So, you, the diehard New York Jets fan—who has gone so long without enjoying a franchise quarterback at the helm—is interested in quarterback Justin Fields.
Are you sure?
In all seriousness, I get it. Fields is a 25-year-old youngster whose 11th-pick status in the 2021 NFL draft has fans, media members, and NFL movers and shakers intrigued by certain possibilities.
Thanks to the Jets’ current quarterback situation (or wasteland, as many would more aptly describe it), Fields is an unavoidable name in the market. Plus, Fields brings modern football possibilities along with him, some of which make sense.
Most of those possibilities, however, are tough to realistically envision. In fact, a major Justin Fields caveat is currently flying incredibly low under that all-important radar when fans and pundits connect Fields to the Jets.
There’s one overarching theme that could easily be described as a major sacrifice.
Personnel fits change with Fields
An NFL team that features Justin Fields as the starting quarterback would have to understand how drastically everything changes.
Fields, 25, features a dangerous skill set in the modern NFL. He’s freakishly fast as a quarterback and can move like lightning within tight spaces, which provides defensive coordinators nightmares via weekly game-planning.
However, efficiently featuring those attributes comes at a price: The offense must change its entire identity.
The offense can no longer showcase its usual pro personnel and principles. Instead of a certain offensive lineman type—perhaps agile and quicker-footed—more of a power archetype could be atop the wishlist.
Just look at Lamar Jackson’s offense in Baltimore.
There’s a fantastic reason John Harbaugh and the Ravens heavily targeted veteran Derrick Henry in free agency last offseason: He fits Baltimore’s offense perfectly. As a straight-ahead, downfield runner, Henry fits like a glove in the Ravens’ read-option, RPO-laden offense.
Todd Monken designs concepts that work to get Henry downhill, while Jackson works off of him to get the defense to move east-west, sideline-to-sideline.
My people: Breece Hall isn’t exactly that dude. He doesn’t exactly hit the hole with the utmost authority.
Although he can absolutely improve in that area, Hall is best utilized as a dual-threat back who can run it in bigger spaces and create pass-catching matchup issues for the defense.
Hall, while incredibly talented, isn’t the same downhill, bigger-bodied back who fits that offensive style wonderfully. Braelon Allen, on the other hand, absolutely does. This isn’t to say Hall couldn’t work within a more QB-designed rush-type offense, but it doesn’t scream “highest potential ceiling.”
Baltimore’s right guard is a fella named Daniel Faalele. He stands 6-foo-8 and clocks in at an overwhelming 380 pounds. The Ravens also employ a 300-pound fullback named Patrick Ricard.
Additionally, we all know how heavy the Philadelphia Eagles offensive line is, and yes, you guessed it: The Jalen Hurts-specific offense is loaded with zone-read principles that would aptly apply to a Fields-centric offense.
Going all-in on Justin Fields immediately means adjusting the prototypes needed at each offensive position. That’s the only way to successfully work towards the highest-ceiling production.
The offensive design becomes limited
Let’s be honest: Justin Fields isn’t exactly the greatest pocket passer. He absolutely struggles when progressing through reads, and his lack of leverage awareness is tough to navigate.
So, yeah, implementing a specific, more rush-heavy offense featuring Fields is the only choice—when choosing this quarterback prototype.
If Garrett Wilson thinks his life was hell with Aaron Rodgers, just wait until life with Justin Fields begins.
Much like other limited-style pocket passers, Fields favors the middle of the field and rarely gets to secondary reads. (There will be much more on Justin Fields’s passing film in the days and weeks to come, so stay tuned.)
Hey, until I see somebody other than Lamar Jackson pull it off—put up dominant production without balancing the entire field—I’ll remain unconvinced that this style can prevail. The reason Mark Andrews has been one of the most productive tight ends in recent memory is because of Jackson’s preference to target the middle of the field.
Prior to the talented Zay Flowers finally hitting the mark in 2024, only one other receiver surpassed 1,000 yards in a season with Lamar Jackson at quarterback (Marquise Brown in 2021).
Offensive flexibility is tougher to achieve
The Pittsburgh Steelers finished 23rd in total offense this past season (319.4 yards per game). Despite their playoff status, Mike Tomlin’s group lost the last four games and never showcased a stellar offense.
This well-below-average status applied to both the Russell Wilson and Justin Fields-led offenses. More telling is the idea that asking the offense to change its stripes midseason—from Fields to Wilson—is incredibly difficult.
If the Jets go into the Fields business, who’s the backup? Would it be Tyrod Taylor, and if so, does Aaron Glenn believe he can work within the Fields-specific offense?
There’s a reason the Ravens used Tyler Huntley had Lamar Jackson’s backup for several years. He’s as close as could be to Jackson as a quarterback. Therefore, the offensive scheme doesn’t have to change as drastically as it would for a totally different signal-caller.
Taylor could serve as Fields’s backup, as he’s close enough on style (even at his age). But it’s also important to note that scheme intentions aren’t easy to adjust.
If Tanner Engstrand wants and goes with Fields, the Jets’ offensive vision begins immediately. We’ll see it in training camp, and the entire mindset changes.
Beyond that, any wholesale changes would have to wait until the following offseason. Tweaking can occur, sure, but it’s next-to-impossible to move an offense from a heavy read-option quarterback-centric scheme to a more spread, west-coast style while in the midst of a season.
It’s Aaron Glenn’s decision
At the end of the day, I could absolutely see Aaron Glenn‘s interest in Justin Fields and that style of offensive football being legitimate.
Glenn is a defensive-minded head coach whose team resides in the Northeast. His awareness of how dangerous rushing quarterbacks can be is also critical.
While I’m not a huge fan of the idea, I do understand the intrigue.
As long as Tanner Engstrand is on board, and they’re wholly honest with themselves—having to settle on the lower-ceiling offensive approach in today’s passing bonanza league—it could work to a certain extent.
If they’re fooling themselves about the situation, while believing nothing is sacrificed in the Justin Fields business, then I’ll expect the Same Old Jets to reign supreme.
