I think I heard the Jets higher ups and coaches all evaluated the QBs separately a few months ago, and they all pretty much came to a consensus on one guy at the top besides Lawrence. I would assume that to be Wilson, and if that’s the case I’m on board. I respect the guys we have in there now, so if they all basically think Wilson is the best player at 2 then go for it. I personally like Fields a little more, but Wilson does have special qualities. My concerns were always more durability related (injury history and doesn’t look like he has the build to take hits repeatedly).
There are risks and then there are major risks. There are at least 3 QB's less risky than Zach Wilson in the draft this year. If I was the Jets I'd take one of the two less risky options available on the #2 if I had to take a QB at that slot. However the best move is still finding a trade down and then maybe taking one of them later in the 1st after the trade down. Wilson has one season of play suggesting that he might be an NFL QB and it happened during a pandemic. On top of that he's had problems with both shoulders already and he still hasn't had the surgery he needs on the torn labrum in his left non-throwing shoulder. He has a relatively slight frame for an NFL QB. There are a lot of glaring red flags in play and those should make him ineligible for the #2 pick overall - which is a pick that a smart team uses on a player that is likely to produce great value and has minimal bust potential. The #2 pick is not for boom or bust players. There are players in every draft class that have the boom factor with a much lower bust factor than Wilson presents. Finally, I really don't want the Jets to draft a guy who was initially tagged as "The Mormon Manziel". We have been way too star-crossed as a team to think that we're somehow going to make this pick and it is all going to work out. It's more likely to be SOJ... Even if Wilson works out we're going to be in "like an egg back there" territory with him.
Read below folks. What does this tell you? https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/04/08/inside-story-of-why-jets-traded-darnold-new-qb-search That much was confirmed during the first phase of Saleh and Douglas’s first offseason together, a thorough roster review by the staffs of each guy. From there, the Jets went in on Saleh’s staff presenting profile tapes to teach the personnel staff what they were looking for at every position and, after that, Douglas accelerated the team’s quarterback evaluation process—asking that Saleh, LaFleur, pass-game specialist Greg Knapp and QBs coach Rob Calabrese watch the top five quarterbacks independently. Douglas learned in having been around three young first-round quarterbacks before (Kyle Boller and Joe Flacco in Baltimore, and Carson Wentz in Philly), and having seen the draft run-up for two (Boller and Flacco), the importance of building consensus. So he thought that it was important that the Jets reach a pure consensus, with everyone forming and then presenting their own opinions, before they’d talk through the quarterbacks as a group. “Our process leading up to taking Joe was awesome,” Douglas said. “The level of buy-in that was created by Cam [Cameron] and Hue [Jackson], their passion throughout the process of evaluating quarterbacks, and back then it was Matt Ryan and Joe and [Chad] Henne and [Brian] Brohm, they were all-in on that process, and we were able to create a consensus on who were the top three or four guys in that draft class. So once the pick was made, everybody was all-in.” And the result of the early part of this process, in getting through the tape? “It was a clear-cut top two quarterbacks for us,” Douglas says. “And there was a consensus. At that point, we felt good about our options, like, O.K., we have two starting quarterbacks. Whether it’s Sam, the rookie or both, we feel really good about this.”
Now, can everybody please make peace with the decision next Thursday? This isn’t only a Joe D decision. Everyone whose job will be on the line picked the same QB as their choice independent from each other. I want Fields but will be happy with whoever the Jets pick.
In 2018. Darnold was the safest easy pick and Josh Allen was the riskiest option with so much red flags and question mark. You never draft a QB with the assumption that he is safe. You draft the QB that can make you the best team now and in the future. Some of the best talent evaluator believe Zach Wilson can be that guy and I believe it too.
Going to address the bold points here. 1. I think this greatly underestimates how early the QB's are going to be taken in the draft. Who will be left for us, realistically, if we trade down? It's safe to say Lawrence, Wilson and one of either Fields/Jones will be gone once the top 5 picks are in. Schefter and others are saying they expect 4 QB's to be gone by the 5th pick. Is Mond or Lance a bit later really less risky than Wilson at #2? I think given how important QB is you should just pick which one you think is the best and not be happy with sloppy 4th's or 5th's. 2. Correct, but QB is quantifiably many multiples more important than any other position. WAR indicates that a QB is literally about 3-4X as important to wins and losses as any other position. A good QB is worth a lot more than a fantastic guard, and guards are surprisingly pretty important. Here's a look at how important each position typically is to wins and losses: Position Top-10 WAR Average: QB 2.5134 WR 0.701 S 0.6039 CB 0.5172 TE 0.3426 IOL 0.3212 OT 0.2968 ED 0.2783 LB 0.2762 RB 0.2166 DI 0.1868 3. I have as little faith in the Jets as anyone, I honestly almost hate them more than I like them at this point. Having said that, this will be the first QB other than Morgan that has been taken by our new GM and scouts - a group of people who are widely considered more competent than the last few bozos we had at those spots. I'm a bit of a blind optimist in everything but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. I'm not going to crown them yet, but I'm willing to accept the consensus opinion that they're pretty competent until they give me a major reason not to.
I disagree on your risk take in general. Sure you need to weigh risk in, but I want the best possible prospect upside-wise within reason if we’re taking a QB at 2 overall. The way the league is set up, you really need a legit franchise QB, or damn near close to it to win year after year. What you don’t want is a solid-decent QB that you have to overpay to keep after his rookie deal. I’d rather have an outright bust where you don’t feel bad moving on from, then a safe, average QB which would take a miracle to win it all with anyway. We’re going to be competing with atleast Mahomes and Josh Allen for the next decade in the AFC, not to mention other guys like Lamar Jackson and Justin Herbert, among others. Someone like Mac Jones (the safe choice) inspires zero confidence against those guys. Atleast Fields, Wilson, or even Lance have the potential to be on par with them, even if their bust potential is higher.
I'm at peace, I feel good knowing the whole brass is completely confident as a group in the selection...whoever it is
I'm not sure which three you are referring to? I would say Lawrence (out of reach at #1) and Jones are less risky. Not sure who the others you have in mind are, unless by "lower risk" you mean historically facing more NFL-style defenses, not physical traits.
Wilson had surgery to repair a torn labrum and a 30% rotator cuff tear in his right shoulder in the 2019 off-season. He had surgery on his right hand during the season and missed 6 weeks. He has a torn labrum in his left shoulder that will need surgery at some point and has been living with it since high school. I don't want another injury case at QB for the Jets. I appreciated Chad Pennington a lot when he was the QB but the injuries did him and us in. I don't want to go through that again particularly given how much trouble Sam Darnold had putting in full seasons for the Jets. There are other guys out there who do not look like they need a traveling clinic to keep them on the field. I'd much rather take one of them than have us deal with a guy who is effectively pre-broken.
I’d be shocked if it’s not Wilson but can completely get behind Fields as I see them as 2a/2b in my QB rankings Lawrence Wilson Fields Mac Lance Trask Mills Mond
Wilson did not tear his rotator cuff. He tore his labrum only which is DRASTICALLY different than a torn rotator cuff paired with a torn labrum. Brees tore his labrum and rotator cuff.
I'll be perfectly fine as long as the Jets draft an elite passer with the 2 pick and build a consistent contender with the rest. Anything less is a failure.
Setting a goal to reach a consensus is not a good thing. Its just going to make everyone get on board with who they think/know the boss wants. A good leader lets everyone provide their opinions and takes inventory of everything before making the final call In baseball, the analytics departments often disagree strongly with the scouts. The GM weighs everything and makes the call. The GM never sets a goal to find the consensus
I don’t know what it really tells me but I am getting tired of the QB debate. One thing is for certain, we have a QB at the 2nd pick, but more importantly where do we go with the rest of the picks? Hopefully we will land most of them being impact players to help out offensively and defensively
