Jets go into full tank mode for 2018 NFL Draft

The New York Jets are going to suck. Even stink is too soft a word for what we should expect out of the Jets in 2017.

This is a team that is going to start one of the following three players (and likely the first one) at quarterback this season: Josh McCown, Bryce Petty, Christian Hackenberg. Of those three, they have an over-the-hill running back in Matt Forte to hand the ball off to, and a wide receiver corps that has Quincy Enunwa as the top weapon, following Tuesday’s release of Eric Decker.

To put it mildly, New York is entering a complete rebuild from the ground up. The Jets are going into this season with the knowledge that anything above one or two wins would be stunning, and frankly, disappointment. Gang Green desperately wants to be as bad as possible, in hopes of getting the top pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, giving it the chance to take whichever quarterback becomes the top dog in a loaded class.

Sam Darnold out of USC might be the most highly-thought of quarterback to come out of college since Andrew Luck, although he has plenty to prove. Josh Rosen has been talked about since he played in high school, and while he has been inconsistent at UCLA, there’s a real chance he ends up being the first named called. Then there is Josh Allen out of the University of Wyoming, who has been shooting up boards since a very good 2016 campaign.

While this is going to be one of the most painful years in franchise history, the Jets are doing the right thing. There is no point in being 7-9 or 6-10 every season. The Buffalo Bills have mastered the art of being mediocre for the better part of 20 years, and they are still waiting to be even decent, and certainly still looking for Jim Kelly’s replacement.

New York has not had a franchise quarterback since Joe Namath was in his heyday, all the way back in the late 1960s. There have been some attempts including Richard Todd, Ken O’Brien, Chad Pennington and Mark Sanchez, but none became that championship-caliber player. New York is hoping that luck finally changes.

Give general manager Mike Maccagnan credit. This fire sale is the right move, and yet it probably costs both him and head coach Todd Bowles their jobs at the end of the year. It’s a selfless decision by a general manager who could easily have tried to rebuild on the fly, maybe winning seven or eight games.

And yes, Maccagnan deserves blame as well. He created this mess, but at least he is owning up to it. That’s a rare move in the win-at-all-costs NFL.

The Jets suck today, but because of it, could have a bright future.