Sunday in New England marks the merciful end of the Jets ’2020 season.
His head coach Adam Gase is expected to finish, who is likely to be fired before breakfast on Monday after two unsatisfactory seasons.
The roster, as we know it now, will be very different in 2021. The most important question is whether the quarterback will be different.
Before the Jets began winning games, two in a row entering Sunday’s season finale against the Patriots, to ruin their chances in the No. 1 pick in the overall selection and the chance for Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence , this answer seemed a little clear. It would have been a big upset if the Jets hadn’t drawn Lawrence and left Darnold after three inconsistent seasons (record 13-24, 44 touchdowns, 37 interceptions).
But Lawrence is no longer part of the conversation of the Jets, who are the ones who own the second selection, presumably after the Jaguars had Lawrence with the first selection.
So now what to do with Darnold?
Here’s what: unless Jets CEO Joe Douglas has the same kind of unmissable conviction about Justin Fields of Ohio State, Zach Wilson of BYU, Trey Lance of North Dakota or one eligible quarterback in the draft in April that Lawrence could have had, he would have to keep Darnold and build a proper team around him.
Douglas has nine picks on the 21st draft and nearly $ 100 million in the show. If he can’t put enough players in a position of skill around Darnold and have a solid offensive line up front, Douglas isn’t worthy of the six-year contract the Jets CEO Christopher Johnson awarded him.
If the worst thing that happens to him as the Jets quarterback is for Darnold to return next season with a stronger support cast around him, that’s not bad.
The debate around Darnold has taken place over the past two seasons and has focused on this: is his inconsistency the result of his own shortcomings or the shortcomings of those around him?
The answer, of course, is a combination of both. The question is which one weighs more?
Darnold, regardless of how bad his offensive line has been and the limitation his talent has had on the skill position, cannot be absolutely exonerated for his excessive changes and questionable decision-making.
“It’s about consistency and also consistency with the guys around you,” Gase said Thursday, convinced Darnold has everything it takes to take the Jets forward with a competent cast around him. “When you’re a young player, you have to have around you a core of basic guys that you can grow up with, that can help you develop as a player.”
Darnold has spent the last three games without turning the ball upside down even once, which is a significant step. It’s no coincidence that he has had his top three receivers – Jamison Crowder, Breshad Perriman and Denzel Mims – from injuries in these games.
“The quarterback position takes a lot of the blame for everything [bad] that happens and many times they are not there, “Gase said.” I think we need to improve on certain points with [Darnold]? Yes, absolutely. I think he’s gotten to the point where he should drop everything? No, no.
“If we manage to clean up a few things, it would really help him in decision-making, accuracy and timing. But we have to be consistent even with the guys who are there.”
The counterargument, however, is that Darnold has not elevated those around him as the elite quarterbacks are capable of doing despite the shortcomings of his cast (see: Brad Brady, Aaron Rodgers).
“The only thing they asked me is what quarterbacks are you talking about that haven’t had a good cast around them?” Gase said. “We can go around in circles in that.”
These circles include Cincinnati, where rookie Joe Burrow, the No. 1 overall pick last spring, threw 300 or more yards in five of his ten starts before a broken ACL ended his rookie season. But he was throwing a much better receiving body than the Jets have: Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd and AJ Green.
They include LA, where Justin Herbert has thrown 300 or more yards in his 14 starts for the Chargers, but throws Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Hunter Henry, one of the game’s best narrow ends.
Darnold has completed passes to nine different receivers and six different streams this season. Some of these players are not of the caliber of the NFL.
So should Darnold be left with a better cast around him or should the Jets give up a 23-year-old to whom they passed the No. 3 overall win in just three years ago?
“I know we all like to think hypothetically and what happens, but now I’m Jet and I love being here,” Darnold said Thursday. “I absolutely believe my best days are ahead.”
For your own good and that of the Jets, I hope those days come while you dress in green and white.