Adam Gase, Sam Darnold Have Confidence in Second-Year Lineman Chuma Edoga
With George Fant out this Sunday for the New York Jets, second-year offensive tackle Chuma Edoga will step into what is fast becoming a patchwork line. Experience from last year will guide Edoga as will the confidence of the quarterback he is protecting.
Last year, Edoga made eight starts for the Jets as a rookie, earning valuable reps protecting quarterback Sam Darnold despite being thrown into a difficult situation. He ended up being placed in season-ending Injured Reserve last year following a Week 12 injury at the Baltimore Ravens.
Even on an offensive line that was considered one of the worst in the NFL a season ago, Edoga was solid. He played both tackle positions although on Sunday, he will be on his more comfortable right side.
“From year one to year two, it’s night and day. You know what to expect, you know how to handle things, you understand the calls, you understand the system, you understand why you’re doing everything,” Jets head coach Adam Gase said on Friday in his virtual press conference. I feel comfortable with him out there. I feel like that he has a better feel for the game as a whole, and he is on the side that he knows well. I know [Darnold] trusts him. Obviously, he’s been blocking for him for a while. So, I expect him to play better than he did last year, and I expect him to play well.”
Edoga, who turned 23-years old this past May, was a third round pick of the Jets in the 2019 NFL Draft. He played in 44 games at USC and was second-team All-Pac 12 in 2018.
Fant suffered a concussion in practice on Wednesday that could keep him out not just this Sunday but also Week 4. Center Connor McGovern was limited in practice on Friday with a hamstring injury. Gase said that if McGovern can’t play, he will turn to versatile veteran Josh Andrews.
