Does Jets' Justin Fields Deal Eliminate 1st-Round QB? 'Absolutely Not,' Says Insider

A full range of outcomes remains on the table...

Dec 8, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields (2) warms up before the game against the Cleveland Browns at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Having a franchise quarterback is a wonderful feeling for an NFL fan base, but New York Jets fans unfortunately can't relate.

The Jets' repeated failure to find a reliable quarterback over the past two decades is well-documented, as is the team's NFL-worst 14-year playoff drought. And though the team has already committed to a new direction at the position, that doesn't mean the work is done.

The Jets signed four-year veteran and former Chicago Bears first-round pick Justin Fields to be their presumptive starting quarterback earlier this month. New York gave Fields a two-year, $40 million deal after an up-and-down start to his career with the Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Does Fields' presence mean the Jets can afford to start focusing on their other positional needs? Not according to one team insider.

On Monday, SNY's Connor Hughes wrote a mailbag column, in which he opined that the Jets should take a quarterback early in the 2025 NFL Draft, even in the first round if necessary, if they felt that youngster could eventually develop into a true franchise player.

"Absolutely not," Hughes wrote in response to a reader. "In all likelihood, the Jets franchise quarterback is not on their roster. "They need to find him. If they evaluate anyone in this class and believe they have that potential … take him. Shedeur Sanders or Jaxson Dart, or Jalen Milroe, or Will Howard."

"The Jets current roster structure actually affords them a much better situation to do so. They have Fields and Taylor. There is no rush to force a young quarterback to play before he’s ready. He can sit a full year and develop. The only downside would be keeping three quarterbacks on the 53. But, again, if you believe in the player: That doesn’t matter."

The Jets hold the seventh pick in the first round, and it's not considered to be a great year for quarterbacks. Only Sanders and Miami's Cam Ward are typically projected to go in those first seven picks, and neither seems all that likely to drop to New York at seven.

So should the Jets try to trade up? Stay where they are and reach for Dart? Take a swing at Howard or Kyle McCord in the second round? All of these outcomes are on the table, and that's reason to be both excited and nervous.

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