Three Young Right Guards the Jets Could Sign in Free Agency to Fortify the Run Game

If the goal this offseason is to take the success of the offensive line up another notch, then James Daniels is the right player to spend some coin on. Talented interior offensive linemen are often one of the first cap casualties for teams in a financial bind, and for a Bears organization undergoing another facelift they’ll be more willing to let Daniels walk than most.

His career was off to an underwhelming start until his breakout campaign in 2021, where he graded as the 12th best guard in football from Week 4 through the end of the season. While some are concerned this was an outlier of a season, this year was the first time in his career that he played a single position (right guard) for the full year—having shuffled all over the interior line his previous three. That, mixed with his age, makes it seem like there’s a lot of untapped potential here in the former Hawkeye.

The fit for the Jets makes all the sense: he thrives in zone-blocking schemes, was one of the stronger pass-blocking guards in all of football the last two seasons and would seamlessly slide into the right guard position without forcing any young piece to reposition.

Should the market grow too rich for the Jets to bring in Daniels, Rams’ right guard Austin Corbett is a solid consolation prize. Just as with the Bears, the Rams front office is going to struggle finding the cap space to retain several key players on their Super Bowl-winning roster, making Corbett a likely casualty when it’s all said and done.

The former second-round pick by the Browns struggled in his first year and a half, when a trade to the Rams for a fifth-round pick rejuvenated his career. He’s graded as one of the stronger guards in both zone- and gap-rushing schemes since the beginning of the 2020 season, something he’ll have plenty of time to enjoy in New York. He fits best at right guard; however, Corbett also has starting experience as a center and can switch over in a pinch.

Although he’s slightly less skillful as Daniels, he’s just a hair older at 26 and should be a little bit more affordable on the open market. Mixing that with the familiarity with the offense, Corbett could be a plug-and-play option at right guard from day one and really solidify what would be one of the stronger offensive lines in football.

The cheapest of the three more enticing options for the Jets this offseason, Dallas’ left guard Connor Williams enters his first free agency as a mixed bag. He’s spent the last several years playing in one of the stronger lines in football and is a very successful run-blocker in zone-heavy schemes, but his pass protection is iffy and he struggles avoiding penalties. While his first two seasons didn’t grade too well, with his 2019 season being cut short by a torn ACL, his 2020 and 2021 campaigns turned things around and finished both as a top-20 guard in football.

Whereas Daniels and Corbett have spent most of their recent history on the right side of the offensive line, Williams has played his entire career at left guard due to the statue that is Zack Martin. A decision would need to be made on who slides to the right side between Williams and Vera-Tucker, a reason Corbett and Daniels are easier fits, but having too many talented offensive linemen should be a happy problem to have if you’re the Jets.

If the Jets spend their money elsewhere, or save it for the future, Williams is a much more affordable target at an average salary of $6.67 million and could be looked at as a bargain if he continues his upward trajectory.