At some point in the relatively near future—whenever Aaron Rodgers gets bored with football and the tens of millions of dollars that come with it—the Jets are going to need a new quarterback.
The most efficient way to get one is by drafting and developing him while he’s on a rookie contract. Unfortunately, Gang Green’s history with that route has been disgraceful.
Zach Wilson officially became the fourth consecutive quarterback the Jets drafted within the first two rounds to not receive a second contract when he was dealt to Denver on Monday. All New York received was a 53-slot swap up from Round 7 into Round 6 in this week’s NFL Draft plus a reported savings of approximately $2.75 million in 2024 salary cap space. That’s the portion of Wilson’s $5.45 million guaranteed compensation the Broncos will be paying, saddling New York with an $8.43 million dead money cap hit, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini.
So ends the Wilson ordeal, which threatened to create a stir if a trade could not be consummated. The Jets, who granted Wilson permission to seek out potential trade partners after last season, watched in horror as many of his quarterback colleagues selected after him in the 2021 NFL Draft were dealt around the league. Jets owner Woody Johnson seemed adamant that the team would not cut Wilson outright, leaving the uncomfortable possibility that he could still be hanging around One Jets Drive come July training camp.
That would have been untenable, for Wilson’s time in New York clearly had expired. Given his No. 2 overall Draft status, he was the worst of the four whiffs since Mark Sanchez earned an extension in 2012. Wilson, like Sam Darnold (No. 3 overall, 2018) before him, failed miserably in learning how to play the position at the NFL level, putting up some of the worst numbers of any QB ever over their first three seasons. He was inaccurate, made poor decisions that resulted in interceptions, and took an unacceptable number of unnecessary sacks. To Jets fans, it seemed like he never learned a damned thing.
But maybe next time the Jets use a high pick on a QB, that player will have the appropriate support staff in place so that he’ll have a better chance at success. Considering Rodgers is 40 and coming off Achilles surgery, that next time might come sooner than they think.
While Wilson deserves a good chunk of the blame for his career false start, this idea posed by some in the media that the Jets were innocent bystanders in their prized asset’s disassembling is nonsense. Both Wilson and Darnold were hamstrung by awful coaching staffs for developing a young quarterback, never mind atrocious offensive lines and too few skill position weapons at their disposal. I’m not saying a future top college QB would rather hold out than play for a franchise with such an ignominious record of development, but, barring a shift in organizational philosophy, you could forgive him if he might be apprehensive.
Wilson, who was dubbed by some as the “Mormon Mahomes” while in college at BYU, had no chance to live up to that billing under the regime of defensive-minded Head Coach Robert Saleh, whereas Kansas City’s Pat Mahomes has been gifted the brilliant tutelage from Andy Reid. With Saleh, a Jets offensive possession is deemed a success any time it ends in a kick. Enough said.
Sometimes, a strong Offensive Coordinator can step up for head coaches with orientations on the other side of the ball to provide the nurturing a young quarterback needs. See: Josh Allen and Brian Daboll in Buffalo and C.J. Stroud and Bobby Slowik in Houston.
Who’s been Darnold’s and Wilson’s OCs? Jeremy Bates, Dowell Loggains (really HC Adam Gase, who wasn’t exactly the ideal communicator for a developing QB like Darnold), Mike LaFleur, and Nathaniel Hackett. Only Hackett is still calling plays in the NFL, and that’s only because he’s Rodgers’ pal. LaFleur landed with the Rams, where the offense is Sean McVay’s baby. The others are out of the league.
I’m not certain that Denver HC Sean Payton, a very good offensive schemer, can make Wilson suddenly morph into the player the Jets envisioned. It’s not like Darnold has flourished after leaving New York, including in his one start last season for Super Bowl-bound San Francisco and HC Mike Shanahan. Both players might be irreparably damaged from their Jets daze—or need a half decade roaming around the woods like Geno Smith did before resurrecting his career in Seattle in 2022.
However, I’ll always wonder what the trajectory of Darnold’s and Wilson’s growth would have been if they each started out with coaches whose offensive principles were borne from this century.
There were many mistakes made by many people in Zach’s Jet career.
To me, the first one made was the foundation for a very wobbly house of cards.
JD with over 20 years of some front office experience, when he was interviewing Saleh, should have insisted on Saleh bringing in a veteran OC who had very good reputation in NFL circles. Bringing in, his best friends brother, was definitely not the right move.
Then the whole clusterf**k started. It was a dead issue before it started.
If people recall, Mr Coffee MacCagnan insisted when he attempted to hire Matt Rhule that the Jets had a say who would be Darnold’s OC. Thankfully Rhule said good bye.
Coffee picking an OC, one would deem that disastrous but he did have the right idea.
Hiring Gase the final straw in his Jet career