Excellent post! Only thing I would add is getting as high a pick as possible in every round is still a worthy goal - because we need a shit-ton of help virtually everywhere, giving yourself the best chance at getting their highest rated pass-rusher, WR, CB etc would be ideal...
Assuming the coaching staff can hold their end of the bargain up I'm not really sure how far away the Jets are from being solid contenders. If Mendoza came here and really was a Matt Ryan facsimile, a couple of their other high draft picks the next two years pan out and they sign a couple decent free agents to fill out the recipe I don't see why that wouldn't be adequate to do some damage. Coaching staff isn't exactly fully vetted yet though and this team obviously needs a quarterback about as bad as an NFL team can need one. A good QB has a way of making the coaches just a little bit smarter as well.
From what I've seen, the little that it is, I wouldn't insult either Matt Ryan or Goff by comparing them to Mendoza. NE is also run by a seasoned HC that was able to come up in the HC ranks by NOT being in the worst possible media market for a young new HC to be in. It's a world different learning how to ply your trade in a place like Tennessee vs. New York. Make no mistake, it's very real. I wouldn't compare Mike Vrable to Aaron Glenn other than they were both on defense when they played. The comparisons stop there. Final thought...I wouldn't even consider Mendoza in Maye's class either. Maye = Tier B+ while Mendoza = Tier C-
The only QB I would take in the top 10 is Dante Moore, but it's still 50/50 if he comes out. Then I take the Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq with the second 1st round pick.
Dante Moore terrifies me. If both Mendoza and Simpson are gone I’d trade back or take the best WR available. I’d rather take a shot on someone in the second or third round and if it doesn’t work out, punt to 2027 draft. Check out Joe Blewett’s film review of Moore. No idea how to link to a specific part of his timeline, it’s a few days back, but here’s one of the tweets for reference and hopefully it helps you get to the full thing: https://x.com/joerb31/status/1986509387754782784?s=46&t=eaLIxbRmBqelegocbpHIVQ This is a bad one but there’s plenty of good. Still… compared to Mendoza and Simpson I see a lot more “yikes” with Moore despite the ceiling probably being higher than the others.
What scares me about Simpson is that he's only a first year starter? Frankly I don't think that's near enough experience to take a chance on. Every time we choose one of these early risers, they bust! The kid needs more college time before hitting the pros. That leaves us Mendoza or '27.
His stat line looks a lot better vs. Oklahoma than he played. He had a second interception in the end zone that got called back. It was probably pass interference but if there wasn’t PI the ball still gets picked off by the robber safety. He also had like 70 yards to the tightend that Oklahoma decided to not cover all day and a couple balls to Garmie Bernard and Ryan Williams down the sidelines that are flutter balls that I think get picked in the NFL because they’re too weakly thrown.
I don’t like that he has one of the best players of all positions in the entire nation in Ryan Williams and he hardly looks his way sometimes
You know, this is one of the more recent knocks on the Ohio State QB's. At least, as far as I'm concerned. It's well documented that I know little to nothing about college ball these days but I do know a few things. One of those is Brian Hartline is a fantastic WR coach and the kids he's coaching at Ohio State will make ANY QB look good. So, until something changes, I'd rather be VERY wary of Ohio State QB's and, if they are up for draft debate, someone digs super deep into this kids.
Rushing desperately for a savior QB when we got a mediocre team is what the Jets do best. Only the browns do it better.
You know, I HOPE the Browns do what they do and take this Mendoza kid so I don't have to sweat Moogs being stupid and throwing away the future on a more than likely "never was." You know, at the end of the day, a guy like Mendoza needs to go to a team like the Vikings, 49'ers, Eagles... A team where they can come in, not be expected to do squat for 2 to 3 years and then strap on a solid 15 or 20 year career. These perennially shitty teams, Jets/Browns, always end up fully blowing these player's futures or, at the very least, derailing them for a solid 5 to 10. Teams like the Jets/Browns need only strive for the most polished and sure fire can't miss QB's they can find. Not projects. A note: I don't mean Mendoza, the kid specifically, I mean the type of QB/player.
Fields said his benching caught him by surprise how does it possibly catch him by surprise? Like honestly is this kid all there? Set aside the fact that he’s throwing for 45 yards a game, in 2025, when everyone is throwing for 300. Set that aside, it’s pretty hard to do but set it aside and the awful record as well. Even then, you have the owner of the team admitting he sucks. And yet he’s surprised to be benched? A true WTF moment in a season full of them
I hate to say it because he seems like a great kid but Fields might be an idiot. Or it’s all a confident front and he’s one of those guys that refuses to acknowledge any negative because it’s a sign of weakness or doubt. I’m sure gods got him, don’t worry.
In another thread I mentioned the possibility of keeping him on for the final year of his contract as an athlete. Morph him into a hybrid slot back or something. Well, based on this little nugget you can flush that sentiment. If he actually was surprised to be benched he'll never agree to a different position. Clearly he must have thought he was lighting it up!
I don’t know I think Zach Wilson was putting on a phony confident front at times but I think this is just straight delusion on Fields’ part
It seems more and more like Fields gave the Jets staff a lot of grief about wanting to be a pocket passer and not wanting to run. Shame on them for not benching him sooner. But maybe that’s also why he always made the wrong decision when running the read option, he simply didn’t give a shit about running the play the right away. https://x.com/RichJohnsonNFL/status/1995175698068377730?s=20 Dumb by Fields though. He’ll be on his way to his 4th franchise next year and that sort of role could save his career. On another note, I’m glad for the teams sake they didn’t implement this bullshit. Hill and that stupid package has been a stain on that Saints team for years. He ran the ball 10 times for 17 yards out of that package and threw the offense off all damn day against the Falcons last week. The last thing an offense needs is a gut run by a gadget player when they’re trying to establish a rhythm and identity.
