The New York Jets may have something to fear in Lamar Jackson. Plus, why the green and white may actually have a plan …
We’ve heard some of the best quarterbacks of all time say something like this, “Hey, if you don’t draft me, I’m going to haunt you for the next 10 plus years.” Everyone from Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have uttered these lines after the fact and they’ve proven true.
Well, we just got our 2018 version from Lamar Jackson through Bill Belichick of all people.
The? Spoke ? https://t.co/Woo9c2IMH2
— Lamar Jackson (@Lj_era8) April 12, 2018
“I believe after watching Deshaun Watson tear up his defense, he said, I want a player like Lamar Jackson,’ NFL Draft Analyst Bucky Brooks on Bill Belichick and the Patriots drafting Lamar Jackson.
It’s an interesting notion. I’ve seen Jackson play in person and he’s a dynamic athlete and quarterback. But I have that same intestinal feeling about Baker Mayfield. I feel like if the Jets decide to pass on him and the Buffalo Bills or Miami Dolphins end up taking him, he could haunt the division and the Jets for the next decade.
Let’s just hope the Dolphins (No. 11 overall) and the Bills (No. 12 and 22) are too far out of range to launch up to the top of the draft. At the very least, the Jets hold priority with the No. 3 pick. Well, for now anyway.
“They've really set themselves up for success in terms of the cap.”@caplannfl on free agency and options at No. 3 ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/OszCMoNRsf
— New York Jets (@nyjets) April 12, 2018
So what does it all mean?
- With what is expected to be over $100 million in cap space means Leonard Williams will be extended sooner rather than later. Hopefully, this ‘second contract’ works out better than the Muhammad Wilkerson situation.
- It also means that when (not if) the Jets take their quarterback with the No. 3 pick, they’ll have a four to five-year window of affordable contract and in theory, high quarterback play at the position. This ‘Russell Wilson‘ strategy we’ll call it, allows you to potentially win multiple championships while using money that would ordinarily go to the quarterback position, for other positions.
We saw the Mark Sanchez (last pick the Jets used on offense in the first round) project. That didn’t work out so well, but the social experiment proved the strategy can work. I mean two AFC Championship games with 29 touchdown passes and 33 interceptions is actually impressive.
Imagine if you could improve those numbers just a tad, perhaps that’s enough of a difference.
This year's #NFLDraft hat is pure ?
Get yourself one → https://t.co/LmOJORCFk2 pic.twitter.com/q5jMcNDJwX
— New York Jets (@nyjets) April 12, 2018
And finally, here’s a healthy reminder that the slew of 2018 NFL Draft hats is now available (link above). If you haven’t already pre-ordered one, you should start questioning your Jets fan-hood. The term “Jet Up” has a whole new meaning.
