New York Jets Leading Race for the No. 1 Pick in the NFL Draft
In election season, neither candidate from the two prominent political parties have the grip on the presidential race that the New York Jets have on the race for the top pick.
The Jets are not locks by any stretch but their certainly have the inside track on the No. 1 pick in next spring’s NFL Draft. Football Outsiders, in their weekly numbers dump, have the Jets officially at a 0.0 percent chance of making the playoffs.
And now, according to Football Outsiders, they currently have a 50.9 percent chance at the first overall pick in the draft. They are at 91.2 percent at a top five pick.
The percent chance reflects their dismal record. At 0-7, the Jets are the only winless team in the NFL. This weekend, playing at the 6-1 Kansas City Chiefs, represents in all likelihood, another difficult outing for the Jets.
The first overall pick in the draft represents something to play (or not play for) as the Jets season trudges along. But it is also a dilemma.
Were the Jets to land the first overall pick, they would certainly be in-line for Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. And that is the dilemma.
Having taken Sam Darnold three years ago in the first round (and moving up to do so), the selection of Lawrence would signal the end of one quarterback’s time in New York and the beginning of another rebuild. Darnold was selected third overall in the 2018 draft and was supposed to be the Jets most recent incarnation of a franchise quarterback.
While many believe he can be that franchise quarterback if given a proper offensive line and some playmakers, the potential of landing the first pick and the tantalizing prize of Lawrence could see the Jets move on from Darnold to Lawrence.
Of course, the Jets could also trade the first pick to a team in search of a franchise quarterback and get a bevy of draft selections as well as potentially other personnel pieces in exchange for the pick that would become Lawrence.
