Gang Green Nation
It feels like we eventually reach this point in every Jets season. Sometimes it happens late in the year. Sometimes it happens early. Usually it doesn’t happen after only five games, but here we are.
The Jets are for all intents and purposes out of the Playoff race. Yes, they will remain mathematically alive for a while, but we know how this story ends. The Jets are not going to mount a run to get back into postseason contention.
That reality once again brings the great tanking debate to the forefront. Should we be rooting for the team to make progress in a lost season with wins or for losses to improve the team’s Draft position?
I can’t tell you how to be a fan. That’s a personal decision for you to make.
I will say that the benefits of tanking are probably overstated.
The number one reason fans want to see their team lose for Draft position is in hopes of landing a franchise quarterback who will change everything.
There’s one problem with that. There isn’t really a lot in the current NFL suggesting a top pick is the way to land such a quarterback.
Let’s take a look at QBR ratings through Week 5.
Here are the top ten at the moment.
The top two quarterbacks through the first five weeks are Jones and Darnold. Both were free agent signings this offseason on relatively modest contracts (at least by starting quarterback standards). Jones and Darnold were former first round picks who failed on their respective original teams and are having success in new situations. The same could be said of Mac Jones. Baker Mayfield was also originally acquired by his current team as a low cost free agent after failing in multiple spots as a high Draft pick, (although he had more early flashes than the other three).
Prescott was a fourth round pick.
Goff and Stafford are both former number one overall picks who were traded for each other four years ago. Stafford had a lot of success with his initial team, but couldn’t win a Super Bowl until he went to a team with a better infrastructure. Goff was up and down with his initial team and improved his performance as he gained experience and the Lions built the infrastructure around him that they never built around Stafford.
Mahomes, Jackson, and Allen were all first round picks. None, however was selected at the top of his Draft class.
It is now a famous part of Jets lore that the team passed on Mahomes in 2017 to select safety Jamal Adams in the NFL Draft. The Jets weren’t the only team to miss out on Mahomes, though. He went tenth overall and was the second quarterback chosen in his class. Almost one-third of the league passed on...
