2024; Florham Park, NJ, USA; New York Jets offensive tackle Olu Fashanu (74) warms up during training camp at Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses, his starting tackles, are among the best players in the NFL at their respective positions.  Neither will require a ton of maintenance or fine tuning that they won’t manage largely on their own.

But then there are those who have either never played an NFL snap, or are still learning on the job.

First and foremost there’s Olu Fashanu, the team’s first-round draft choice this season who will be asked to spell Tyron Smith for much of this season in practice and more likely than not, at least a few games.

Then of course there’s second-year center Joe Tippmann, who is struggling mightily with his long snaps at the moment.

Alijah Vera-Tucker is expected back at guard where he’s got more experience in years, but has played just twelve games over the past two seasons, meaning he doesn’t have the game experience one might expect.

Carter has taken plenty of heat over the past six months or so.  He was called out publicly by past and current pupils for his shortcomings.  The Jets then acknowledged that there was an issue.

Asked about it multiple times this offseason, Robert Saleh said Carter was trying to get better.  The head coach’s specific answer was that with Carter, “sometimes the message gets lost in the tone”.  This suggests Carter may not connect with his players because of how he speaks to them.

This is an area where the Jets had better hope Carter has gotten things fixed because of the young offensive linemen on this roster whose development will be key to the future of the club.

Fashanu, Tippmann and Vera-Tucker are the big names up front, but the Jets also have some lesser-known linemen who are likely to hang around as depth players or on the practice squad.  Carter could do a lot to repair his reputation if he can manage to develop a player or two.

Whether it’s last year’s fourth-round pick Carter Warren, 2022 fourth-rounder Max Mitchell or the lesser-known Obinna Eze.  Eze will likely hang around with his international exemption on the practice squad.  The TCU product is raw but has the kind of traits an O-line coach should be looking for.

Will we see a guy like Eze and his 36 1/8” arms become a serviceable (or better) NFL player, or will he join the long list of linemen who never became much of anything under Carter?

The verdict is months away, but the trial of Keith Carter is definitely under way.

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