Rebuilding the New York Jets - Where Do They Even Start?
Step number one to rebuilding the New York Jets is to draft a quarterback in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. When it comes to the man behind the center, the Jet should be realistically targeting Deshaun Watson from Clemson or Mitchell Trubisky from North Carolina at the 6th overall pick. The choice comes down to picking a quarterback with a storied past in college (Watson) versus a guy with a talented arm in Trubisky. Based on seeing how Matt Leinart, Vince Young, and Robert Griffin III panned out in the NFL, the Jets should avoid drafting Watson. With that said, Deshaun Watson may be the first good choice for a mobile quarterback that there has been in recent years.
Knowing the Jets management, they will want to move up and take a player like Leonard Fournette. Fournette is a great player that will help any team that he gets drafted by but this New York football team needs a field general foremost. Acquiring skill players have never been a problem for the Jets but getting a quality quarterback has. Everyone remembers Mr. Butt Fumble, right?
If the Jets do not somehow draft Deshaun Watson or Mitchell Trubisky or trade for a talented quarterback before the 2017-2018 season begins, then the rebuild is already a failure. Josh McCown and Bryce Petty are clearly not the long-term solutions to finding a franchise quarterback for the Jets.
Assuming that they attain a quarterback that they can build their franchise around, the next step is to draft a talented wideout at the 39th overall pick. This offense needs someone to complement Quincy Enunwa. Adoree' Jackson and Curtis Samuel are unique choices because of their versatility and due to his diluted sample, Jabrill Peppers could fall down this far. Assuming that Peppers slips this far, he is worth the risk. At this juncture, the Jets have little risk in any of their draft selections that is not in the first round. With this said, I do not how they could not manage to trade Brandon Marshall before releasing him, considering how many suitors he had as soon as he was released. I find it hard to believe that not one of the other 31 NFL teams was unwilling to trade draft picks for his services.
Moving onwards, with their stock of draft picks remaining, they could package one or both of their two third-rounders (#70 and #107) with a player or their fifth-round pick (#150) to move up into the back end of the second round or to trade for a necessity. If they trade directly for a player, they should target a tight end or a center. At tight end, the best that they have is Austin Seferian-Jenkins and he is already suspended until week 3. Meanwhile, at the forefront of the offensive line, Nick Mangold is no longer around. If the Jets choose to stay where they are in the third round, then they can really address the QB issue with drafting Davis Webb from California or there are available tight ends on the board, including Gerald Everett, Jake Butt, and Jordan Leggett.
The bottom line is that this team has a great defense to build off. A team that has Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson, Leonard Williams, Steve McLendon, and David Harris should be able to contend. Plus, the addition of Morris Claiborne was underrated. Not only is the majority of the defensive unit talented but most of them are young and could be around for a long time. At the end of the 2017 NFL Draft and with the remainder of the offseason, addressing the defense would entail bringing in young players that could potentially replace David Harris in a few seasons.
Goal number one for this team is to make the playoffs in the 2017-2018 season. Beyond that, advancing any further than that point is a plus.
