Quarterback of the future is on roster now for the Jets

The future of the New York Jets at quarterback is already on the roster.

The New York Jets did the right thing in the 2017 NFL Draft. They didn’t draft Mitchell Trubisky, Deshaun Watson, DeShone Kizer, or any quarterback for that matter.

Instead of shutting the door on their young quarterbacks, they did the right thing. They gave them some talent to work with.

In 2013, the team drafted Geno Smith, and he was destined to fail right from the beginning. That year, Smith’s top three receivers were Jeremy Kerley (72 targets, 43 receptions), Bilal Powell (57 targets, 36 receptions), and David Nelson (60 targets, 36 receptions).

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In 2014, Kerley was again among the teams top receivers sandwiched in between No. 1 receiver Eric Decker (115 targets, 74 receptions; and someone who’s more of a complimentary receiver) and Jace Amaro (53 targets, 38 receptions). That’s not exactly an award-winning group of talented receiving options.

Fortunately for quarterbacks Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg, the Jets brass has surrounded them with quality talent at receiver.

Furthermore, it’s way too early to give up on these young quarterbacks, anyway. They have combined for just 133 pass attempts and four starts.

Hackenberg hasn’t even been able to get any regular season experience since he was still being developing in his rookie season. There just hasn’t been enough game action to judge any of these young quarterbacks the Jets currently have on the roster. In addition to that, the team around them didn’t suit their skills.

You can take advantage of Petty’s arm now with two deep threats.  Additionally, the receiver can run after the catch after he gets it to them quickly. Hackenberg showed he can be accurate in the pocket early in his college career, and he has good arm strength as well. For him, it’s all upstairs, and he has to show whether or not the accuracy issues he showed late at Penn State were a function of a bad offensive line, or if the hits he took did permanent psychological damage.

For Hackenberg, it’s all upstairs, and he has to show whether or not the accuracy issues he showed late at Penn State were a function of a bad offensive line, or if the hits he took did permanent psychological damage. Either way, it’s not the time to give up on either of them. The future is now for the Jets, and they have their quarterback. It will either be Petty or Hackenberg but regardless, they now have the right supporting talent around them to progress the right way.

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One should emerge as the clear-cut option for the future as all signs point to Petty being ready to accept such a role due to the experience he’s already earned over the past few years. Clearly, he has an advantage over the inexperienced and still developing Hackenberg heading into training camp.