The Jets are only a quarter of the way into their 2020 season and the attention is already shifting toward the 2021 NFL Draft.
According to ESPN’s FPI, the Jets have a 27.7 percent chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming draft. Only the New York Giants have better chances than the Jets to get the top pick, but only slightly at 27.8 percent. The Jacksonville Jaguars sit right behind the Jets with an 8.2 percent chance to get the No. 1 overall pick.
At 0-4 and with no easy wins in sight, it’s hard not to think about the draft when it comes to the Jets. They have been non-competitive in three of their first four games and blew possibly their best shot at a win on Thursday against the Denver Broncos. Their schedule is brutal the rest of the way, so it’s hard to imagine them picking up any wins, barring an unforeseen turnaround.
If the Jets do indeed get the No. 1 overall pick, they could very well take a quarterback. There is a consensus that Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence is the top player in next year’s draft. The Jets taking a quarterback like Lawrence would probably mean it’s the end of the road for Sam Darnold in New York.
Darnold hasn’t panned out the way the Jets expected him to when they took him third overall in 2018. Not all of the blame is on Darnold’s shoulders, though. The organization has failed to give him the support he needs, whether it’s quality coaches or players.
But if Darnold continues to play poorly and the Jets keep losing, there’s a good chance they get the No. 1 overall pick and start fresh next year.