One of the biggest questions hanging over the New York Jets – if not The bigger – this off season is what they will do as a defender. As things stand today, they could go in three directions. They could choose a potential customer with general choice number 2 in the 2021 draft, try to find the answer somewhere in the open market, or keep the train moving with Sam Darnold. Most point to New York by going with the first option and simply pressing the reset button in position, selecting a player (Justin Fields?) With the second choice and departing from Darnold.
The third-year professional said earlier this season, however, that he wants to be a “Jet for life” and hopes to remain the starter towards 2021, while recognizing his uncertain future with New York in line for a high choice. When asked about Darnold’s position within the organization towards the off-season, GM Joe Douglas was predictably evasive and apparently suggested that the final decision will not come until a new coach is hired.
“Look, we have a lot of decisions to make. I think Sam is going to be a great defender. I’m excited to bring a coach here, go through our process,” Douglas told reporters on Tuesday through a Zoom conference, via NFL.com. “I had a great conversation with Sam yesterday. I’m not going to go into details, but I think Sam has a very bright future in this league. Let’s put a head coach here, let’s get it together, let’s talk about some decisions. I’m excited about Sam.”
The Darnold era was not exactly a success as most of the organization expected when the USC product was selected with overall choice # 3 in 2018. Throughout his three-year tenure in New York, Darnold is 13-25 years old. As Douglas noted, however, this bad track record is not exclusively his, as the cast around him has hit a number of speed reducers.
“I think Sam faced a lot of obstacles this year, as did everyone else, obviously dealing with COVID and, frankly, we had some injuries – in the offensive line, in the position of wide receiver,” explained the Jets GM. “I think it was difficult for our attack in general to build the kind of sustained chemistry to create success throughout the year. I think we had different offensive line groups. As I said before, we didn’t have a chance to get our first three recipients in field at the same time until week 9. I think all of these things impacted not only Sam, but also our attack.
“I think you saw it in December, Sam played a lot of good ball. You saw that we were able to beat two playoff teams and a lot of that is because of the way Sam played. As I said before, I really think Sam really have a bright future in this league, a 23-year-old quarterback, and Sam is still going to get better every year. “
By the way, Douglas is speaking, there seems to be a chance that they will continue on their way with Darnold and move elsewhere with choice number 2. In his latest simulation, Ryan Wilson, Draft analyst at CBS Sports NFL, shows that Nova York faces the Oregon offensive, Penei Sewell.