Cross quarterback off the list of potential targets for the New York Jets with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft. That’s at least what fans should think, according to a respected NFL insider.
After much debate among the fanbase about whether the team should select a quarterback in the first round, that possibility is becoming less likely with each passing day.
On Thursday, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport opined that the Jets are expected to “build around Justin Fields rather than replace him in the draft.”
Though he also admitted that anything’s possible, Rapoport believes it’s highly unlikely New York takes Jaxson Dart or another signal-caller in the first round. On the surface, it makes sense after Aaron Glenn’s team inked the quarterback to a two-year contract worth up to $40 million with $30 million guaranteed this offseason.
Fields, 26, is looking to reboot his career with his third NFL team since the Chicago Bears drafted him at No. 11 overall in 2021. (Joe Douglas’s Jets selected Zach Wilson nine picks earlier that offseason.)
Despite entering the league with high expectations, the former Ohio State star has struggled to find consistency, compiling a 14-30 record as a starter over 50 career games. He’s thrown 45 touchdown passes and 31 interceptions with a 61.1% completion rate while adding a dynamic element on the ground with 2,509 rushing yards and 19 scores on 418 carries.
Fields spent the 2024 season in Pittsburgh, where he opened the year as the Steelers’ starting quarterback. He made six starts before being benched in favor of veteran Russell Wilson.
Fields completed 65.8% of his passes for 1,106 yards, five touchdowns, and one interception. He added 289 yards and five touchdowns on the ground across 62 rushing attempts.
With Rapoport ruling out quarterback as a first-round option for Gang Green, key positions to watch for the Jets include right tackle (Armand Membou), tight end (Tyler Warren), and defensive line (Mason Graham).
