What To Do At 2

by | Jan 28, 2021 | General | 0 comments

With Deshaun Watson officially asking for a trade out of Houston, the Jets find themselves in avery unique position heading into the offseason. There is no denying that the QB position hasbeen an issue for not only the last 3 years, but for the past 5 decades. In the air raid era of theNFL today, this is a position the Jets need to finally hit on, and hit now or we could be looking atanother long stretch of recycles through the organization, effectively pausing the rebuild eachtime. But what do the Jets do? Stick with Sam Darnold? Give up a host of top picks and bring inWatson? Or do we stick with our picks and bring in a fresh rookie that new OC Mike LeFleur cangroom into a franchise guy? The silver lining here is, the Jets are in prime positions to chooseany one of those options and come out on top.

Let’s discuss the options the Jets have with the #2 draft pick for this one. This has been asource of some very heated discussions across Jets Nation and everyone has their own idea onhow to proceed.

First, (and the most annoying if I’m being honest) is the crowd that says we should draft PeneiSewell at 2. Guys, throw this idea out the window. Sewell is a left tackle and we have ours.People say just swap becton or Sewell to the right side. Wrong! Tackles do not just swap sideslike it’s nothing. A left tackle trying to play on the right side has to reverse everything he haslearned about the position. Footwork is different. Protection packages are different. Runblocking assignments are reversed. Now, I am not saying an elite left tackle doesn’t have theability and talent to make that swap, but you drafted them for a reason right? You drafted thembecause they are the top talent at their position only to move them out of it? It makes no sense.Drafting Sewell at 2 is essentially using our #2 pick on a depth player and that is what the 6thand 7th rounds are for, not the 1st round. Sorry Penei, Miami or Cincinnati will be calling shortly.

The “stick with Sam” fans are also saying we need weapons. I get that and I don’t disagree. Iam hearing Devonta Smith, WR from Bama or Jaylen Waddle also from Bama. Ja’Marr Chasefrom LSU has surprisingly fallen out of many conversations after Smith won the Heisman, but isstill a legit #1 talent and will be a franchise WR somewhere. I like Smith, I like Chase. Waddleand his ankle scare me, but given the proper time to heal, Waddle is a threat on the field. Thisweapon take is not far off base. My concern is, Sam Darnold has struggled with deep ballaccuracy. Tends to under throw receivers down the field or sail intermediate passes over themiddle. If the QB can’t consistently get the ball to those weapons, then they are meaningless inthe grand scheme of things. And honestly, Joe Douglas didn’t draft Sam. Robert Saleh and Co.didn’t groom Sam. Given the options the Jets have, Deshaun Watson, Justin Fields, ZachWilson, a very remote Trevor Lawrence falling possibility.. Given these options, I don’t see theJets sticking with Sam Darnold because if they did, and Sam failed again while Fields, Wilsonand Watson are shining elsewhere, Jets fans, that is something GM’s don’t come back from.

Finally we have “the take a QB” crowd. This is where I fall into the mix. With the Jets sitting at 2,we are likely out of the running for Trevor Lawrence, but that doesn’t mean I still don’t have myfingers crossed that he falls! More than likely, the New York Jets QB decision will come down todrafting Justin Fields or Zach Wilson. Fields is legit. If there was ever a QB to shake the OhioState system QB stigma that they have had for years, it’s Justin Fields. He throws a very prettydeep ball, he is mobile, he is accurate and makes good decisions. My concern is his bounceback ability. Watching tape on him, if things do end up off script or a bad series happens, Inoticed he struggles a bit to rebound. I have noticed improvement in this aspect toward the endof this year, but admittedly, 8 total games, 6 regular season and 2 playoff games, is a very smallsample size to go off of. Fields will be a gamble. I know, I know.. He was the most recruitedprospect coming out of high school.. But football only gets harder. Give me a QB that hasstruggled and fought through real adversity. A kid who is built to handle that.

Which brings me to Zach Wilson. Every bit as accurate as Fields, has a cannon for an arm, buthe has a very wonky ¾ release on his throws that puts a great deal of strain on his throwingshoulder. A mechanics flaw that did, in fact, lead to a shoulder surgery in January of 2019.Though an injury directly caused the surgery, Wilson said he has had a minor shoulder issuesince high school. To some, that might be a huge red flag. But to QB trainers and coaches, it issimply coaching a revised release of the ball and the shoulder will no longer be an issue.

Wilson edges out Fields at 2 for me. I just don’t have the rebound concerns that I do with Fields.And I just cannot justify sticking with Darnold. 3 years with the same issues, and some of thoseissues getting worse. I have never seen a QB throw without stepping into the trow so much as Ihave with Sam. I have never seen someone stare down routes so much. And even more thanthat, If I see these things, Saleh and Douglas see them too.

That said, I will be 100% on board with whomever Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh end up goingwith and I will trust the process. A phrase we Jets fans have been saying for years, but this onefeels different. Don’t you fans feel different this year? Something has changed within the DNA ofthis franchise. Maybe it is ownership finally coming to terms with the fact that they don’t know this sport and they should let men who do run the show. Maybe it is Robert Saleh and the AllGas, No Brake mantra. But something in this organization just feels different and I have notbeen this excited for a Jets offseason in a very long time. This one will be one for the books Jetsfans. Sit back, enjoy the ride and Go Jets!

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