Photo: BYU Athletics
Months after the Jets hired Joe Douglas as their general manager a couple of years ago, he promised Sam Darnold’s parents in a preseason game that he would do everything in his power to take care of him with protection and playmakers.
Douglas never really had a chance to fulfill his goal. Darnold struggled the last two seasons, and the Jets lost so many games in the process. It reached the point of no return for both parties. The Jets needed to move on and start anew with a new quarterback, and Darnold needed to move on to jumpstart his career.
Maybe Douglas can execute the same promise to Zach Wilson, who was drafted as the No. 2 pick Thursday night. He was already off to a great start by drafting Mekhi Becton and Denzel Mims last year, and he did it again on Thursday night by trading the No. 23 pick (the pick they acquired in the Jamal Adams trade) and two third-round picks to the Minnesota Vikings for the No. 14 pick. He used that pick he traded up for to draft USC offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker.
We all knew Douglas was this great talent evaluator from his days with the Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles. Now, we can see why from his draft selections. He has a great eye for talent, and he knows how to find unheralded players. Last year’s draft should be encouraging.
It’s no wonder why Jets fans and the local media did not take issue with the selection of Wilson at No. 2. They trust that Douglas knows what he is doing from his track record.
Whether it works or not is another thing. For now, Douglas deserves credit for being all in to give Wilson a chance to succeed. He also tried his best for Darnold, and it could have worked had the Jets not been this bad where change had to happen.
There’s more work to be done. This weekend’s draft will say so much about Douglas’ thought process. We won’t know how good these guys are until a year or two. What Jets fans want to see is some hope like last season when Becton and Sims produced in games. If Vera-Tucker can have the same impact Becton had last season, this only increases Douglas’ stock as general manager.
Wilson seems confident in what Douglas is doing or else he would have told him that he did not want to be the Jets top pick in the draft.
It will be interesting what the third-rounders and fourth-rounders from last season can do moving forward. If the Jets can get production from them this coming season, they can be in business in being a playoff team.
Douglas also has to get it right with free agency to supplement with the draft.
Getting Wilson was nice, but it won’t mean much if Douglas can’t give him the supporting cast to help him succeed. Ex-Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan got it right drafting Sam Darnold, but he got it wrong in finding a supporting cast for him.
The draft is not an exact science. No one really knows what these players can do until they play in live-action. We saw something in Becton and Mims last year to think this could work out. But we still need to see more out of those two to think last year’s draft picks were a success.
It would be foolish to play Wilson right away. Yes, I understand rookie quarterbacks learn more by playing than watching. But there are only a few playmakers for Wilson to work with. It turned out to be a problem for Darnold, and the Jets can’t make the same mistake again. If the Jets want to play their rookie quarterback, late November would be a fine place to start. Until then, the Jets need to keep drafting offensive talent for Wilson.
By the end of year 3 of Douglas’ drafts, we should have a great idea if Douglas got it right or not.
Until then, we can only go by hope and maybe.
This is what happens when a team whiffed on draft picks for so many rounds that it cost John Idzik and Maccagnan their jobs.
If it does not work in a few years, we will go through the same exercise again with a new general manager and a new quarterback.
For once, the Jets have to hope they hit it big with Douglas just like they have to hope their general manager got it right in supplementing Wilson with all the talent.
Right now, it sounds good. That’s all Wilson can go with as he goes through hard knocks in the National Football League.
