NY Jets face serious draft implications in Week 16 game against Commanders

I feel bad to so consistently and proudly endorse the tank, but here I am. I told you this is the first time in my life I’ve rooted for a NY Jets team to tank, and I believe it’s justified because more is at stake now than ever before.

The Jets have a defined window of time with Aaron Rodgers, All-Pro Quinnen Williams, and the incredible young players from the 2022 NFL Draft class.

Past that window, who knows what this organization will look like or what will happen? All that matters is with that aforementioned core, every single piece of the organization, from top to bottom, does everything in its power to win a championship.

At each level of the organization and sprinkled throughout the roster are people with Super Bowl experience to help get people up to speed and finally rid the franchise of this horrid losing culture that won’t seem to fade away.

Securing a top-five pick goes a long way toward establishing that path. I won’t repeat myself on the greatness of Joe Alt, but there are other options available in that upper echelon that will be ready to contribute to the Jets Week 1 as a key piece.

While the Jets' front office has made many mistakes in 2023, one of their longest-lasting mistakes is wasting their first-round pick on a developmental prospect who was a healthy scratch for most of the season.

What happens if the NY Jets lose to the Commanders in Week 16?

The 4-9 Commanders are one game ahead of the 5-10 Jets and currently sit at the fourth pick, while the Jets have the sixth pick of the draft.

Not only would losing to the Commanders give them the same record, but by losing, the Jets would lose the tiebreaker, meaning they’ll beat out Washington for a higher pick if they end the season with the same record.

Those are massive stakes for a team that could use the services of a generational talent at left tackle or a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ prodigy at wide receiver to revitalize the worst offense in football.

In a year where the Jets don’t have a second-round pick, I’d imagine they would prefer to keep all of their remaining picks instead of trading them to move up in the first round.

It’s more likely that Joe Douglas trades down to secure multiple picks in the first two rounds instead of just the one, but if Joe Alt or Marvin Harrison Jr. are staring the Jets in the face while they’re on the clock, I’m not sure if common sense will allow him to turn that down.

At seven, maybe both of those guys are gone. At four, it’s almost a lock that at least one of them will be there since this class is full of dynamic quarterbacks.

I have never rooted for the Jets to lose, but if they just happened to lose this Sunday, I can assure you there is light at the end of that tunnel of defeat.