One of the most exciting times of the year is finally here for the New York Jets. Who the heck are they going to select? And how important is this to the future of the franchise?
It can’t be overstated the importance of the 2018 NFL Draft to the New York Jets. This is one of the most pivotal picks in franchise history.
Inevitably when a quarterback is taken with the No. 3 pick, that’ll be the highest quarterback selected since ‘Broadway’ Joe Namath. No pressure, Mike Maccagnan.
You ready?
Because we are. #JetUp pic.twitter.com/1XxEYwPRmO
— New York Jets (@nyjets) April 25, 2018
All the speculation will come to an end in less than 24 hours. So Paul—who is going to be the pick for the Jets?
To be honest, I have no idea. My sources and intel can tell me all they want, but I’ll believe it when I see it on draft day. Here are the scenarios the Jets could face and what will happen, is that good enough?
Best case scenario
The Cleveland Browns go with Josh Allen with the No. 1 pick. He has way too many flaws to take a gamble on with this kind of draft pick. The Jets did that with Christian Hackenberg and while Allen is more talented, I just can’t see him on the Jets.
The New York Giants take any player that isn’t a quarterback. Honestly, it doesn’t matter if it’s Saquon Barkley, Bradley Chubb, or Quenton Nelson. The Jets could use any of those players, but you don’t trade up to three to select anything other than a quarterback.
Thus, the Jets would have, in theory, their pick of the litter—Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, or Baker Mayfield.
If that’s the case, I can’t see Jets passing on Darnold. It would be reminiscent of Jamal Adams and Leonard Williams falling into the Jets’ lap. They hoped for the best and expected the worst, but got surprised. Darnold has the highest ceiling and a higher floor than Allen.
Worst case scenario
Cleveland goes with Baker Mayfield or Josh Rosen, pushing Josh Allen that much closer to 1 Jets Drive.
The Giants trade back with a quarterback-needy team like the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, or Arizona Cardinals. That team takes Darnold or whoever remains from the “Big Four.”
That leaves the Jets to pick Allen (yikes) or the last of the three leftovers. Not ideal, but there’s pros and cons to what the Jets did back in March. By trading up early the Jets saved themselves capital. But by only trading up to No. 3, they left the door open for another team to screw them.
What will probably happen
The Browns take Sam Darnold or Josh Allen. General manager John Dorsey is a height vs. weight guy, so Allen makes sense. Everyone else, meanwhile, considers Darnold to be the top guy. My gut also says they go Allen.
The Giants stay put and take Saquon Barkley because they don’t get an offer they deem good enough. By the way, they’re delusional to think Eli Manning has multiple years left, but I digress.
All the Baker Mayfield rumors turn out to have been a smokescreen and the Jets take Josh Rosen or Sam Darnold if he’s there. So I envision a California kid walking across the stage to greet the commissioner. We’ll see if I’m right later tonight.
Someone's getting a call on this ? tomorrow night. #NationalTelephoneDay pic.twitter.com/64Vnu5hENv
— New York Jets (@nyjets) April 25, 2018
