there is a part of me that wished the jets signed a QB FA to man the position for the next 2 years. trade the 2 and load the boat with picks picks and more picks. realize the QB draft next year may be thin but our roster would improve right away. but also do realize that when is the next time there will be 5 qb's taken in round 1. could be a while.
The NFL pretty much ALWAYS draft the “perceived” safer/more “pro ready” QB. Wilson is the Darnold in this analogy. The “projects”, “has the a high upside may need to sit”, “boom or bust”, [insert your favorite overused draft trope here] slide. Then after they get it wrong they say it’s only because “hE fElL tO ThE pErFeCt SpOt”.
No Mayfield was a last minute change by a maverick GM. The Browns had planned to draft Darnold all along based on the tape. Darnold wore a freaking brown tie for Christ sake. Dorsey flipped the script in the final hours, metaphorically speaking, based on the vibe he got meeting Baker face to face. I’m not a Baker fan but I respect Dorsey for going with his guy. He is one of the few GMs that do not always go chalk. He traded up for Mahomes when a lot of the talking heads thought he was crazy. Also this comparison is not about the #1 pick; it’s about Wilson in relation to Fields. Wilson is “perceived” as safer and more “pro ready”. Same shit different year.
While other points are debatable, this one we can all agree on: this is a MAJOR risk, which makes Zach undraftable. Let someone else deal with this sure bust. Mac Jones it is at #2.
That's not true. Kyler Murray was quite a massive project. Wentz was, RG3, Jake Locker, Tannehill. Projects get overdrafted a lot at QB and Darnold was by NO means the "safe" choice in that draft. His footwork needed alot of work. He was safer than Allen, about even with Mayfield, but the "safe" / "pro ready" choice was Rosen
I never thought that Darnold was "safe." I thought he was ridiculously over-hyped by the media and posters here. Once we drafted him, I rooted for him and had high hopes that they were right and I was wrong. I always thought that Baker Mayfield was the best and safest QB in that class. I loved Allen's athleticism but his inaccuracy scared me. I never thought he would be able to fix it. Kudos to him. He is definitely the best.
I disagree about Rosen being the safest choice. He was arrogant and a jerk, and I didn't think he was even that good. I thought he'd be better than he has turned out to be, but I never considered him safe.
Where did you see the 30% rotator cuff tear? I have read countless articles about Wilson and watched countless videos and no one has ever mentioned the rotator cuff. Please provide a link.
Murray was the presumptive #1. Wentz was my #1 in that draft. The only thing that would remotely and stupidly make him a “project” is the school he went to. Dude was running a pro-style offense in college. If he went to USC, he would have been the 1st pick of the draft. Goff was safer in their eyes. I can go down the list. Anyway, I never said projects don’t get overdrafted. Overdrafts happen all the time especially at QB (see Wilson & Jones). I’m saying and have said all things being equal the NFL will lean towards the perceived safer and more ready QB. Who were those options in the RG3, Locker & Tannehill drafts? Was there raging debates over RGIII vs Tannehill, Locker vs Ponder or Tannehill vs. Weeden? I’ll answer that for you, NO!
Hence, why I added and emphasized the adjective “perceived” (air quotes). Darnold was not the safest choice IMO but that’s the narrative the talking heads had out there. He was getting some Andrew Luck comparisons #insane. I thought Allen was actually the safest because he could grind out wins and/or keep you competitive w/ just his physical ability as he developed the nuances of the game. Rosen is just an ass allegedly and not a leader so he doesn’t count.
1. I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it until posters here wake up. Nothing great was ever achieved by playing it "safe." That's a cowardly approach to life, in every facet of life, but even moreso, in a sport like football, and with a team like the Jets. Playing it "safe" would lead to the Jets NEVER even getting to a SB again, much less winning a SB. It would lead to mediocrity or probably, worse, because those "safe" choices that we make often prove to be anything but "safe." Getting out of bed in the morning is a risk. Choosing to ride in a car or fly, or cross the street is a risk. Falling in love and getting married is a risk. Letting your children leave the house is a risk. I choose to live life to its fullest and take calculated risks, because that's where life is the fullest, richest, and most rewarding. Some posters here are frightened turtles and I feel sorry for them. 2. Of course QB is the most important position in the NFL. Anyone who denies that is truly ignorant of the realities of the NFL and is in denial or is delusional. There aren't enough good QBs to go around. Teams know that without a good QB their chances of winning aren't good, and that makes them desperate. QBs are overdrafted and a lot of them fail. Those are facts of life in the NFL. As a result, it is risky to pick one at any point in the draft. One always risks wasting a draft pick. That's why one should avoid trading up for a QB if at all possible, as one doesn't want to waste multiple high picks if the QB doesn't work out. That's why the sanest, wisest, least risky course to follow is to stay put and take the best QB prospect one can at one's pick. Trading down only increases the risk that the QB will fail, because he's a lesser prospect. One still loses the draft pick if the QB doesn't pan out, but the idea that the loss hurts less if it's a lower pick is a loser attitude imo. Yes, one might be able to improve the team at another position or two with the additional picks one received from trading down, but ultimately games are won and lost by QB play and by the play of top positional players, and if one doesn't have a very good QB, and topnotch players at key positions, one isn't going to win a lot of games no matter how good the rest of the roster is. We all know that the draft is a crapshoot. Players at every position bust. What's one going to do, just not draft any player? Trade down with all their picks so they wind up with 25 - 7th round picks? I just don't see Wilson as much of a bust risk at all. He's very smart, very accurate, can see the field, makes mostly good decisions, gets the ball out quickly, can make all the throws, he loves being coached, loves the game, loves watching film and learning, and works hard. The only thing that makes me even remotely think that he could bust is if he doesn't temper his over-aggressiveness. If he keeps trying to hurdle tacklers, throw his throwing shoulder into defenders when he runs, or tries to run too much, then that could lead to a serious injury. Fortunately, he's too smart to do that. He will listen to his coaches in the NFL and curtail that aggressiveness. He will make some mistakes throwing the ball and he will learn that some CBs shouldn't be tested, and learn to not be as aggressive throwing the ball. He'll curtail his hero ball. Did anyone here think Joe Burrow wasn't a "safe" pick or a very risky pick last year even though he only had one year of elite play? He got hurt too, as did Peyton Manning. It happens, and it can happen to any QB. Freak plays happen. But where it happens most is when the GM of teams are't smart enough to protect their QB with a topnotch OL and the right system. Wilson senses pressure, is elusive, has quick feet, makes quick decisions and gets the ball out quickly. That should ameliorate much of the risk of his getting injured. The bigger question is will JD do what it takes (i.e., pay the price to trade up if necessary) to get the right OL to protect Wilson? Will he makes sure that he gets two of Teven Jenkins, Creed Humphrey, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Alex Leatherwood, and Wyatt Davis, or will he try to go the cheap route, draft defensive players at #23, #34, and then look to take OL in the 3rd round or later? 3. On this last point, I'm not blaming you or saying that this is you, but rather am responding to the attitude portrayed by the poster you quoted that I see here all the time. The irrational, cynical attitude of so many posters here regarding that the Jets are cursed and doomed to always fail is flat out nuts. The Jets are not cursed and doomed to fail. It's like 2009 and 2010 never happened, nor Mangini's season, and/or we never had a great team in the '80s with Walker, Toon, McNeil, Hector, Klecko, Lyons, Gastineau et al. The problem has been the dumb owners we've had in Leon Hess and the Johnsons and the incompetent GMs and CSs that have been hired. Even with the Johnsons being dolts, they either wised up enough or lucked into finally hiring a GM that is widely-respected in the league, has a great background, and were smart enough to let him call the shots. The way he has handled the QB decision has been brilliant, asking each to come to his own decision independently. With the decision being unanimous, the odds are this is the right, best, and safest pick if JD, Saleh, LaFleur and the other QB Coaching staff are the right people, and most posters believe that they are. If you (whomever is reading this) think that the Jets are always doomed to fail and disappoint, for your own sake and those whom you love, find something else to do with your time and energy. Find another team to root for, go fishing, take up another hobby, spend time volunteering to help others. The idea that once you're a fan, you're always a fan, and have no choice is literally insane. If you have a functioning brain, you always have choices in whatever you think and do, and how you react. If you have no choice that means that the Jets have become an unhealthy obsession or addiction, and like any addiction, it can be broken. It may be difficult, but it can be done if one wants it badly enough. Life is too short to continually torment and torture yourselves. If those of you who claim that you're indifferent to the team are really that indifferent, then how can you call yourself a fan? After all, a "fan" is someone who loves someone or something, and believes in it. Being a "fan" of something that makes you miserable and cynical and gives you no hope is not healthy mentally/emotionally. Continuing to follow the Jets, while hating them, not believing in them, and believing that they are always doomed to fail, you are poisoning your own mind and spirit. That will affect your attitudes in every area of life and can make you physically sick.
I agree, but I'm not sure what you're saying with regards to the Jets' handling of the QB search. Are you saying that you think the way JD handled it was flawed or the correct way? The way I read it, JD handled it very well. He had everyone study the QBs independently and come to their own conclusion, and then they got together. Of course there could always be some influence of whom the boss likes/wants, and since they traveled to the Pro Days together, what one person said to the others or the way he reacted could influence others. The only way it could be totally independent is if they didn't travel together, didn't stand together at Pro Days, and had zero communication between themselves during the time period of the QB search. How possible or practical is that, however in the months leading up to the draft?
The other thing is that as the whole team improves, they will win more games and draft lower, and the Jets could find themselves in a position where they have no option/opportunity to trade up and select a topnotch QB, but even if they do, the cost in terms of draft capital would be astronomical, and if they missed, it would set the franchise back for 5-10 years, and hurt much, MUCH more than simply taking a QB at #2. If he busts, they can start over again in 2-3 years.
