LT - Is Ferguson a bust?

The Jets selected LT D. Ferguson #4 overall in 2006 to be the dominant, LT anchor of the new offensive line for the next decade! His rookie year was decent, but not spectacular, especially when compared to other OL like Mangold (NY Jets) or McNeil (San Diego). In particular he was susceptible to bull-rushes by larger defenders in pass protection and never distinguished himself as a run-blocker at the point of attack. His weight loss during his rookie year brought him down to 290 lbs and the head coach clearly wanted him to put on some size. After an entire offseason of preparation, he was only able to bring his weight up to 305 lbs to start training camp. This is not a significant improvement within the context of NFL linemen, and there is no guarantee he can maintain it throughout the season. Recognizing that this is not the size of dominant LTs, the Jets felt it necessary to bring in a personal mentor (Lomas Brown) to help Ferguson learn to maximize his talents and compete as an "undersized" LT. I suspect when they drafted him the talk was that his frame could handle a lot more muscle. Even if that is still true it doesn't seem like he is able to make the gains. There is no way to spin it, there are some positions that require players to trade some athleticism for size and power, LT is one of those positions. The massive guys that are still athletic enough to execute decent footwork and technique emerge as the stars. The undersized guys always get praised for how they can compete despite being undersized, but these are not the guys that become the dominant O-line anchors. Right now it looks like his peak is likely to be as a good, but never great LT. And the Jets better hope he can develop to that lowered expectation as his performance in the preseason has been horrendous!


Bottom-line: Look for the Jets to run a lot of no-huddle, fast-tempo plays to take advantage of Ferguson's likely cardiovascular edge at his smaller size. But expect the next version of Jets draft blunders to feature the selection of Ferguson instead of QB J. Cutler who looks like an emerging star in Denver.