Fox Sports Mark Schlereth on Sam Darnold: 'He has to deliver' in 2020
It wasn’t a bad offseason for Sam Darnold as the New York Jets bolstered the offense, adding an entirely new offensive line, a couple of upgrades at wide receiver and even a veteran running. It is make or break time now for Darnold.
Expectations were high on Darnold since his No. 3 overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft. Now they will increase exponentially.
“(Darnold) certainly has to deliver and that's what this is all about,” FOX Sports analyst and former offensive linemen Mark Schlereth said in an exclusive interview with SportsIllustrated.com’s ‘Jets Country’ contributor Seth Everett. “As I traveled around the league for FOX and called games, really good coaches know how to exploit the weakness of an opponent.”
Schlereth was an offensive lineman on two Super Bowl Championship teams and knows the importance of the line in building a contending team. The Jets drafted Louisville left tackle Mekhi Becton with the No. 11 overall pick. They didn’t stop there, signing four linemen early in free agency. The Jets signed former Seattle Seahawks offensive tackle George Fant to a three-year, $27.3 million contract, with $13.7 million guaranteed. Former Denver Broncos Center Connor McGovern signed a three-year deal worth $27 million with $18 million guaranteed.
Offensive line was the weakness of the roster last year. Now it is significantly better.
Darnold is the guy that will be protected by the improved offensive line, but Schlereth points out that head coach Adam Gase will be expected to make the Jets offense improve their production in all areas.
“I know Adam Gase and I know Adam well,” Schlereth said. “He understands the value of protection. He understands the value of being able to run the football. He wants to run things out of a three-wide receiver set out of 11 personnel with one tied in and one running back. When you spread that offense, it really becomes exponentially more difficult (to defend).”
Gase comes into this season with a difficult challenge of putting together an offensive game plan that includes a new offensive line, new receivers and likely no mini-camps or OTAs to figure out his new players' strengths and/or weakness. Schlereth said the talent wins out in those situations and the Jets can use that to their advantage.
“If we're not good up front, we can't exploit teams on the back end the way I want to exploit teams,” Schlereth said. “That's a coach understanding what his issues are and trying to mitigate those issues through the draft and through free agency.”
