$15.3 Million Jets Starter Earns ‘Most Underrated’ Title Ahead of 2025

ANew York Jets offensive lineman is finally getting some long-overdue respect.

Jonathon Macri of Pro Football Focus listed Alijah Vera-Tucker as the “most underrated player” on the Jets roster heading into 2025.

“Vera-Tucker hasn’t played more than 432 snaps in a season since his 2021 rookie year, which has led to some disappointment in the former 14th overall pick. But 2024 was Vera-Tucker’s best season yet,” Macri said.

“He played 15 games, earning a career-high 77.7 PFF overall grade and a career-high PFF pass-blocking (74.5). That mark as a pass blocker ranked 12th among qualifying guards in 2024 and aligns more closely with the expectations of a former top-15 pick,” Macri added.

AVT has one year left on his contract through the 2025 season. Last May, the old Jets regime accepted the $15.3 million fully guaranteed team option on his contract. Vera-Tucker is scheduled to be a free agent in 2026.

AVT Being Overlooked Makes a Ton of Sense

The Jets have invested four top-14 picks in the offensive line since 2020, which is the most by any team in the NFL.

In 2024, the Jets selected Olu Fashanu to ultimately be the long-term blindside protector. This past April, the Jets grabbed Armand Membou with the No. 7 overall pick to be the right tackle of the present and future.

Last offseason, the Jets signed John Simpson to a two-year deal for $12 million. Simpson far outplayed his contract, earning rave reviews across the league.

John Simpson brings good size, physicality, power and competitive toughness to the guard spot. He put that on display in 2024 for the Jets

Full highlights: https://t.co/cGkFwkZxcF pic.twitter.com/rJD4znopb8

— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) May 1, 2025

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Joe Tippmann was an elite center in the NFL this past season. Pro Football Focus graded him as the eighth-best run blocker at his position and the ninth-best center by overall grade. On top of his football abilities, Tippmann rocks a mullet that earned him the nickname “The Wisconsin Waterfall.”

All of the attention that the other Jets offensive linemen have garnered has kept Vera-Tucker in the shadows.

Jets Have Some Big Boy Decisions Looming in 2026

Fashanu and Membou are under contract for the foreseeable future. However, some of the other players in the trenches are going to be due for a massive paycheck next year.

Vera-Tucker and Simpson are both set to be free agents next offseason. Do the Jets pay both of them? One of them? Neither?

The NFL’s franchise tag lumps all offensive linemen together. They don’t separate it between offensive tackles versus guards, versus centers. In 2025, the franchise tag amount for offensive linemen was $23.4 million, per the league.

That loophole benefits Simpson and AVT. The highest-paid guard in football, Landon Dickerson of the Philadelphia Eagles, makes $21 million per year, per Over The Cap.

Technically speaking, Trey Smith of the Kansas City Chiefs is currently the highest-paid guard in the league because of that franchise tag loophole ($23.4 million).

The Jets only have one potential franchise tag to use next offseason. In other words, they better start thinking ahead of how they’re going to retain as many of their O-Linemen as possible.

Tippmann will be eligible to discuss a contract extension for the first time in his career next offseason. Then, Tippmann will only have one year left on his contract through the 2026 season. He is scheduled to be a free agent in 2027. Unlike AVT, Tippmann was not a first-round pick, so there is no fifth-year team option on his rookie deal.