NY Jets should go all-in on 2024...by drafting a rookie QB

Here's why the Jets should draft a QB in the first round of the 2024 draft

NY Jets, Aaron Rodgers / Rich Schultz/GettyImages

The NY Jets went all-in on the 2023 season. They pushed all their chips to the middle of the table, but instead of being in it until the river, their hand was done after the flop.

Giving up such valuable future assets to increase your chance in the present can cripple a team, but the Jets’ stars are so young they have the ability to go all in again for 2024 and not face the dire consequences other teams have.

How? Draft a rookie quarterback at the top of the first round.

Aaron Rodgers was just cleared to practice, but call me crazy for not believing that an almost 40-year-old dude with a history of twisting the truth is being honest about the rate at which he is recovering from an Achilles tear that happened barely three months ago.

The Jets will continue to stink this year and have a top 5-8 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft — close enough to trade into the top three or so to get the second quarterback off the board.

This roster is still loaded with talent, especially on defense, which means you only need a couple of scores, and you’ll be competitive every game. If there is no Rodgers insurance, which you might want to have for an old quarterback coming off a major injury, another year of this team’s young core will be wasted.

What better insurance could there be than a top draft pick? Rodgers has already seemed pretty happy to mentor Zach Wilson — he should be even happier if his protégé actually has a shot at putting what is being taught to use.

This is an all-in move for 2024 because it assures the Jet offense does not look how it did in 2022 or 2023. All rookies have their moments where they look like rookies, but there have been ones each year that play better than Wilson ever has.

They have more than just flashes of good play. There are long stretches where C.J. Stroud or Brock Purdy play like legitimate to very-good starting QBs, and they just got to the league.

Could the Jets get the same level of production, with their weapons, as the Indianapolis Colts were getting from Anthony Richardson to start the season? He wasn’t playing at an elite level before he got injured, but they were still able to actually score touchdowns and win some games.

And that scenario is only the backup plan. Plan A is Rodgers is ready to go, and we finally get to see what this team would look like together. Maybe grab a starting lineman or two in free agency and another weapon late in the draft.

Rodgers will have all the protection and playmakers he needs. Either Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels gets to reap the benefits of sitting behind an all-time legend for their first season. The Jets' offensive weapons can actually get used, and the defense doesn’t have to be exhausted from constantly being on the field.

But if the glass did have to be broken for an emergency…the hype was crazy just for an old dude who will maybe give the Jets some hope for a couple of seasons.

Can you imagine what a Rodgers-seasoned Jayden Daniels would do for Jets fan morale? Just him being there and having it not be Zach Wilson, Tim Boyle, Joe Flacco, Mike White, Trevor Siemian, etc., is enough.

A decade from now, the Jets could still be getting rewarded for having gotten Rodgers as they watch his mentee throw for another score. This is a crucial moment in Jets history — may the football Gods at least let it be interesting.