NY Jets: Sam Darnold cannot be given a pass for his disappointing play

NY Jets fans cannot continue to give Sam Darnold a pass for his poor play.

The NY Jets will not be picking first overall in the upcoming NFL draft. Should they draft a quarterback or stick with Sam Darnold?

Before winning their previous two games, it appeared as though the Jets were going to pick first overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. With the first overall pick, they would have had the opportunity to select Trevor Lawrence, who many feel is a future superstar in the NFL.

With Lawrence out of the picture, should the Jets enter next season with Sam Darnold remaining as the team’s quarterback or should they look to replace him in the upcoming draft?

In his first two seasons in the league, Sam Darnold finished 31st and 27th in the league in passer rating. Despite that, he showed flashes with a very poor supporting cast which gave Jets fans reason to be optimistic about him entering his third season.

However, Darnold has struggled in 2020. He’s started 11 games and when you stretch his numbers out to a 16-game pace, it becomes painfully clear how ineffective he’s been.

Over a 16-game season, Darnold would be on track for 2,825 yards 12 touchdowns, 13 interceptions 5.9 yards per attempt.

Those numbers are absolutely atrocious. Darnold has never had a good team around him, but he certainly isn’t the only quarterback that has ever played in uneasy circumstances.

Sam Darnold’s struggles extend beyond the NY Jets’ deficiencies

Additionally, some of Darnold’s flaws have nothing to do with the players around him. Darnold’s questionable decision making and poor pocket presence can’t be blamed on anyone else but him.

The Arizona Cardinals got rid of Josh Rosen after one season despite selecting him 10th overall in the 2018 draft.

The Chicago Bears selected Mitch Trubisky second overall in the 2017 NFL Draft. Despite throwing for 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while leading the Bears to a 12-4 record in his second season in the league, many Bears fans wanted to part ways with Trubisky after a disappointing third season.

Recently, the Washington Football Team released Dwayne Haskins after just 13 career starts despite using the 15th overall pick on him in the 2019 NFL Draft. Given all of those things, why should the Jets give Darnold a fourth year as the team’s starting quarterback?

Many might point to the Jets’ two recent wins as a reason to keep Darnold. In those two games, Darnold threw for 382 yards and threw three touchdowns while averaging six yards per pass attempt.

It’s encouraging that he didn’t turn the football over, but under 200 yards a game is very underwhelming. The Jets scored 23 points in each of their two recent wins. Throughout this entire season, 23 points per game would rank 23rd out of 32 teams.

Trevor Lawrence might be a very good player, but the Jets shouldn’t stop looking for a quarterback just because they missed out on the top option. Lawrence isn’t the only quarterback in his upcoming draft worth paying attention to.

Many believe that Justin Fields will be the second player selected in the entire draft. Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Mac Jones, and Kyle Trask are also quarterbacks that are worth paying attention to.

The Jets should consider selecting one of these intriguing quarterbacks because Sam Darnold hasn’t proven he’s the right man for the job. And going into the fourth year of his rookie contract, time is running out.