Football is back.

Week 1 is underway in the NCAA, and the NFL season starts Wednesday night, while the New York Jets take the field on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

While everyone in Jet land is looking forward to Gang Green getting back out on the regular-season field, the draft is already on a lot of folks’ minds. How could it not be?

That doesn’t mean the Jets should tank. But it’s important to keep an eye on the draft, as the Jets still lack their long-term answer at quarterback and own three first-round picks in the upcoming 2027 NFL draft.

As the college football season begins to ramp up, though, the quarterback Jets fans should be rooting for is… all of them.

More QB success the merrier

Each year, everyone has their “guy” in the upcoming draft class. They pick him, stick to him, and project him to their favorite team throughout the year.

For Jets fans, the most popular candidate who fits that mold in this year’s draft class seems to be Texas’ Arch Manning.

But at the end of the day, the more quarterback success, the better for the Jets. For a team that owns three first-round picks, the more QBs that succeed, the more routes it opens for the organization, creating greater flexibility.

If Manning lives up to the hype and falls into the Jets’ hands, great. However, that’s not how the organization thinks. Having several quarterbacks play their way into the top of the draft consideration allows for more possibilities.

Also, that keeps the Jets from being boxed into trading up if they overperform in 2026 and still want to draft their quarterback. Furthermore, it increases the value of all three first-round selections.

Owning that amount of draft capital in this year’s class is more valuable than in a typical year, especially if the QBs live up to the hype.

With all those picks, assuming the signal-callers are up to par, the Jets can take their QB of choice, and the other selections have trade value if a QB-needy team comes calling.

The 2026 season is most important

All of that draft talk can wait, though. Of course, the draft will be a lingering thought throughout the year, but Jets fans should be focused on the season in front of them and what Geno Smith can do.

Even if Smith plays well, the odds are that the Jets will still use one of their three first-round picks on a quarterback. Smith can still deliver a solid, competitive season without altering the organization’s long-term plan.

There is even a world where he overperforms, the Jets draft a QB, and he remains the starter in 2027, allowing the highly selected rookie to sit and learn his rookie year.

It’s also far too early to lock in on any singular prospect. The stock of these QBs will fluctuate wildly throughout the year. Players who looked like top picks a year ago can struggle and plummet down the board.

On the other hand, there are always prospects who make leaps or seemingly come out of nowhere and play themselves into the first-round conversation.

Overall, there is no doubt New York will have a surplus of options. But right now, nobody knows what those exact options look like.

My message to Jets fans is to enjoy the season first. There will be a full offseason to bicker about which quarterback fits best with the team.