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The New York Jets suffered another devastating injury to their offensive line on Sunday versus the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Rookie offensive tackle Max Mitchell had to be carted off of the field and was immediately ruled out for the game. On Monday, October 3 NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport provided an update saying, Mitchell suffered a knee “dislocation and will miss several weeks”:
Max Mitchell Goes Down, Jets Injury Luck at OL Continues
With Mitchell set to miss several weeks he will likely be placed on injured reserve. When that happens he will become the fourth starting Jets offensive tackle to end up there through the first month of the season:
That would mean the talented rookie would have to miss a minimum of the next four games of the season, if not longer.
Mitchell was supposed to have a “redshirt” year in 2022 according to head coach Robert Saleh. Although due to a rash of injuries at the position he was thrown to the wolves instead and was forced to start at right tackle in Week 1.
It seems by random circumstance the Jets discovered that he was a lot further along than they projected.
Mitchell started the first four games and did a very serviceable job per PFF:
- 54.7 overall grade
- 50.6 pass block grade
- 55.8 run block grade
To put it bluntly, Mitchell has performed better than three other offensive tackles that went in the first round of April’s draft in regards to pressure rates allowed:
The good news is this injury won’t be season-ending. When you see a player get carted off of the field, your mind goes to a dark place so that is an excellent consolation prize that he will only miss a handful of weeks.
Zach Wilson Will Help With the Offensive Line Issues
All of these injuries in the trenches aren’t good news. That’s especially true when you are trying to protect a young quarterback back there.
However, the good news with Zach Wilson returning against Pittsburgh was the injection of youth and mobility he brought to the offense.
Countless times Steelers defenders leaked into the backfield and Wilson found a way to evade the rush and make some plays.
Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic provided a really nice stat that spoke to this:
Now because Wilson had to run for his life a few times that put him in a black-and-white position: throw the ball away, eat the sack, or make a costly mistake. 9 times out of 10, Wilson made the right decision for his team.
That obviously affected his completion percentage in the game (18-of-36) which doesn’t look sexy in the box score. However in a battle of field position all of the yards he saved played a major role in the Jets’ ability to win this football game.
The stat line he presented won’t win many awards, if any, however, it will help the Jets win more ball games. Wilson looked calm, cool, and collected throughout the game and that level of composure eased the tension for his teammates in a hectic atmosphere.
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