FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The quarterback vibe for the New York Jets has a 2018 feel to it. In other words, there’s a significant void.
That year, they went into free agency with journeyman Josh McCown atop the depth chart while holding the sixth pick in the draft. They signed Teddy Bridgewater and made a St. Patrick’s Day blockbuster, trading up three spots. They eventually selected Sam Darnold, traded Bridgewater before the season and rolled with Darnold and McCown.
Could the current Jets, in the post-Aaron Rodgers era, steal from that playbook? They have Tyrod Taylor — of similar ilk to McCown — and the seventh pick.
“We’re going to exhaust all options,” general manager Darren Mougey said last week at the combine.
This time, the Jets are in a pickle because the demand outweighs the supply. They’re among at least seven teams looking for a starting-caliber quarterback. It’s not a particularly strong quarterback draft, and there are five pending free agents with at least 16 starts over the past two seasons: Darnold, Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, Mac Jones and Daniel Jones.
It’s not a long or attractive list, considering Mac and Daniel Jones might be done as starters and Darnold had a rough go in New York from 2018 to 2020.
This puts a lot of pressure on Mougey and coach Aaron Glenn to find a quarterback solution, a perennial issue for the Jets. One of the biggest reasons for their 14-year playoff drought is they rank last in total QBR (40.1) over that span.
Starting Monday, when the free agent negotiating period begins, things could unfold a few different ways. The Jets are expected to invest in at least one quarterback; the question is whether it’s a veteran, a rookie or both.
Here are factors that the Jets will consider as they embark on their search:
The Tyrod Taylor scenario
Predictably, Mougey and Glenn talked up Taylor at the combine. After all, he’s their only experienced quarterback under contract. The others are 2024 fifth-round pick Jordan Travis and Adrian Martinez, a former UFL standout. Neither has played a down in the NFL.
As much as they respect Taylor’s experience and leadership, the Jets’ new decision-makers aren’t about to anoint him the QB1. Not yet, anyway.
“We can’t say that,” Glenn said. “We haven’t had free agency; we haven’t had the draft. Listen, Tyrod’s a good player, we know that. I think he’s won almost 50% of his games (28-28-1), so he’s a guy that’s been in this league for a long time. [But] to answer that question, it’s hard to because draft and free agency haven’t come yet.”
Taylor, 35, has performed reasonably well over the years (career touchdown-interception ratio: 68-29), but he has a long history of injuries and hasn’t started more than six games in a season since 2017. He was limited to only two mop-up appearances last season.
On the surface, Taylor seems like a fallback option, but the Jets are telling people they would be comfortable with him as their opening-day starter. There’s virtually no chance of them going into the season with Taylor, Travis and Martinez.
Sign a veteran ‘bridge’
The Jets are open to adding a veteran to compete with Taylor, but only if they feel it’s the right fit. In other words, don’t be surprised if they emerge from the first wave of free agency without another quarterback.
The logical target is Fields, a player with upside. The Jets may see him as this year’s version of Darnold, meaning a highly drafted quarterback who got banged around for a few years before finding a comfort zone. Darnold found it with the Minnesota Vikings; could Fields have it with the Jets?
Two potential snags: Fields still could re-sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers. If not, he’s sure to attract interest from others.
Fields’ struggles in the pocket are well-documented — he ranks 29th out of 34 qualified passers in total QBR since 2021 — but the Chicago Bears‘ 2021 first-round pick is only 26 and brings exceptional mobility to the position. He expanded his game last season.
In winning four of six starts with the Steelers, Fields got a chance to play under center (as opposed to shotgun) more frequently than he did with the Bears. Ditto, play-action passing. Those will be two staples for the Jets under new offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand, who figures to install a version of the Detroit Lions‘ offense. No quarterback had a higher percentage of under-center plays and play-action passes than the Lions’ Jared Goff, per Next Gen Stats.
Kirk Cousins could be an option if he shakes free from the Atlanta Falcons, who demoted him last season after signing him to a four-year, $180 million contract. Cousins, 36, is coming off his worst season, but injuries may have been a factor. Jets senior football adviser Rick Spielman, formerly the Vikings’ GM, signed Cousins as a free agent in 2018. (A side note: The Jets, in their QB quandary that year, were spurned by Cousins despite making a bigger offer than the Vikings.)
Three players with ties to the Jets’ coaching staff also loom as possibilities: Marcus Mariota, Carson Wentz and Jameis Winston. Mariota played one season under quarterbacks coach Charles London (Falcons); Wentz had a year under passing-game coordinator Scott Turner (Washington Commanders); and Winston overlapped for a year with Glenn (New Orleans Saints).
Not one of the latter three has played particularly well in recent years. Such is the state of the current QB market.
Draft a second-tier prospect
Based on conversations with league sources, this is a likely avenue for the Jets.
Typically, new regimes look to reset the depth chart on teams without clear-cut starters. They want to draft and develop their own, allowing him to grow up in their program. Toward that end, Mougey said there are “a lot of intriguing prospects.”
Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss is widely regarded as the third-best quarterback prospect, behind Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders. Spielman has stated his affinity for Dart, who backed up a strong 2024 season (4,279 yards, 29 TDs) with a terrific showing at the Senior Bowl and a solid combine.
Dart’s rising stock could put him in the first round, according to some evaluators. Picking seventh, the Jets could be in no man’s land — too low for Ward and Sanders, too high for Dart. If he’s their target, it might require some maneuvering. They also have the 42nd pick.
Other options include Louisville’s Tyler Shough, Texas’ Quinn Ewers and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe. A handful of others could get drafted. If the Jets add Dart or another draft pick to a depth chart that includes Taylor and another veteran, they’d have the luxury of bringing along the rookie at a slow pace. It wouldn’t be a rush job, like it was with Zach Wilson in 2021.
If no one in the draft strikes their fancy, they can continue to develop Travis and wait until the 2026 draft to land their big fish. The new regime is eager to work with Travis, who basically redshirted last season as he recovered from a severely injured ankle from college.
ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid said a quarterback would make sense for the Jets, but not in the first round unless Ward or Sanders falls into their lap. Dart, he said, would be a good fit in the second round as a potential winning “lottery ticket” and someone who can compete with Travis.
“I don’t think the Jets should be in a rush to add a rookie quarterback, in my honest opinion, especially in the first year of this regime,” Reid said on a conference call. “This really is the year where you’re trying to find out who fits Aaron Glenn’s scheme and the vision that the GM has as far as what they want to do moving forward. … I wouldn’t be pressed to find an answer in Year 1.”
Trade up … way up
Could they execute a variation of the 2018 plan? This year’s crop isn’t nearly as strong as the 2018 class, which produced Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson alongside Darnold, so it probably doesn’t make sense to make that kind of move.
That said, the Jets have expressed interest in trading up to No. 1, ESPN’s Dan Graziano reported. Presumably, the target would be Ward, who led the FBS with 39 touchdown passes in 2024. At this point, it’s just due diligence by Mougey, who reportedly reached out to the Tennessee Titans. Nothing is imminent. Maybe the sense of urgency will intensify if they strike out in free agency.
“I think the Jets are not too far off, maybe a couple pieces,” Ward said at the combine, where he met with team officials. “I’m just hoping I can be one of them.”
In 2009, the Jets replaced a Green Bay Packers legend (Brett Favre) by trading up for Mark Sanchez, taken fifth overall. It would be symmetrical if they did the same in the post-Rodgers era, but the current roster isn’t nearly as polished as it was then. They need as many picks as possible, and it would cost a king’s ransom to jump six spots.
To move up from ninth to first in 2023, the Carolina Panthers, in a swap with Chicago, gave up first- and second-round picks in 2023, their first-rounder in 2024, a second-rounder in 2025 and wide receiver DJ Moore. They did it to pick Bryce Young.
Desperate teams do desperate things, something the Jets must guard against.
