NY Jets: It’s time for Joe Douglas to build around Sam Darnold

The NY Jets should finally do what’s right and build around Sam Darnold.

Well, it finally happened. On Sunday, the NY Jets upset Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams, highlighted by an amazing performance by all areas of the team.

While the team voiced their excitement for the win on Twitter, it seems that the Jets have just played their way out of a generational quarterback in Trevor Lawrence.

Both the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Jets sit at 1-13 with just two games remaining on the season. The Jets face the playoff-bound Cleveland Browns, and the New England Patriots, who have officially been eliminated from the postseason.

That’s a sentence that would seem like a joke five years ago.

The Jaguars have to take on the offensively revitalized Chicago Bears, as well as the Indianapolis Colts, who are in a fierce battle for the AFC South division title.

As of now, it’s unlikely that Jacksonville is going to win another game the rest of the season. While the Jets won’t be remembered as one of the unfortunate teams with an imperfect 0-16 record, it might have been worth it if it meant drafting a generational quarterback in Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence.

Up until now, mock drafts have predicted Lawrence to dawn green and white all season, but it seems that trend is coming to an end. With championship weekend having just passed, Lawrence, and the second-best quarterback prospect Justin Fields, put their talents on display.

Unfortunately for Jets fans, it seems that those two games made the gap between prospects evident. Lawrence is as good as advertised, while Fields has shown signs of not being anywhere near a surefire pick.

And with that, New York has to swallow their pride and turn to their current signal-caller, Sam Darnold.

The NY Jets must finally build around Sam Darnold

Joe Douglas has a ton of picks to work with over the next two years, and without another quarterback with Lawrence’s talent and ceiling, there should be little question but to put him in the best position to succeed in 2021.

Something they should have done in 2019.

Even with a win providing a temporary boost in morale, the Jets are still a one-win team. They remain the worst team in the league, with a ton of questions that need answers. ‘

Adam Gase will be gone come Black Monday, so finding a head coach that can maximize Darnold’s potential is the most important task entering the offseason.

Free agency is a must-win for Joe Douglas. With talented receivers such as Allen Robinson or Chris Godwin available (at least for the moment), the Jets need to fix an anemic offense.

If Darnold is really the long-term answer under center, then there needs to be a ton of cap space dedicated to giving him the tools to succeed.

Of course, the entire reason we’re talking about this is because of the draft. The 2021 NFL Draft was going to be important for New York regardless of the outcome, but its importance has just shot way up.

If Douglas, and whoever the future head coach is of the Jets, want to run with Sam Darnold as their quarterback of the future, they will need to make sure this draft is nothing short of incredible.

The 2020 draft class is proving to be a goldmine just one season later. Mekhi Becton, Denzel Mims, Braden Mann, and Bryce Hall are already paying dividends for the rebuild. Douglas will need to continue to build this roster up.

Trevor Lawrence is an amazing prospect, and it’s likely that there will not be another prospect like him for years. Decades, even.

The Jets have a decision to make this offseason. They can’t fall any further than the second overall pick, meaning that Justin Fields is very much in play. Douglas will have to make a decision on whether or not they already have their quarterback.

If Lawrence isn’t an option, then the best thing to do for New York would be to finally give Sam Darnold the roster he deserved all along.