Sunday in New England marks the gracious end of the Jets’ 2020 season.
It is expected to be the end of their head coach Adam Gase, who will be fired Monday before breakfast Monday after two unsatisfactory seasons.
The list as we know it now will be very different in 2021. The biggest question is whether the defender will be different.
Before the Jets start winning games – two in a row entering Sunday’s season finale against the Patriots – to destroy their chances at pick no. It would have been a major upset if the Jets hadn’t drawn Lawrence and moved on from Darnold after three inconsistent seasons (13-24, 44 touchdowns, 37 interceptions).
But Lawrence is no longer part of the conversation for the Jets, who have a second choice – probably after the Jaguars picked Lawrence with the best choice.
So now what do I do with Darnold?
Here it is: Unless Jets CEO Joe Douglas has the same kind of unforgettable conviction about Justin Fields of Ohio, Zach Wilson of BYU, Trey Lance of North Dakota or another eligible defender. project, in April Lawrence, should keep Darnold and build a proper team around him.
Douglas has nine choices in the 21-member project and nearly $ 100 million in the hall. If he can’t put enough players in a position of skill around Darnold and a solid offensive line in front of him, then Douglas is not worthy of the six-year contract he was awarded by Jets CEO Christopher Johnson.
If the worst thing that happens with the position of Jets defender is to return Darnold next season with a stronger cast around him, it’s not a bad thing.
The debate around Darnold has erupted in the last two seasons and is centered around it: Is his inconsistency the result of his own shortcomings or those around him?
The answer, of course, is a combination of the two. The question is which is more weighted?
Darnold, no matter how bad his offensive line was and how limited his qualifying talent was, cannot be completely relieved of too much turnover and questionable decision-making.
“It’s about consistency and it’s also about consistency with the guys around you,” Gase said Thursday, convinced Darnold has everything it takes to lead the Jets forward with a competent cast around him. “When you’re a young player, you need to have a core of boys around you to grow up with that can help you grow as a player.”
Darnold has passed in the last three games without turning the ball over once, which is a significant step. It is no coincidence that he received the first three recipients – Jamison Crowder, Breshad Perriman and Denzel Mims – following injuries in those games.
“The position of defender is largely to blame for everything [bad] that’s what happens and it’s often not on them, “Gase said.” I think we need to improve in some places with [Darnold]? Yes, absolutely. I think he’s gotten to the point where everything should fall on him? No no.
“If we could clean some things, it would really help him in making decisions, accuracy, timing. But we need to have consistency up to the guys who are there with him. “
However, the counter-argument is that Darnold did not raise those around him as elite defenders can do despite the shortcomings of their support distribution (see: Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers).
“The only thing I asked you was what defenders are you talking about that didn’t have a good cast around them?” Gase said. “We can circle that one.”
These circles include Cincinnati, where rookie Joe Burrow, the No. 1 general pick last spring, threw 300 or more yards into five of his 10 starts before a broken ACL ended its rookie season. But he was throwing at a much better receiving body than the planes – Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd and AJ Green.
These include LA, where Justin Herbert threw 300 or more yards in the 14 starts for the Chargers, but threw Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Hunter Henry, one of the best tight ends in the game.
Darnold has completed passes for nine receivers and six different backbacks this season. Some of these players are not NFL caliber.
So Darnold should be left with a better cast around him or the Jets should give up a 23-year-old they spent with a No. 3 general election in just three years. ?
“I know we all like to think about hypotheses and what they would be, but now I’m Jet and I like being here,” Darnold said Thursday. “I absolutely think these are my best days.”
For the sake of him and the Jets, we hope those days will come while wearing green and white.