A Crucial Offseason for the Jets

Author: Zachary Patlin

Editor: Brian Symons

The Jets have been mentioned all offseason in trade rumors swirling around Deshaun Watson with their heavy draft capital and need for a franchise QB. This, however, seems bleak at this point in the offseason due to the Texans doing everything in their power to keep their young QB1. So what are the alternatives knowing that Deshaun probably is not being traded this offseason, let along to the Jets?

The Jets own the second pick in the 2021 NFL draft, with a variety of options with that pick. They also hold a later first round pick that can be used to take an impact player outside of the QB position such as Najee Harris or Travis Etienne. With the second pick the Jets can take QB Zach Wilson out of BYU, QB Justin Fields out of Ohio State, Penei Sewell out of Oregon, or multiple other players that can impact the team if they do decide to hold that pick.

If the Jets decide to take the route of drafting a non QB with that second overall pick, it most likely means that they are preparing to build around Darnold for at least the next two seasons under new coaching regime led by Robert Saleh. The Jets could also take the route of taking the QB with the two pick and trading Darnold to a team like the Steelers or the Colts for a late first round pick or early second round pick to continue to build its draft capital and start fresh.

Any way that the Jets decide to go with the pick and their QB situation this offseason will be vital for the teams future and will be a huge part of the way Joe Douglas will be evaluated as the GM of the Jets. They cannot afford to make another bad decision with an extremely valuable draft pick and a ton of draft capital over the next two years. Douglas’s philosophy has always been to build through the draft, so let’s see if he can really do that.

Outside of the draft free agency looms large for the club as they look to fully rebuild both their Offensive line and their Defensive line. With the most cap space in all of football heading into the offseason, look for Joe Douglas to be competitive in free agency to build this team up the way they project to play moving forward. Although the Jets may not be good next year, this offseason is crucial for the teams success in the near future and many jobs are on the line as a result of the importance of the offseason.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

Jets Need to Trade for Deshaun Watson

Author: Patrick Sullivan

Editor: Aaron Mesco

For the past 4 seasons, Deshaun Watson has had his ups and downs with the Texans organization. However, there have been reports for the last month stating that he wants to be traded. This has led to a lot of speculation about where Watson will land in with a potential trade. As of now, the Texans are refusing to listen to any calls for a trade involving Watson, but that could change if Watson is a no-show to camp. There have been many players in the past that have refused to play for their team in hopes of a new deal or a trade. Usually franchise quarterbacks are not ever in these situations. However, the Texans have irritated Watson so much to the point where, for the first time in recent memory, a QB of this skill level is potentially on the market. Deshaun Watson, at his best, is a top five QB in the league, which is why this story is so intriguing.

The teams most in the running for Watson according to reports are the Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers, San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins, and the New York Jets. All of these teams could use a QB and have the ammo to make a large enough offer to get Watson. However, the New York Jets are the team with the most available assets to acquire Watson, which makes them the best suitor for a blockbuster trade. The Jets have the number 2 and 23 picks this year, along with the 34, and not to mention another two first rounders in 2022. The only concern for the Jets would be if Watson would use his trade clause to avoid going to New York, but it has been reported he is willing to play for the Jets.

With all this being said, the New York Jets would be missing out on a franchise-altering opportunity if they were to not pursue a trade for Deshaun Watson. There are three main reasons as to why the Jets should pursue this trade. Firstly, the Jets have been very bad for the past ten years, the main reason being they haven’t had a franchise QB. Some may argue the Jets have had good quarterbacks in the past, but the only true franchise QB the Jets have ever had was Joe Namath back in the 1960s. Trading for Watson would give the Jets their first franchise QB in almost 52 years. Secondly, the Jets of course can draft a QB with the second overall pick. However, the Jets have not had the best track record with drafting quarterbacks which makes drafting a QB much riskier than trading for a proven talent in Watson. Lastly, the Jets current QB, Sam Darnold, is only 23 and still has a lot of room to grow. But, keeping him instead of trading for Watson would not give the Jets the best chance at success. Essentially, Watson is completely worth the draft capital the Jets would have to give up given their awful QB track record and because their next best options (drafting a QB or Sam Darnold) are much less talented than Watson as of right now.

A New York Jets team with Deshaun Watson at QB and Robert Saleh at head coach would give Jets fans hope that they so desperately need. This kind of opportunity almost never happens in the NFL, and this is the exact reason it is smart to stockpile draft capital. A Jets team with Watson at QB would be a monumental moment for the New York Jets franchise and would give them the best opportunity to become a powerhouse team in the NFL.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

The New York Jets Should Stick with Sam Darnold

Author: Patrick Sullivan

As of today, December 27, 2020, the New York Jets have miraculously won two consecutive games to end up 2-13 on the season. The Jets will now officially have the number two pick in the 2021 NFL Draft as the Trevor Lawrence dream has come to an end. As some fans wither away in despair and scream out loud “It’s the Same Old Jets”, I am optimistic for the future of this franchise. My optimism is solely based off the Jets GM Joe Douglas.

Thus far, Douglas has shown a lot of promise as GM of this franchise as his rookies are seemingly panning out, the Jamal Adams trade is looking smarter as the season progresses, and the fact that he saved a lot of cap space for this upcoming off season. Douglas will have all of this cap space and a haul of draft picks to attempt to save this pitiful franchise that I’ve sadly been a fan of for 19 years. However, in the end, this next head coaching hire will decide his fate and the fate of the near future of the Jets. Even if he uses the cap space and draft capital to acquire great players, if the coaching staff is awful, there’s no hope for the success the Jets fans have been craving for the past 10 years.

Even with all the hope Douglas provides, his biggest decision outside of hiring a head coach is what to do at number 2 in the draft. Does he draft the next best quarterback after Lawrence? Should he trade back for even more picks or would it be better to pick the best overall player that is not a QB? The latter two options will have to involve Sam Darnold at QB. If the Jets don’t go with a QB at number two overall, Douglas is basically putting his faith in Darnold to make a giant turnaround in his career. Personally, I believe that since the Jets have won themselves out of Trevor Lawrence, Sam Darnold is the next best option. But many are going to say but why? What has Sam Darnold done to deserve this?

Let’s take a trip down memory lane, the last four weeks of the 2018 season with Todd Bowles as head coach and Jeremy Bates as offensive coordinator, Sam Darnold looked like he was most definitely the quarterback of the future for the New York Jets. Then, Adam Gase was hired as head coach in January 2019 and ever since that moment, Sam Darnold has regressed. I truly believe with a competent head coach, Sam Darnold can return to playing competently at the Quarterback position. The Adam Gase effect is real, and it has ruined the New York Jets, especially Sam Darnold.

You may ask, what in the world is the Adam Gase effect? The Adam Gase effect can be defined as follows: when players are coached by Adam Gase, they preform underwhelmingly or horribly, but when Adam Gase is removed from their playing career, these players begin to play great football. Let’s take a look at the only quarterback example of the Adam Gase Effect, Ryan Tannehill. Even though we have to take into account that Tannehill was hurt off and on with Adam Gase as him head coach, when he did play, he played mediocre to badly. Meanwhile, once he left to go to the Titans, he has become arguably a top 5 quarterback in the NFL. Could just be a coincidence but considering how Adam Gase led offenses consistently are ranked last in the league in every category, I’m willing to say he played badly due to Gase being his head coach.

There’s no telling that Sam Darnold will play better under a new head coach, but he could be underperforming due to the awful offensive scheme that Adam Gase uses. Whether Sam Darnold is yet another victim of the Adam Gase effect or he just isn’t a good quarterback is yet to be known, but after hiring arguably the worst Head Coach of all time, the Jets owe Sam Darnold one last shot before dumping him.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE!