As speculation over the 0-4 Jets’ future plans with a potential No. 1 pick continues to swirl, many are wondering what the team could get for Sam Darnold if New York decided to move on.
If Trevor Lawrence is on the board in April, it’s hard to see the Jets not picking the Clemson product. In that case, they would try to trade Darnold.
The Jets would find themselves in a situation similar to the one their Week 5 opponents — the Arizona Cardinals — recently found themselves in. One year after trading up to select QB Josh Rosen in the same draft the Jets landed Darnold, the Cardinals used the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft on QB Kyler Murray. They then turned around and traded Rosen to the Dolphins for second and fifth-round picks.
If Gang Green elects to go down this similar path, NFL executives believe the Jets would likely get back a similar package for Darnold, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The sentiment around these opposing NFL GMs is that Darnold has struggled and is displaying the same elements that plagued him in college. Still, it only takes one team to fall in love with his potential.
As Darnold sits on Sunday with a shoulder injury, the third-year quarterback is off to a less than ideal start to his 2020 season. In four games, Darnold has completed 59.4% of his passes for 792 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions. When he gets back in the lineup, he’ll need to show a bit more, whether the Jets plan on keeping him or not.