Ex-Jets Scout Believes Chris Streveler Should Replace Zach Wilson
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The magic of New York's Chris Streveler began this past preseason against Philadelphia.
With 17 seconds left, trailing 21-17, he threw the game winning touchdown in the corner of the end zone.
The following week, this undrafted quarterback out of South Dakota came out of nowhere again and threw a 34-yard touchdown pass as New York held on for the win over Atlanta.
After these two games, it was becoming more and more apparent the Jets had found a diamond in the rough who was in the mold of former longtime NFL QB Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Kudos to Jets' General Manager Joe Douglas for spotting Streveler with his eye for overlooked talent. Streveler had spent time on the Ravens' practice squad in 2021 before spending three months with the Dolphins this past off-season.
Douglas signed Streveler on July 26.
Through the first couple of pre-season games, he showed off dual-threat ability highlighted by smooth ball-handling skills and a convincing play-action fake he could bootleg off of and either throw or take off running.
Streveler saved his best for last in the Jets' final preseason game against the Giants.
That's when the magic of Streveler struck again.
He heaved a deep touchdown pass down the right sideline to Jets' wide receiver Denzel Mims to knot up the score 24-24. The Giants responded by going up 27-24, but in classic Streveler style, on 4th and goal with 27 seconds left, it happened.
The man who has made a living on last chances pulled out the improbable win by throwing the game-winning touchdown pass.
The words of Jets' Head Coach Robert Saleh said it best when he said Streveler, "had probably one of the greatest preseasons in the history of football."
Wow, that was a mouthful.
After bouncing around from the CFL to playing on his fourth team in the NFL, those were words well deserved for the QB who had never given up.
However, the beautiful words of Saleh were replaced with the cold news the team had released Streveler during their final cut down, but they did bring him back once he cleared waivers.
Streveler now finds himself on the Jets' practice squad where he has had a bird's eye view of New York's 7-7 three ring QB circus, which has featured Joe Flacco, Zach WIlson and Mike White.
The Jets know what they have in Flacco and Wilson, and with White's ongoing injury concerns, I say it's time to give Streveler a shot.
Flacco is a long-time veteran who is in the twilight of his career and guessing how Wilson will do against Jacksonville is as predictable as Santa Claus making his annual trip around the world the evening of December 24.
In 2021, Wilson completed 55.6% of his passes.
In 2022, Wilson has completed 54.9% of his passes.
Wilson completes about half his passes (just as he did again last week) like clockwork.
That's not going to win anything in the National Football League.
The Jets need a spark right now — they need some magic — and they need someone right now who thrives when given one last chance, because this team is running out of chances.
If New York puts Streveler in, he will win the rest of the games.
Will that be enough to get this team into the playoffs?
I don't know how all the playoff scenarios will shake out, but what I do know is if New York sticks with WIlson, they have no chance.
MORE:
- Zach Wilson Spoke With These Legendary Quarterbacks After Getting Benched
- Zach Wilson Has Chance to Prove He Belongs Against Trevor Lawrence on National Stage
- How the Jets Can Defeat Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence
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