The Jets traded up in the draft for a change Saturday following three trades down. The Jets moved up to pick No. 171 in a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, who also traded three times in the fourth round, sending picks 185 and 190 to the Eagles. New York grabbed their new quarterback with the pick, selecting Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis.
New York was always likely to select a quarterback on Day 3 of the draft to sit and learn behind Aaron Rodgers and Tyrod Taylor. Travis is a talented quarterback. His obvious knock was the leg injury he suffered back in November.
Travis helped put Florida State in position to run the table, win the ACC and perhaps land in the College Football Playoff. However, the Seminoles were not the same team without Travis and, despite finishing 13-0, were left out of the four-team playoff.
Travis is a dual-threat quarterback (almost 2,000 rushing yards and 31 rushing touchdowns in college) and was one of the best quarterbacks Florida State ever saw. He is the all-time school leader in total offense (10,665 yards) and total touchdowns (99). If there was ever a good landing spot for the 2023 Heisman candidate, it was with the Jets. He can fully recover from his broken leg, learn from Rodgers and potentially compete for a starting job in 2025.
Travis is only a few days away from turning 24 years old, but that’s not much of a worry for a fifth-round pick unlike the Falcons taking a 24-year-old with the 8th overall pick. It’s a low- risk with plenty of potential for the Jets, who were looking at Travis in the fourth but felt the lack of interest overall in the quarterbacks and were able to wait — no quarterback was selected until South Carolina QB Spencer Rattler was taken by the Saints at No. 150.