Jets must target Nathan Peterman in 2017 NFL Draft

There’s a quarterback prospect the many fans of the New York Jets are overlooking in the 2017 NFL Draft, and they need to target him.

His name is Nathan Peterman, and he could eventually become the best quarterback from the 2017 NFL Draft class.  While he doesn’t check all of the boxes in Bill Parcells’ four rules for drafting a quarterback, very few quarterbacks will anytime soon, because most good quarterbacks will leave school early.  The New York Jets need to keep drafting quarterbacks until they finally find one worthy of leading this franchise for years to come.

With that being said, he is a senior and graduated from Pittsburgh, which is a plus.  When evaluating talent, we should also evaluate the key pieces around him and to see if he can flourish. According to ESPN’s Rich Cimini, Eric Decker could be next on the cut list.  Although, he would have to pass a physical first, it’s not looking good for him.

So that would leave the Jets with Charone Peake, Jalin Marshall (who will be suspended the first four games this season), Devin Smith, and Quincy Enunwa.  That’s a lot of speed on the field for the Jets.

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When reading over his NFL.com profile, Peterman has a lot of good pluses on his side:

• He has good anticipation
• He can throw receivers open
• Has good arm strength on the intermediate throws
• Can make pro reads

There is one strength that stands out, and it’s the final one that NFL.com mentions, deep ball accuracy.  It’s one thing to be able to throw deep, and it’s another to be able to hit the receiver.

According to NFL.com:

"Excellent deep ball accuracy completing 46.2 percent of his deep throws."

If you can’t accurately hit receivers, safeties and corners can easily sit on short and intermediate throws.  That’s why Ryan Fitzpatrick was unsuccessful in year two with the Jets.

In addition to being able to make the reads and hit the intermediate throws, having the deep ball threat is key.  It opens so much more of the offense, and it keeps the defense honest.

Next: Top 3 potential trade down scenarios on draft day for the Jets

Walter Football has Peterman as their seventh best quarterback, and NFL.com has Mitchell Trubisky, Deshaun Watson, Patrick Mahomes, and DeShone Kizer ahead of Peterman.  The Jets should be patient and wait for Peterman if they want their quarterback of the future.