Taking a look at the new Jets center
The New York Jets signed former Green Bay Packers center Josh Myers to a one-year contract early on in free agency. Today we break Myers down in detail.
The 26-year old Myers is listed at 6’5” and 310 pounds. He was a second round pick out of Ohio State in 2021. He has started 60 games so far in his career, including four postseason games.
Background
Myers was an all-American in high school and was recruited to Ohio State as a four star prospect, then redshirted his first season in 2017.
In 2018, he played just 73 offensive snaps as the backup to Michael Jordan, but he was a full-time starter in 2019 and 2020. He was a second-team all Big 10 selection in 2019 and a first-teamer in 2020. He was also given second-team all-American honors in 2020.
The Packers drafted Myers near the end of the second round in the 2021 draft and he began the year as a starter, but he missed a total of 11 games in the middle of the season due to injury. He started the other six.
Myers started every game in 2022 and 2023 and missed just one start in 2024. However, the Packers opted not to extend him, so he hit the market at the end of his rookie deal.
The Jets signed him to a one-year deal worth $3 million early on in free agency.
Let’s move onto some more in-depth analysis of what Myers brings to the table as a player, based on extensive research and film study.
Measurables/Athleticism
Myers is big for a center, prompting his Packers teammate David Bakhtiari to assume he was either not athletic or not good at football if he was playing the guard position when they first met. However, he recognizes that he was wrong on both counts.
While Myers was part of the draft class that didn’t get to do a proper combine workout due to the pandemic, he did manage 29 bench press reps. He shows some good movement skills and power on film.
He has short arms for an offensive lineman, but big hands.
Usage
Myers has only ever played center at the NFL level, whether in regular season, postseason or preseason action. However, he was a guard in high school and only converted to center at the start of his collegiate career, so he should theoretically still be able to play there.
Pass Blocking
Myers has struggled in pass protection at times during his career, including in 2023, where he gave up five sacks. He only gave up one last season though, but his pressure rate increased. 2022 was actually his best year in terms of limiting pressure.
As with many taller interior linemen, he can be driven back by bull rushers as defensive linemen can get under his pads. He often has to rely on his upper body strength to re-anchor.
It has always been difficult for Myers to recover if he loses leverage at any point, and he gets in trouble if he doesn’t get his hands on his man to establish early control.
Quickness can also cause him issues and it’s difficult for him to move laterally to mirror quick changes of direction.
Run Blocking
Myers has consistently graded out below average on analysis sites such as Pro Football Focus, as he allows too much penetration and is stood up at the line too often. He also is inconsistent at sustaining his blocks in space and at the point of attack.
However, he does make a lot of positive contributions as well. He shows some good drive strength and power on this play.
Myers seems to be at his best when he can peel off a double team and find a target to block at the second level.
When out in space Myers has displayed an ability to find a target and take them out of the action effectively.
Despite his size, Myers has shown that he is capable of getting out on the move and making blocks down the field.
Short Yardage
Green Bay only had four touchdown runs from the one or two-yard line in 2022 and five in 2023, with four of those nine on quarterback runs. However, they had better success in 2024 when they had 13.
Despite this, a review of these plays shows that Myers was stood up or pushed back into the backfield on most of them. He’s probably more effective getting to the second level on such plays.
Screen Blocking
The Packers have typically had good success on screen passes and Myers showcases the ability to contribute well on these with his ability to get on the move and find targets in space.
Footwork/Technique
Myers’ feet can be slow at times, but he keeps them active to reset his angles as he looks to control or seal off his man. He’s not regarded as a natural bender, which can affect his base and balance and sometimes sees him lunging after his man in space.
His hands can be inconsistent, because while he brings some pop in his first punch, opposing players are often able to get their hands inside to gain early control.
He can also be late with his hands, making it easier for his opponents to get his hands off them to create separation.
There have only been a few examples over the course of Myers’ pro career where he has had a bad snap.
Penalties
Penalties haven’t been a major concern for Myers, who has only had nine accepted penalties in his entire career. He has been called for holding five times as a pro.
Special Teams
Myers’ only special teams role at the pro level and in college has been as a blocker on the placekicking unit. These would be the only NFL snaps he’s had where he wasn’t lined up at center.
Instincts/Intelligence
Myers was a guy who had a lot on his plate in college, making all the calls at the line. He’s done this at the pro level too.
In the running game, he shows the ability to move from one assignment to another and he’s often employed as the spare man in pass protection where he is tasked with keeping his head on a swivel to read the rush and help his fellow linemen out when necessary.
He has shown an ability to pick up stunts and run blitzes without the Packers seeing too many breakdowns in this area as a group.
He has had two false starts and been flagged for being downfield on a pass play three times.
Attitude
Myers was a captain at Ohio State and was lauded by the coaching staff for his leadership, focus and preparation.
He’s also impressed coaches and teammates with his toughness, playing through injuries in 2024 and at one point famously vomiting on the ball before snapping it and still running the play. He won the 2024 Ed Block Courage Award for showcasing that toughness having also lost his father to cancer during the year.
One of his penalties at the NFL level was for unnecessary roughness and he shows some on-field nastiness at times.
Injuries
Myers has had a few injury issues during his career. He landed on injured reserve with a knee injury in his rookie season, which caused him to miss 11 games.
As noted, he played through various injury issues in 2024, missing just one game. He had to wear a brace on an injured wrist and then later suffered a pectoral injury. In the postseason, he was carted off with a serious-looking leg injury, but it turned out to be just a hairline fracture and wasn’t expected to be a long-term issue.
Myers avoided serious injury during his college career but did miss his pro day workout due to a turf toe injury.
Scheme Fit
When Myers was signed, there was some speculation that he could start at center, with Joe Tippmann moving to right guard and Alijah Vera-Tucker kicking out to right tackle. That might be the only way to get the best five on the field with this group. However, the Jets have since made it known that Vera-Tucker will remain at guard, having previously expressed reluctance to move.
It therefore seems most likely the Myers has been brought in to back up Tippmann. While Aaron Glenn said Myers will “push” Tippmann at the league meetings, it seems unlikely a player on a one-year deal will realistically challenge someone who remains under contract for a few more years and outplayed him the past two seasons.
The Jets will presumably want to prepare Myers to play guard in case one of their guards is knocked out of a game, although with Tippmann having played the position at this level before he was a starter, they may opt to move Tippmann and put Myers in at center in the event of a longer-term issue. It will be interesting to see how Myers fares if he gets any reps at guard in preseason.
In terms of the system, Myers was in a zone-based scheme in college, but a mixed scheme at the pro level, so he should be ready for anything.
Myers is being reunited with his former Ohio State teammates Justin Fields, Garrett Wilson and Jeremy Ruckert on the Jets. He has also played with current Jets players Allen Lazard, Anders Carlson, Jamin Davis and Andrew Beck while in Green Bay.
Conclusions
This move is similar to the one the Jets made a few years ago when they brought in Dan Feeney to back up Connor McGovern. Feeney was a poor option as a full-time starter but his experience made him a valuable fallback option. Myers is better than Feeney, because he’s more consistent, so it’s a nice signing for a player who easily could have gone somewhere he’d have had a better shot at being the starter.
Myers is a player who was unpopular among the Packers’ fanbase because he was regarded as one of the weak links on an otherwise solid line. The Packers coaches defended him multiple times and resisted suggestions that Zach Tom or Elgton Jenkins would have been a better option as the starting center. However, despite praising his performance last year as being the best year of his career, the Packers surprisingly opted against bringing Myers back even though his Jets contract wasn’t that high.
In an ideal world, Tippmann will remain healthy and continue his encouraging development since being drafted. However, if Myers is needed at any point, the Jets will be glad they have him.