Carter Warren, the Jets' fourth-round selection in last year's draft, had a welcome-to-the-NFL moment fairly early on his rookie calendar. And it came against a teammate who had only one more year of pro experience and was almost the same age as he was.

"It was against Jermaine Johnson," Warren told newyorkjets.com's Ethan Greenberg after the end of the '23 campaign. "We were in one-on-ones, didn't even have pads on. He put me right on my back. I was like, all right, let me wake up and get myself going. So that was my moment."

Warren, the Pitt tackle, had a few speedbumps to navigate besides his run-in with Johnson, the edge rusher who like him is 25 years old and born in January 1999. Another hurdle: a meniscus injury he suffered in the Hall of Fame Game that kept him from seeing any offensive snaps until Game 10 at Buffalo.

But from there through the snowy victory over the Patriots, he finished strong, playing in seven of the last nine games and starting five, including the last three at right tackle. For the year he still logged a decent 403 offensive snaps.

"That was crucial. I needed that experience," he said of his stretch run. "It's totally different compared to college, going up against the best of the best. Yeah, I was blessed I was able to get out there and get some plays in."

Like an Oscar winner, Warren had lots of people to thank for getting him to the finish line and prepping him to compete for a starting O-line job this offseason and summer. First and foremost were his friends in the OL fraternity, especially the grizzled veterans.

"I want to give thanks to Duane Brown, Laken Tomlinson, Billy Turner," he said. "Laken took me under his wing and really looked out for me the most. Duane also looked out for me. I'd say all the vets in the room gave me a little tidbit of their game, what they did, recovery and all that stuff."

Another verbal group hug went out to the Jets' alpha unit, their defensive line, which got him NFL-tested with every single practice.

"I got to see different moves going up against Jermaine, Carl Lawson — I can just keep going on and on," he said. "These guys give great, great looks every day, and I'm glad to have them around."

And with the help of all those mates, the native North Jerseyan has identified some areas he wants to focus on this offseason, which he'll be spending at One Jets Drive in Florham Park not far from his Paterson home.

"We know what we need, the coaches know what they want to see out of me, so I'm going to stay here and work on that," he said. "I get to narrow down really what I need to work on going into this next season. I'm talking about just my pad level, my lower body strength. Just having that going into the season, it's a huge advantage."

While many Jets fans may fuss and fret over the questions about the line being reworked in front of Aaron Rodgers for a second straight offseason, Warren sounds as if he wants to be one of the answers in supplying ARod's protection and opening holes for Breece Hall and the backs.

"It was an amazing year, definitely," he said. "The injury held my game back a little bit, but hey, I pushed through, I made it through the end of the season healthy. Thank you, God, and I'm blessed to be here today. So yeah, keep rolling.

"I definitely feel like I proved to myself that I belong and I'm about to play at this level for years to come. I'm just excited to see where my game goes."