What will the Jets do Tonight!?

Author: Zachary Patlin

Editor: Brian Symons

The Jets have made it clear that they will be drafting a Quarterback with the second overall pick in Thursday’s NFL draft. After trading Sam Darnold to the Panthers earlier this month, the Jets are without a starting quarterback for the time being and must hit on the QB of their choosing on Thursday to have any chance of turning this franchise around.

GM Joe Douglas, Coach Robert Saleh, along with his entire staff have done their due diligence all winter in discussing what they are going to do with the number two pick and what they were going to do with the quarterback situation. That was made apparently clear after Darnold was sent to Carolina. Zach Wilson appears to be the guy at number two according to many GM’s and known football sources around the league. Zach Wilson was very good at BYU and has a ton of talent, but will that talent translate to the NFL against NFL defenses? That is yet to be determined.

The Jets may have shocked a lot of people when they decided to hold onto the second overall pick even with the potential trade packages they could have gotten to gain even more first round picks over the next couple of seasons. Also, building around Darnold was a very formidable option with a new offensive system being Brough over by LaFleur. But it appears the Jets see something in Wilson that shouts superstar, and they are not willing to pass up on this kid.

The Jets also hold the 23rd overall pick in the draft, their second night one pick of 2021. This pick is very much more in question, as it is undetermined whether they will fit a need at a spot like Running Back or Defensive End, or they will draft the best player available. Joe Douglas’s mantra appears to be the latter, so Jets see just how he sticks to that. With all the first and second round picks he has this year and not, he must hit on a great percentage of picks in order to turn this franchise around. Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas appear to be sticking around for the long haul. Will the two make history here in New York? Let’s see!

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

Justin Fields, Mac Jones, & Armchair Analysis

Author: Matt Iberger

Editor: Fran Attie

It’s finally that time of the year again. When all the football junkies who have been surviving off past season’s highlights, letting their minds race with scenarios of all that could have turned out differently (Tampa Bay fans not included), are about to get some rest: the NFL Draft is upon us!

With less than 48 hours to go until the Jacksonville Jaguars are on the clock, sportswriters, NFL insiders, and even casual fans are making mock drafts faster than we can count. At the end of the day, however, that is all they are; mock drafts—mostly educated guesses on what we expect teams to do, away for a lot of fans to do their own armchair analysis. This is what I want to really focus on since most people seem to miss this point. A majority of people have no idea what NFL teams are thinking behind the scenes, and after any clear “can’t miss prospects” (who aren’t even can’t miss sometimes), it is really hard to say who goes where. The NFL Throwbacks Youtube channel does a great job of highlighting this in their “Hit, Miss or Meh” playlist, where they rate draft picks years after they have been drafted to see if they lived up to expectations. Looking at the 2017 NFL draft video and hearing some of the names makes you cringe, even more so when at the time the pick looked incredibly solid. There were a lot of “mehs” and “misses” in the first round (notable mentions: Solomon Thomas, OJ Howard, Evan Engram, Mitchell Trubisky), which just show how much of a guessing game the first round can be.

So, why do I bring this up? Simply put, despite all the evidence showing this, we still have a lot of people who fail to realize it. “Why did your mock put x players on y team? That’s so stupid!”. Well, to be quite frank, a lot of NFL teams are stupid (which is why all 32 are not equally competitive every year) and all have their own big boards with their own opinions on prospects. It is why you will sometimes see prospects skid or be drafted higher than usual since these NFL executives and scouts see a lot more than we do on what each player is really like. Every draft we have some sort of pot-stirring debate from the draft. Daniel Jones being drafted over Dwayne Haskins (or even at 6 in general) comes to mind, the Josh Allen bust or star debate, or the more recent Tua vs Justin Herbet debate on who the Dolphins should take at quarterback. The thing is, in the moment, these were all reasonable debates, and some of these still are being debated.

This year, it is Mac Jones versus Justin Fields going 3rd overall to San Francisco (or to a lesser extent, Zach Wilson versus Justin Fields for the Jets). Now, a player like Mac Jones who was projected second or less before the season, to mid/late first round during the season, to now top 3 seems like a crazy response to his present success. While fans each have their own particular order on the top 5 quarterbacks of this draft and reasonable film or stats to back it up, what can’t be debated is how little we know about how that will translate into the NFL. This isn’t just quarterbacks though, and I can make this same argument for the Devonta Smith vs Ja’Marr Chase crowd, or even the surge in Kyle Pitts hype in recent weeks. For any player there is a lot that goes into how successful they are and a mock putting a guy you think will be a bust at a higher spot than you like does not mean the world is ending. I am not even a Mac Jones truther myself and am pretty skeptical and agree that 3rd overall would seem fairly high, but the draft community is losing their mind as if there is no chance a Fields, Wilson, or even Lawrence could bust as well. I am not saying to quit the criticism of Mac Jones or any other prospect, but to say we know he’s going to bust seems to be jumping the gun. This could be Mitchell Trubisky all over again, or it could be Justin Herbert/Josh Allen where many people questioned them straight out and they made up for it.

The draft is a crapshoot, and it’s time we hop out of our armchairs and just enjoy making mocks and speculating for the sake of speculating. Sit back and enjoy the ride.

Worst NFL Free Agent Signings

Author: Jack Casabonne

Editor: Brian Symons

Free agency is always a welcome time, where fans and executives alike believe that their teams are getting better. With all the money spent on free agents, how could that not be true? Well, it all comes down to what decisions a front office makes in regards to the players they sign, their role on the team and the contracts handed out. So far through the 2021 NFL free agency cycle, I found 3 signings that I think are absolute liabilities for teams based upon fit, scheme, upside, and contractual details.

Chicago Bears sign Andy Dalton to 1 year $10 million contract

Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace are both on the hot seat going into the 2021 season, and their solution was to make a change at the quarterback position. Instead of trying to make a blockbuster trade for Russell Wilson, move up in the draft to take one of the draft-eligible quarterbacks, or taking a flyer on a young player like Sam Darnold or Josh Rosen, they decided to sign….. Andy Dalton. To be completely honest, this move just makes no sense. Dalton is not much of an upgrade over Nick Foles. He’s not a player that is going to move the needle at all for this team. Taking over for an injured Dak Prescott, Dalton had a very mediocre 2020 season in Dallas. Dalton finished 30th in DVOA, and had a passer rating of 87.3. For a team that lost two crucial defensive starters in Kyle Fuller and Akiem Hicks, the $10 million could have been spent in a much better place than a minuscule upgrade over Nick Foles.

Minnesota Vikings sign Patrick Peterson to 1 year $10 million contract

Another NFC North team here with a poor free agent signing. Make no mistake about it, Peterson will retire as one of the most decorated defensive backs of the 2010s. However, he’s not the same player he was when he was selected as a 3-time All-Pro. Turning 31 in July, Peterson has obviously lost a step in the past couple of seasons. 2019 was the first season Peterson wasn’t selected as a Pro Bowler, and also the first season he allowed an opponent passer rating over 100 in his career. He followed up this sub-par year with a 2020 season that might have been even worse. In 2020, Peterson led the league in penalties for a defensive back with 10. Additionally, he allowed 5 touchdowns and an opponent passer rating of 100.8 While Peterson has had an incredible career, he’s now well past his prime, which makes this $10 million investment seem careless by the Vikings’ front office

Las Vegas Raiders sign Kenyan Drake to 2 year $11 million contract

I’m a firm believer that running backs have little value in today’s NFL. A running back’s production is based upon so much more than just their talent. It’s based upon the ability of the offensive line, the offensive scheme, a quarterback’s ability, and playcalling. Not only does the former Arizona Cardinal play a position that has become increasingly devalued due to the higher frequency of passing, but the Raiders also spent a 2019 first-round pick at the position. Josh Jacobs has been a solid player for Jon Gruden’s squad, rushing for over 1,000 yards in his two seasons. Why spend significant money, with Drake’s contract containing incentives that can raise the price to $14.5 million, on a backup to Josh Jacobs? The contract puts Drake in the top-14 for highest-paid running backs in the NFL. Additionally, Drake has yet to have a 1,000 yard rushing season throughout 5 years. With significant holes on the defensive side of the ball, the Raiders are basically throwing away money with this signing.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE