Robert Saleh understands why New York Jets fans root for losses, but offers up a challenge
The New York Jets are in a familiar position.
Since being eliminated from playoff contention by the Dolphins in Week 14, the classic conversation of losing games for draft position has arisen amongst Jets fans.
Essentially, this revolves around how the NFL’s draft system works. Without a lottery in place, the draft slots are determined based on each team’s final record in the prior season.
With no playoffs in sight, the anticipation turns toward the offseason and the draft. In the 2024 class, prospects such as Marvin Harrison Jr., Joe Alt, and Olu Fashanu could be available for teams at the top of the draft.
This is where “losing for draft position” comes into play. If the Jets lost games that had no bearing on their postseason standing, they could put themselves in a position to get an elite-level prospect.
However, it is not that simple for those involved in playing the games.
Speaking about the idea of losing games for draft position, Jets head coach Robert Saleh gave his perspective on Monday.
“As a fan I get it, but I would challenge the fan to walk into the locker room and look at all those men who strap up every day and crossed the white and put in all this work. We are all competitive; no one wants to step on the field, put together a poor effort, and look bad on tape. That is their resume; that’s who they are. That’s who we are,” said Saleh.
“There’s a lot of pride, and there’s a lot of sacrifices that all these men who play football have sacrificed their entire lives, the blood, the sweat, the tears, the family time, the vacations, to put themselves in position to call themselves professional athletes. While I get it from the fan perspective, you will never see a player ever think about anything other than stepping on the field, being his absolute best, and trying to figure out how to win a football game; the same goes for coaches.”
Saleh also mentioned that there are positives to be gained on the offensive end, explicitly mentioning players like Carter Warren, Joe Tippmann, Jason Brownlee, Breece Hall, and Garrett Wilson.
“There is a lot of youth on the offensive side of the ball that is just trying to find ways to get a little bit better every single week, every day, and really kind of propel themselves into the 2024 season,” said Saleh.
No matter your feelings about the results, Saleh is correct in his assessment of the draft situation.
Fans look at the organization, whether right or wrong, from a long-term perspective. They want to see sustained success from the team they invest their time and money into.
However, that is not always the case for players and coaches. Careers in the NFL are tough to come by and are even more challenging to maintain. Injuries can cause future earnings and starting positions to evaporate instantly, while coaches can work low-level jobs for years before getting their big break.
It is impossible and irrational for anyone in the NFL to take a single snap, let alone a game or season, for granted. Everyone has a ticking clock in the league and must make the most of their time before it ends.
Losing for draft position would not, at least in the grand scheme of things, be detrimental for the Jets. They would have an opportunity to draft a potentially elite-level player and begin to build toward sustained success.
Even with how impactful those losses might be, players and coaches cannot be expected to try to lose games.
No matter where the team’s draft position falls, the current Jets regime has a tall task to build a consistent winner. The Jets have two games remaining in their 2023 NFL season. Regardless of how you want the games to play out, the best option is to let the cards fall where they are and not expect any of the coaches or players to mail it in on purpose.