Did the Jets uncover any potential tackle depth last season?

Are Carter Warren and Max Mitchell viable as developmental offensive tackles?

Last week, we investigated whether any of the players who started at right guard last season had any kind of future with the New York Jets.

The situation at the offensive tackle position is somewhat different, because the potential reserves there are former mid-round picks, but it’s still worth asking the same question

Due to Duane Brown and Alijah Vera-Tucker missing most of the season, the Jets started four other players at right tackle during the 2023 season. These included as-yet-unsigned free agents Mekhi Becton, who moved to left tackle, and Billy Turner. Theoretically either of these could return, but it seems more likely that it would be Turner than Becton.

The other two are recent fourth round picks Max Mitchell and Carter Warren. Presumably the Jets don’t feel particularly confident in either of these players to be relied upon to start in 2024, which is why they acquired veterans Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses — and may yet use a high pick on another tackle to add to their depth.

Does either Warren or Mitchell have a future with the Jets, though? Let’s take a quick look at each one, in turn.

The Jets were high on Mitchell heading into his rookie season in 2022 and he repaid that faith when he was called upon, as he was forced into the starting lineup for the first four games and acquitted himself well. However, he suffered a knee injury in that fourth game. Following a stint on injured reserve he only made one more start before a medical issue caused him to miss the rest of the season.

The Jets were comfortable Mitchell would provide them with good depth in 2023, but he had a rough camp by all accounts, regressing to the point where he was battling with the journeyman Turner for the number three tackle role all offseason.

Mitchell eventually got into the lineup when Vera-Tucker, who had replaced Becton at right tackle when he moved into Brown’s spot, was lost for the year. Mitchell then started six games in row, one of which saw him lining up inside for the first time in his career. Mitchell didn’t do too badly, despite the fact that the right guard position was a revolving door on his inside shoulder.

However, he only started one of the last six games, as Warren started getting opportunities instead.

Clearly Mitchell was less effective than he had been in 2022, as he gave up six sacks in 474 snaps. He had given up just three in 341 snaps in the previous year. In both years, he struggled to deal with athleticism.

Despite these issues, he showed some positive flashes in the running game even though he was part of a unit that struggled overall.

It was Mitchell’s smarts that had the Jets particularly high on him back in 2022. He had an excellent command of his role within the offense, to the point where the Jets were apparently getting him to help coach up the other rookies and any new additions, even in his rookie season.

Mitchell’s regression from 2022, when he made his first three starts with Joe Flacco at the helm, to 2023 could be a sign that his smarts enabled him to slot well into an established unit but were not enough for him to hold his own in one that was in constant flux. Unlike some of the other reserves, he didn’t get a chance to start with Vera-Tucker in the line-up or with Trevor Siemian at quarterback, which were the only times in 2023 that the Jets played well as a unit.

The rookie Carter Warren got hurt in the first preseason game and began the year on injured reserve, with the expectation being that he might be stashed there for the entire year. However, the Jets eventually activated him, and he saw his first action at left tackle against the Bills in week 11.

From the start, Warren had mixed results but was able to showcase his power in the running game here and there.

He also demonstrated he has good movement skills and that he can handle some of the athletic requirements of the Jets’ blocking schemes.

Carter would be overmatched in pass protection at times, though, surrendering five sacks in his five starts.

Both players graded out similarly but well below average. However, considering Warren was a rookie and Mitchell was in his second season, it perhaps reflects better on Warren.

In addition, Warren did seem to trend upwards towards the end of the year, giving up just one sack in his last three games after having given up four in his first three. Then again, that may just have been the effect of Siemian being at quarterback and the line seemingly being more settled as a result.

Whereas Mitchell has impressed the Jets with his smarts, Warren is more of an athletic specimen who seems to have raw developmental potential.

He also looks more capable than Mitchell as a left tackle option, although Mitchell did briefly see action there in preseason.

Ultimately the Jets seem higher on Warren than they are on Mitchell right now, based on who played at the end of the year, but maybe that’s just because Warren has “new car smell”.

Conclusions

While the Jets may hold out some hope that Warren or Mitchell could develop into a starter-level player, the way they approached this offseason speaks volumes about how they feel about the readiness of either of them.

It seems like the Jets have soured on Mitchell somewhat, but they still seemed keen for Warren to get plenty of reps at the end of last season. Nevertheless, it could be a rookie rather than either of these players that would be called upon in the event that Moses or Smith is set to miss time.

Next year will be the last year of Mitchell’s rookie deal and the Jets will have a decision to make on whether to replace or retain Smith and Moses, each of whom will be out of contract. Perhaps with another year to learn behind these veterans and make the most of any in-game opportunities they might get, the team will feel more confident in one or both of these players being ready to contribute.