What position should the Jets first address in NFL Draft?

The New York Jets have a lot of holes to fix this upcoming offseason but at the 2018 NFL Draft, the position they should first address is a no-brainer.

With their first pick in the 2018 NFL draft, the New York Jets without question must select a quarterback. Most NFL Draft experts say this up and coming quarterback class is the best since the 1983 class, which featured Pro Football Hall of Famers John Elway, Jim Kelly, and Dan Marino.

It is vital that the Jets address the QB position first, rather than wait until the later rounds of this particular draft. Because in the same fashion other teams are in need at the quarterback position as well.

These quarterbacks have all the physical tools it takes to be successful in the NFL. Quarterback classes like this year’s do not come along too often, so this is really a no-brainer for the Jets. When it’s their turn to pick, without a doubt it will be one of these exceptionally gifted quarterbacks.

In many mock drafts, experts have an amazing total of six quarterbacks, who could be taking in the first round alone. In no particular order, those gunslingers are Sam Darnold of USC, UCLA’s Josh Rosen, Wyoming’s Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson of Louisville, Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph, and Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield.

It has been an agonizing forty-one years since the Jets have had a franchise quarterback. The first and only franchise quarterback in Jets history was Broadway Joe Namath, who helped guide the Green and White to their first and only Super Bowl Championship. Namath played eleven seasons with the Jets organization.

Besides Joe Willie, two other Quarterbacks, Ken O’Brien and Mark Sanchez had some good years but they weren’t considered as real franchise quarterbacks. I believe that to be considered as a franchise quarterback, the player would have had success in guiding their team to multiple playoff appearances.

Since 1966, the “AFL” days and until today, the Jets have selected the quarterback position for a surprising total of just three times with their first draft picks. This could indeed explain why the Jets organization has had trouble reaching the playoffs consistently. Which, unfortunately, has been just 14 times in the past 56 years. Mark Sanchez was the last Jets quarterback taken in the first round back in 2009.

Since Mike Maccagnan took over the Jets general manager position back in 2015, he’s strictly focused on defense. In both, the 2015 and 2016 draft, he selected two defensive positions with the teams’ first-round selections. He took DE Leonard Williams (2015) and LB Darron Lee (2016), respectively.

In his first draft, the former scout of the Washington Redskins did happen to draft a quarterback. Grabbing Bryce Petty in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. Macc again went ahead and drafted a QB last year as well. It was a draft pick that raised a lot of peoples eyebrows as he took Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg in the significant second round. Fans were astonished and in disbelief mainly because many experts didn’t have Hackenberg on their draft board. Thus far both quarterbacks have yet to make any significant impact.

Therefore, it is significantly crucial for the third year GM to select one of this year’s highly touted quarterbacks with his very first pick in the 2018 NFL Draft which will be held on April 26-28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington Texas.

I really feel that this is the draft Gang Green will land themselves a franchise, high caliber, and spectacular quarterback. Once they do, they will not have to worry about the position for at least another ten years.

The Jets pick which is currently a top-ten pick with one more week of games left to play might not get the guy they want. The top two quarterbacks of the six mentioned of Darnold of USC and Rosen from UCLA will surely not be available as they will be the top two overall picks.

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In the event the draft order stays the same, there could be another quarterback taken off the board by the time the Jets are on the clock if they end up with the No. 7 or No. 8 overall pick. The quarterback-needy Denver Broncos are sitting one spot (6th) ahead. We shall see if the man, who is known as “Magic Mike” does happen to make that trade turn into reality.

Presently, unless the Jets decide to offer a trade to move ahead of the current team sitting in the sixth position, Gang Green would be most likely taking the fourth QB in this year’s draft.

In conclusion, this could be a spectacular draft that could greatly impact the Jets future. Without a doubt, the quarterback position is the backbone of many championship NFL teams. To sum up, here are the signal callers that I feel at least one of them will be available if the Jets happen to stay in the 7th spot in the 2018 NFL Draft. A quarterback that can finally bring some hope and excitement to the Jets organization and to their very devoted fan base. One of these two hopefully will be wearing Green and White next year for the Jets: Wyoming’s Allen or Oklahoma’s Mayfield.

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