Two years ago, the Jets signed Le’Veon Bell with a monstrous free agent contract in the hope that he would solve some of his offensive problems.
Two years later, that decision now seems laughable. Bell did not survive two years with the team before being released in October, as unhappy as he was unproductive with the Jets.
Now, the team faces the decision to run again in this off-season.
Although the main focus will be who will be the Jets defender in September, that defender will need a good racing game behind him. It is something that the Jets have failed to build in recent years and one of the factors that contributed to Sam Darnold’s difficulties.
The Jets didn’t finish better than 23rd in the NFL in races over Darnold’s three seasons. During their time with the Jets, the team had a 100-yard rusher only three times. The new offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur comes from the Kyle Shanahan system that emphasizes the concepts of running outside the zone and passes on their gameplay. It is essential for the Jets to improve their accelerated attack in this off-season.
But how do Jets do that? Obviously, they must update an offensive line that only left the Mekhi Becton tackle as a long-term response. But they should also increase the running back room, where La’Mical Perine enters his second season as a stranger and not someone you can point to as a back up everywhere.
There are some intriguing backs scheduled to hit free agency, but will the Jets go that route again? Former general manager Mike Maccagnan signed a $ 52.5 million four-year contract with Bell in 2019, despite objections from former coach Adam Gase. The wedding looked doomed from the start and Bell did not run for 100 yards once in a Jets uniform. Bell is one of many cautionary tales about signing running backs in very lucrative businesses. The league stopped being just paying the running backs and started looking for answers in the draft.
The main running backs scheduled to hit the free agency on March 17 are Aaron Jones, Chris Carson, Leonard Fournette and Kenyan Drake. There are also some who played in San Francisco and know LaFleur and new coach Robert Saleh. Jerick McKinnon, Tevin Coleman and Matt Breida played for 49ers and could be cheaper than the top backs of the market.
The most likely course of action for the Jets is to try to find a foothold in the project. The Jets have not called up a running back in the first two rounds since defeating Lamont Jordan in the second round in 2001. It has been 31 years since the Jets summoned Blair Thomas, the last back they faced in the first round. They chose Thomas in Penn State with No. 2 overall choice in 1990. No one is suggesting that the Jets wear No. 2 overall choice on their backs this April. But giving up with the choice of the second round (No. 23 overall) may make sense. Travis Etienne of Clemson and Najee Harris of Alabama are seen as backward attackers.
Whatever Joe Douglas decides, it is clear that he needs to find some answers in running back. The jets averaged 105.2 yards on the ground in 2020 and that was good compared to 2019 (78.6 ypg) and 2018 (101.4 ypg). LaFleur brings the Shanahan attack east with him, so it makes sense to look at the 49ers as the model for what the Jets want to do. The 49ers mounted their accelerated attack for the Super Bowl in 2019, averaging 144.1 yards per game, the second best league average. Who can forget Raheem Mostert running for 220 yards in the NFC championship game against the Packers?
This was one of the 12 times that a 49ers running back has won at least 100 yards in the past three seasons. The 49ers have played 35 games with at least 100 run yards since 2018, the sixth longest in the league. The Jets, on the other hand, only surpassed 100 yards 18 times in 48 games, tied for 30º in the NFL with Steelers. Only three Jets running backs have run 100 yards in a game since 2018 – Isaiah Crowell twice in 2018 and Ty Johnson last year against the Raiders.
Douglas’s to-do list is long this off-season, but improving the racing game should be near the top.