If there was a central theme for the New York Jets during the 2025 draft, it was that they wanted to surround their starting quarterback with as much talent as possible.
Justin Fields hasn’t had the type of career many expected when the Chicago Bears took him in the first round of the 2021 draft, but he now joins a Jets team that is just as desperate as he is to make a positive mark on the 2025 season.
And their draft strategy as a team is a clear example of how invested the Jets seem to be in their new quarterback.
Jets Build Around Justin Fields
The Jets used three of their seven draft picks on the offensive side of the ball. By using their first two picks on offensive players (Armand Membou and Mason Taylor), the team showed confidence that Fields can be the kind of starting quarterback they are looking for.
It’s precisely why they went the way they did early on last week.
“We want to surround Justin (Fields) with just good skill players, along with a good offensive line, so any time you can do that within any offense, with any quarterback, man that’s an A+, so that’s the plan,” Glenn said. “It’s always been the plan, and that’s something that we’ve talked about before, and let him be quarterback and surround him with good players.”
Surrounding quarterbacks who have been deficient in some way is a tried and tested way for teams to find immediate success.
The Philadelphia Eagles were able to build around Jalen Hurts despite a mediocre 2021 season. They have become Super Bowl champions and one of the best teams in the league since then. Even when the Buffalo Bills built their offense around Josh Allen at the start of his career, the Wyoming product hadn’t shown an ability to be a quality quarterback at the start of his journey.
That has worked out for the Bills as well ever since.
Bringing in talent around Fields is essential, and putting him in an offensive system will be even more so. That is also something on the Jets’ to-do list moving forward.
“We’re going to let him play quarterback,” Glenn said during league meetings. “That’s what he’s always wanted to do. I’m not saying he hasn’t had a chance to play that, do that in other places … I know what I want to do with that player. (I) obviously want to utilize his legs but (also) want to give him a chance to go out there and play quarterback.”
The Jets are doing everything they can to get the most out of their starting quarterback.
It’s up to him to take that next step.
Is Fields Worth It?
This is the question that will make or break the Jets over the next couple of seasons: whether Fields is a good quarterback.
New York has not invested a ton in the former first-round pick from a financial standpoint. They have just $30 million in guaranteed money over the length of his two-year deal, placing 26th at the quarterback position.
Of course, there’s a reason for the lack of financial stability regarding the quarterback. While Fields has always been known as a running quarterback, his numbers as a passer haven’t been up to par compared to the rest of the league.
Fields has completed just 56.1% of his passes in the fourth quarter throughout his career, the worst in the NFL among quarterbacks with at least 200 fourth-quarter pass attempts over that span. Despite his improved completion percentage in 2024, his teams have never averaged more than 22 points per game with him as the starting quarterback (the league average in points per game in 2024 was 22.9).
Even when he was 4-2 as a starter with the Steelers last season, Fields wasn’t good enough to hang on to the starting spot. He was benched midseason when a healthy Russell Wilson returned to guide Pittsburgh to the playoffs.
Fields has plenty of talent surrounding him. Garrett Wilson is a Pro Bowl-caliber receiver, the offensive line has been solidified, and the collection of running backs should be able to lead the way on offense.
If Fields is going to show the Jets that he is worth it, it better happen in 2025. Otherwise, he’s running out of chances.
