When the New York Jets hired Darren Mougey and Aaron Glenn in January, they knew they had much to fix.
Any team that won just five games the year prior and bungled multiple one-score contests is a clear example of a team that needs drastic help. In many ways, the new-look Jets have added some key pieces to improve for next season.
The big question remaining for New York, as it always seems to, lies at the quarterback position. And while the team’s draft strategy was an eyebrow raiser, there’s one position they were right to ignore.
Jets’ QB draft strategy
Even with the Justin Fields signing, the Jets were seen as an organization likely to take a flyer on one of the 2025 rookie quarterbacks.
They shocked many when they bypassed the draft entirely and instead signed Brady Cook to an undrafted free agent contract. The stunning retirement of former fifth-round pick Jordan Travis only exacerbated some in the fanbase.
In their mind, the Jets don’t have a long-term solution at the quarterback position.
It would have made sense for the team at least to take a flyer on one from the rookie class. Many organizations around the league draft quarterbacks every year to recycle the low-cost money that would otherwise be spent lucratively on a backup.
But that’s not where the Jets are right now.
Many teams that take shots in the dark at late-round quarterbacks can do so because the rest of their roster is stabilized. They don’t have to worry about edge rushers or receivers. They can take a flyer on a player they otherwise would not have in a desperate situation.
If you are retooling like the Jets, drafting a quarterback in the later rounds, and wasting a pick on a backup that could have otherwise gone to a potential steal in the draft.
For example, there’s a real chance that the fifth-round rookie edge rusher, Tyler Baron, may have a role on the team this year.
Would Jets fans have preferred a backup quarterback who never got a chance to play in that role over a player who may make an immediate impact along the edge?
Of course not.
Glenn and Mougey have chosen Fields to be their starter for the 2025 season. That does not mean they are going “all-in” on the former first-rounder.
It simply means they want a bridge quarterback before they draft a quarterback of the future in the 2026 or 2027 drafts. Scouts universally believe both years will produce better quarterback prospects.
That should be enough for New York Jets fans moving forward.
