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Last week, we detailed how Jets owner Woody Johnson is believed to be hot after the No. 1 pick for next year, with the ouster of Eric Decker and David Harris served up as a smoking gun.
Johnson’s train of thought isn’t complicated. He wants a franchise quarterback. And it looks as if three players with the capacity to go first overall could be available next April. So here’s our off-season lesson of this final slow week before the league goes dead for a while: How these things look in the aftermath of one draft isn’t always how they wind up falling before the next draft.
Last year at this time Patrick Mahomes wasn’t on the radar of many teams, and Mitch Trubisky’s first college start was in front of him. Deshaun Watson was more of a known quantity, of course, but precisely no one would’ve guessed that he’d go after the other two were off the board.
USC’s Sam Darnold, Wyoming’s Josh Allen and UCLA’s Josh Rosen have given teams reason for hope. But for now, that’s all it is. Darnold has nine collegiate starts and a long windup. Allen, like Darnold, will go into this season as more of a known quantity than he was a year ago. And Allen is pretty raw. Rosen, meanwhile, was hurt last year, has off-field questions and has to prove he can perform in a pro offense.
Here’s how one AFC exec described the three to me on Wednesday:
• Allen: “He has the best traits of the three—size, athletics, arm strength. He’s just raw. Picture a better version of Patrick Mahomes.”
• Darnold: “He’s accurate, and he’s only 19 years old, so you hope he’s going to get stronger. Everyone’s going to pick apart his throwing motion, but there’s not a lot he can’t do.”
• Rosen: “He’s the prettiest—gorgeous, just gorgeous. He has to find a way to prove he’s a good kid and can stay healthy and has a passion for the game. He has everything else.”
An AFC college scouting director, when assessing the three, said he likes Darnold the best of them: “He was impressive when he took over, he’s got the size, arm talent and tools that you want in a pocket passer.” He also acknowledged Allen probably has the highest ceiling. And Rosen is, in the minds of many, the guy who looks the most natural. “Every ball spins beautifully,” is how one of his coaches put it.
Which is all to say that, yes, it very much could be that kind of year where quarterbacks go 1-2-3.
But we have a long way to go before we get to next April. So the best laid plans of the Jets, and others lurking, certainly could go awry.
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