Jets dropped the ball not drafting a quarterback

By K. Jared Wright | Sep 1, 2017

BALTIMORE, MD - AUGUST 26: Quarterback Nathan Peterman #2 of the Buffalo Bills looks to pass against the Baltimore Ravens in the first half during a preseason game at M&T Bank Stadium on August 26, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

As the New York Jets get ready for the season ahead, they dropped the ball by not drafting another quarterback this year.

In case you missed it, allow me to update you on what has been going on since the last time you presumably checked in. The New York Jets need a franchise quarterback. In their decade’s long quest to end this, they dropped the ball by not drafting a quarterback somewhere during the 2017 NFL Draft.

In recent memory (and arguably since Joe Namath), the Jets have attempted to remedy this solution with a myriad of names to start under center. Since 1999, the Jets are tied with the Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers with 11 quarterbacks drafted during that time period. Unlike the two teams they share that bond with, however, the Jets have not reached the Super Bowl in that time period.

As their quest to find a franchise quarterback continues, they are going into the 2017 regular season with Josh McCown, Christian Hackenberg, and Bryce Petty atop the depth chart. If this preseason has made something fairly evident, it shows that the Jets should have examined the crop of quarterbacks in an attempt to find a solution.

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This most recent quarterback class was certainly not the strongest, and in no way should it be inferred that I feel they should have gone all in on someone like Mitchell Trubisky, Patrick Mahomes, or Deshaun Watson.

They could have also brought in a day 3 pick such as Nathan Peterman (5^th round), Brad Kaaya (6^th round) or Mr. Irrelevant himself Chad Kelly (7^th round). Now in no way am I anointing anyone of these names as a potential savior of the Jets that they have missed out on, but it certainly does not hurt to bring someone into camp in order to see what they have, and it does not preclude you from taking a quarterback from a loaded 2018 class next offseason.

As the Jets did not draft any quarterbacks, Maccagnan and co. have taken the bubble wrap off of Hackenberg, who certainly has not done himself any favors to show he deserves to be the starter of the future, especially not with two pick sixes on his resume this preseason. Unless something changes drastically, Jets fans will be counting down until they can see a Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, or Josh Allen come aboard to finally attempt to stop the bleeding of 40-plus seasons.