The New York Jets are the only winless team in the NFL

10/18/2020

The New York Jets stand alone as the worst team in the NFL and they are the early leader in the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes.

The New York Jets are the worst team in the NFL. With Week 6 wins for the Atlanta Falcons and New York Giants, that leaves the Jets as the only winless team left in the league.

Former Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Miami Dolphins dominated Gang Green for 60 minutes on Sunday. Outside of one ridiculous interception from Marcus Maye, there were no Jets highlights from this loss. The offense was putrid, the special teams were ugly, and the defense came out flat before regrouping in the second half.

Adam Gase has more double-digit losses (12) as Jets head coach than he does wins (7). Every single loss this year has been by at least two scores. Gase’s offense is averaging 12.5 points per game.

Simply put, the Jets aren’t even close to a competitive football team right now. And unsurprisingly, there’s dissension in the ranks.

Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams called out Gase and the offense while speaking to reporters during the week. That didn’t sit well with the head coach according to the CBS broadcast. It’s all falling apart at 1 Jets Drive.

CBS says on the broadcast that Adam Gase is not happy with Gregg Williams for these comments. Said everyone needs to “shut up and play" https://t.co/N4Asg6wxAu

— ESNY (@EliteSportsNY) October 18, 2020

To be clear, Williams deserves his fair share of the blame for this season, but the issues with this team start with the head coach. Whether he’s running his best players out of town, bristling at questions from the media, or putting together horrendous gameplans, Gase can’t do anything right.

Tanking For Trevor Lawrence

It feels like it’s only a matter of time before the Jets move on, but their chances at securing the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and taking Trevor Lawrence are much higher with Gase in the building.

With games against the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs coming up, the losing streak is likely to continue into November. For fans who want to tank for the Clemson quarterback, this is good news. However, it’s important to remember that there are a lot of bad teams in the NFL this year.

Here is what the first 10 picks of the 2021 NFL Draft looks like after Sunday’s games (per Tankathon):

Jets 0-6
Washington 1-5
Giants 1-5
Falcons 1-5
Jaguars 1-5
Vikings 1-5
Dolphins (via Texans 1-5)
Chargers 1-4
Eagles 1-4-1
Bengals 1-4-1

Is Darnold The Odd Man Out?

Sam Darnold has missed the last two games with a shoulder injury he sustained in Week 4. The third-year quarterback has yet to live up to expectations, but he is not fully to blame for his stunted development. Gase’s antiquated offense, a shaky offensive line, and a lack of offensive weapons are all factors that led to this point in Darnold’s career.

If New York continues to scuffle and ends up with the No. 1 pick, they should take Trevor Lawrence. That’s a no-brainer. Lawrence is that good.

FIVE FIRST-HALF TOUCHDOWNS FROM TREVOR LAWRENCE ? pic.twitter.com/iAW4oKDc52

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 17, 2020

If the Jets end up with the top pick, they’ll have to trade away Darnold and hope to get a second- or third-round pick in return. It’s not ideal, but the smart move is to take Lawrence and start building around him.

If they don’t get the No. 1 pick, there needs to be a conversation about keeping Darnold in the fold. Seemingly every player who escapes Gase’s grasp takes a huge leap forward. Ryan Tannehill, Jarvis Landry, Kenyan Drake, Devante Parker, and the list goes on and on.

It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Darnold emerges as a stud with the right coach. Justin Fields and Trey Lance are two quarterbacks worth giving a look, but they are not a slam dunk prospect like Lawrence.