Why Le'Veon Bell could be in for a bounceback season for the New York Jets in 2020
Le’Veon Bell is poised to have a better season for the New York Jets in 2020. This comes after a year where he saw disappointing production, even if it was understandable.
Last offseason, Bell was the biggest part of the Jets free agency haul, his four-year, $52.5 million contract certainly eye-opening. Bell gave the Jets a true playmaker at running back, one that they haven’t had in well over a decade.
And because of that big contract, the expectation on Bell was for him to produce and put up big numbers. Instead, it was a season of lows for Bell, who has been selected to three Pro Bowls and twice named an All-Pro during his career.
He posted a career low in yards per attempt (3.2), yards per game (52.6) and tied for a career low with three rushing touchdowns in 2019. All numbers that made it difficult to see how Bell was worth such a big contract last offseason.
But the lack of production doesn’t fall entirely on Bell. The Jets offensive line was bad last year, among the worst in the NFL. No matter the running back, he would have struggled and likely had first contact behind the line.
Time after time, Bell was hit behind the offensive line and struggled to get even to the line of scrimmage. That should be less of an issue this year.
That the Jets didn’t just retool but revamped the offensive line significantly should be a positive for Bell moving forward.
With four and possibly five new starters come Week 1, the Jets offensive line is deeper, younger and simply better than the unit that was bottom-three in the NFL nearly every significant category. Behind a renewed offensive line, Bell should be able to reach 4.0 yards per carry, a significant upgrade over last year.
There is more reason for optimism that Bell will look more like a Pro Bowl running back this season.
The Jets also added some quality wide receivers, bringing balance to the offense. This means that opposing defenses can’t simply stack the box anymore to key-in on Bell. This also is good news for the Jets running back’s outlook for 2020.
