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The New York Jets didn’t wait long after the legal tampering period to make a big splash in free agency.
Adam Schefter of ESPN was first to share that Gang Green had reeled in San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman Laken Tomlinson in free agency.
Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network shared the full financial terms of the deal on Twitter. It is a three-year deal worth $40 million but could reach as high as $41.2 million. Over $27 million of that is guaranteed.
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Filling Their Biggest Void on the Open Market
There was a lot of buzz during the NFL combine and in the early portions of free agency that the Jets were serious about upgrading the interior of their offensive line and that came to fruition.
Tomlinson comes from the 49ers where he rebuilt his career after some initial choppy waters with the Detroit Lions.
Throughout his NFL career, he has played left guard with over 112 games under his belt. Although with the Jets he is going to flip and fill the void at right guard.
Connor Hughes confirmed that Alijah Vera-Tucker, who the Jets traded up to acquire in the 2021 NFL draft will remain at left guard.
There is a bit of projecting here with Tomlinson because he will have to flip sides which isn’t easy.
However, from the Jets’ side of things, there is “no-worry” there.
The confidence likely stems from his familiarity in the scheme that Mike LaFleur will be running which he should be used to from his days with the 49ers.
The other thing the Jets really liked about him was his mean streak. The front office believes that personality and aggression on the football field will be infectious to the rest of their group.
New Clarity Ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft?
Now that the Jets have locked in Tomlinson, here is a peek at what the new starting offensive line projects to be:
- Mekhi Becton
- AVT
- Connor McGovern
- Tomlinson
- George Fant
The latest addition to the trenches likely means selecting an offensive lineman is off the table for the Jets with their two top-10 picks right?
Wrong.
Connor Hughes of The Athletic says “an offensive tackle” is still very much in play for the team.
Lead NFL draft guru and Jets analyst Connor Rogers has reiterated this point over the last few weeks because of the uncertainty regarding Becton’s future and that Fant is a free agent after the 2022 season.
It would likely seem like overkill to select an offensive lineman for the third year in a row in the first round under Douglas’ lead. However, prior to this recent run, the Jets hadn’t used a first-round draft choice on an offensive lineman in over 14 years.
Consider this catching up on lost time with all of this attention to the trenches.
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