Joe Douglas drafted four offensive players with his first four picks of the 2021 draft – something the Jets haven’t done since 1983 – and was sure to pick players who fit Mike LaFleur’s offense perfectly.

Upon a cursory look, Douglas hit the nail on the head with his selections. Zach Wilson ran a lot of RPO plays at BYU, Alijah Vera-Tucker was the top zone-blocking guard in the draft, Elijah Moore is an explosive playmaker at all three levels of the field, and Michael Carter is a short-area rusher.

The key to the Jets’ offense lies with the effectiveness of Douglas’ first two picks, Wilson and Vera-Tucker. If Wilson is as advertised and Vera-Tucker fortifies the blocking up front, the Jets could find themselves ahead of schedule. It won’t be easy, though. Four rookies won’t suddenly turn the Jets into the Chiefs or even the 49ers – whose offense LaFleur brought with him to New York. Coaching and game planning will prove if Douglas made the right picks or not.

With that in mind, here’s a closer look at how Wilson, Vera-Tucker, Moore and Carter will fit into the Jets’ offense.

QB Zach Wilson

(Tim Warner-Getty Images)

Wilson is the crown jewel of the Jets offense after Douglas took him second overall in the draft. He’ll be asked to run the first installation of LaFleur’s offense, which will feature a lot of similar plays to the scheme Wilson played in at BYU. Play-action, rollouts and short-to-intermediate passing plays are the staples for the quarterback, coupled with a wide-zone rushing scheme.

If Wilson is to be successful, he’ll need to be efficient and mistake-free. That’s what he was in 2020 at BYU, but the NFL is a different animal. LaFleur should bring Wilson along slowly in terms of opening up the offense, meaning Wilson should focus on getting the ball out quickly to the playmakers rather than looking for his famed deep shots. Those will come, but for now, the Jets need to figure out what they have rather than go for the home run hit.

OL Alijah Vera-Tucker

(Christian Petersen-Getty Images)

The Jets said before the draft that they were targeting offensive linemen who fit the zone-blocking scheme, which is all about making space for the running backs and protecting the quarterback by moving the defenders to the edges.

No one is this draft class does that better than Vera-Tucker. After playing tackle in 2020, Vera-Tucker will move back guard next to Mekhi Becton on the left side. The rookie will play a crucial role in the Jets’ blocking scheme, both with the run and the pass.

The USC product played more than 75 percent of his run-blocking snaps in this scheme, according to Jets X-Factor’s Michael Nania, and excelled there. The Trojans averaged 8.3 rushing yards behind Vera-Tucker and converted a first down or scored 63 percent of the time when running on Vera-Tucker’s side. As a pass-blocker, Vera-Tucker allowed just seven pressures on 590 snaps when he played guard in 2019, including just four in 151 “true pass sets.”

WR Elijah Moore

(Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports)

LaFleur’s offense flourishes with playmakers who can create with space, and Moore was one of the best at that in college. He ran at least 10 different routes at Ole Miss, according to Matt Harmon’s Reception Perception, 79.8 percent of which came out the slot, while 20.2 percent came from the outside, per Nania.

Moore did a lot with those targets. He tied for fifth in yards after the catch and averaged 5.9 YAC per reception in 2020. Moore also ranked first in yards per game on targets of at least 10 yards and finished second in yards per game on deep targets (at least 20 yards downfield) and intermediate targets (10-19 yards downfield). 

This is perfect for LaFleur’s offense considering how the 49ers deployed Deebo Samuel and how the team valued the YAC stat. San Francisco ranked third in yards after the catch and first in yards after the catch per reception in 2020. You best believe Moore will be used all over the field and given the opportunity to break away.

RB Michael Carter

(Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports)

The outside-zone rushing concept the Jets will run under LaFleur relies on short-area quickness and bursts of speed to get to the edges of the pocket. Carter possesses that skillset, which is why he’s an ideal fit in this offense. He posted the 10th-best 10-yard split at 1.65 seconds, per Nania, and his smaller frame will give him an advantage in avoiding defenders he wouldn’t have if he ran inside.

Carter is also a big-play threat on the ground, which is important in this offense. For reference, the 49ers were second in 2019 with 16 rushing plays of at least 20 yards. Carter ranked first in college football with 23 such plays. Carter also finished in the 95th percentile in yards after contact with 4.47, according to Nania.

Carter won’t be the feature back for the Jets, but that’s alright. Three running backs have at least 200 snaps in the 49ers offense since 2019, and the Jets certainly have the makings of a solid running back committee with Carter joining Tevin Coleman, Ty Johnson, Josh Adams and La’Mical Perine. One of those players will likely be the odd-man out, though the Jets could keep all four but deploy just three consistently.