Of all the changes that the New York Jets have made to their roster over the last few years, the upgrades along the offensive line have been some of the more noticeable. Despite a slow start to 2024, the unit started to come together and played much better down the stretch, and they only helped themselves by drafting Armand Membou in the 2025 NFL draft, considered by some analysts to be the best O-lineman from this class.
Pro Football Focus went so far as to name center Joe Tippmann as a prime breakout candidate in 2025. Writing for PFF, Dalton Wasserman had this to say about Tippmann: “Tippmann’s rookie season started with him playing guard, where he logged just 11 snaps during his college career at Wisconsin. Injuries to the Jets’ offensive line forced him back to his natural position at center, and he has started every game there since Week 9 of 2023. Since then, Tippmann’s 70.6 PFF overall grade ranks 14th among centers who have played at least 500 snaps. Given a full offseason as the established starting center, he ranked ninth in PFF overall grade and eighth in PFF run-blocking grade among qualifiers at the position in 2024.”
Jets fans likely already knew that Tippmann has been solid as their starting center, but to see it laid out so plainly has to be a breath of fresh air. This also bodes well for the future, considering that Justin Fields is slated to be New York’s QB1 to start the 2025 season. Fields tends to hold on to the ball much longer than most other quarterbacks, especially the Jets’ most recent starting quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. Giving him plenty of time to throw and ample room to step up in the pocket are going to be key to avoiding the kind of rollercoaster season that Fields is known for from his Chicago days.
Most of the responsibility for that will fall squarely on Tippmann’s shoulders. Luckily for the team, he appears more than capable of this task. If he does live up to the hype with a breakout year in 2025, this Jets offense could be far better than even the most optimistic projections.
