It has been several decades since the New York Jets had a true franchise quarterback. You have to go back all the way to the 1960’s and 70’s when the Jets had Joe Namath, the only quarterback to lead them to a Championship when he beat the heavily favored Colts in Super Bowl 3.
Over the last several seasons the Jets have tried to draft their next great quarterback with very little success. In 2016 they took Christian Hackenberg in the second round and he never even appeared in a game with the franchise. Two years later in 2018, New York selected with the third overall pick Sam Darnold and after three disappointing seasons where he compiled a 13-25 record, he was traded to Carolina.
At the 2021 NFL Draft, the Jets took another crack at a quarterback drafting Zach Wilson with the second overall pick and once again the results have been poor. In his first two seasons, Wilson has a completion percentage of 55.2 and a passer rating of 70.9, both well below league average.
With several big name quarterbacks on the market this off-season, New York needs to do everything in their power to land one and they should go after 2019 unanimous NFL regular season M.V.P. Lamar Jackson. Jackson and the Ravens are struggling to get a deal done and at just 26 years old, Lamar is still in his prime and should have several productive seasons ahead of him.
Football Outsiders provided one bold move for every NFL franchise this offseason, and for the New York Jets, the feeling is that they need to “do whatever it takes to land Lamar Jackson.”
Via ESPN:
If the Jets are going to take a swing, they should swing for the fences. Do whatever it takes to land Jackson . It’s rare enough for a former MVP to come available. When one does, it’s usually late in the career as an attempt for a second chapter. But Jackson is 26 years old. He is three seasons removed from a unanimous MVP campaign. Jackson is one of the league’s best mobile quarterbacks, and he has an elite arm that is rarely talked about because of Baltimore’s inability to supply him with receiving talent (despite the team’s best attempts). There are few combinations of picks and players that outweigh the potential value of Jackson in his prime.
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This past season, the Jets had one of the best defenses in the league, led by NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner. They also had the Offensive Rookie of the Year in Wide Receiver Garrett Wilson and rookie running back Breece Hall was having a breakout year before going down with a knee injury in week seven.
All the pieces seem to be in place in order for New York to make a run at a Championship this upcoming season. Lamar Jackson could be the final missing piece of the puzzle that finally puts the Jets over the top.
