Second-round pick not in mix for Jets' starting center job?

Pegged as a player set to make a push to start going into camp, Tippmann is running third in this competition. Robert Saleh said the team would like to have a winner here after its second preseason game. Seeing as the winner in this competition will be the center on the highest-profile Jets team in over a decade, this matchup takes on a bit more importance. The Jets have big question marks at both tackle spots, and guard Alijah Vera-Tucker is coming back after a triceps tear ended his second season. The team’s first-string center will obviously play a critical role on the team’s first Aaron Rodgers-piloted offense.

The Jets chose Tippmann 43rd overall. That draft status suggests the Wisconsin product will be asked to start, but it doesn't appear that will be the case.

McGovern, 30, missed just two games over the course of the three-year, $27M deal the Jets authorized in 2020. This year’s center market featured several free agents re-signing for lower-end money. Ethan Pocic (Browns), Jake Brendel (49ers), Garrett Bradbury (Vikings) and Bradley Bozeman (Panthers) returned to their respective teams. While this quartet all received between $4M and $6M per year, it left McGovern with fewer opportunities. The Jets guaranteed the veteran starter just $1.25M.

Pro Football Focus graded the Mizzou alum as a top-10 center in each of the past two seasons, but despite GM Joe Douglas being in power when the Jets initially signed McGovern, the team made it a priority to select Tippmann early. The Jets also gave Schweitzer a bigger contract, signing the ex-Atlanta and Washington interior O-lineman to a one-year, $5M deal in March. That pact came with $3.17M guaranteed. That contract suggests an even matchup with McGovern, despite the latter’s experience in New York.

Schweitzer, who will turn 30 in September, has made 60 career starts. Twenty-four of those came in Washington. PFF rated Schweitzer 27th among centers last season, though he only played in seven games due to a lengthy concussion-induced absence. The advanced metrics site rated Schweitzer as a top-10 guard in 2021, however. The loser of the competition could represent interior O-line depth, but New York’s tackle situation complicates that from a numbers perspective.