Gase: Jets 'added the right pieces' to lighten Bell's load

New York Jets head coach Adam Gase is looking for ways to improve Le'Veon Bell's production, and he thinks the team's latest arrivals might help.

"I do think that we have some guys that can help maybe lessen the load on him to where it's not all on him," Gase told "Flight Deck with Rich Cimini" last week. "Hopefully, we can get some of the younger backs to where we can make a good one-two punch to where he can really excel instead of feeling like it's just all on him all the time. I do think we've added the right pieces ... to help him do that."

The Jets' current running back options include second-year player Trenton Cannon, fourth-round rookie La'Mical Perine, and veteran Kenneth Dixon.

Though New York lost wide receiver Robby Anderson this offseason, the team signed free-agent wideout Breshad Perriman and drafted Denzel Mims in the second round. The Jets also added several players to the offensive line, including first-round offensive tackle Mekhi Becton and veteran center Connor McGovern.

"If you have the vertical threats like I think we're going to have with the wide receivers now, hey, maybe we'll start seeing two-high zone instead of them just focusing on one guy in the receiving corps," Gase said, according to ESPN's Cimini.

Gase added, "Now, all of a sudden, Le'Veon is seeing lighter boxes, which he didn't see a lot last year. We saw loaded boxes for the most part. We didn't do a good enough job winning in the passing game to open some of that stuff up."

Though Bell's 311 touches in 2019 weren't eye-popping compared to his previous campaigns, he led the Jets by a significant margin. The next-closest players were wide receiver Jamison Crowder (79 touches) and running back Bilal Powell (66 touches).

In his first year with the team, Bell was the only Jets running back to record more than 60 rushing attempts. However, the 28-year-old posted career lows in rushing yards per game (52.6), yards per carry (3.2), and touchdowns (three).