After Week 5 saw the Giants and Atlanta Falcons get their first wins of the season, the Jets saw themselves thrusted up into sole possession of the worst record on the NFL at 0-6.
But that also puts them into slot for the No. 1 pick in the 2021 Draft, which more than likely is expected to be Clemson's Trevor Lawrence.
Despite having third year QB Sam Darnold on the roster, a Jets legend thinks the team may look in Lawrence's direction.
"It would be hard to pass on Lawrence," Joe Namath said in an interview with The Jake Asman Show on SportsMap Radio on Wednesday. "I tell you, he’s just a marvelous player and has been the last few years. Everything about him, his passing ability, his movement, his habit of winning, he’s a monster. Whoever’s going to get a chance to get him will probably take him."
The Jets have a pretty rough schedule over the final 10 weeks of the season, including games with the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots -- twice. So their chances of securing that No. 1 pick look pretty favorable, to say the least.
"First of all, if it did end up being (the Jets), (GM) Joe Douglas, who’s there now, they’ll make that decision," Namath said. "There’s a lot of teams, 31 other teams out there, and Sam Darnold can play for several of them. So he may be somewhere else starting if that scenario does unfold, if the Jets had that No. 1 pick, they might do something with Sam to get another high draft choice, or two or three."
Namath noted that he is unclear of whether or not the Jets still believe in Darnold, but where they stand with him now could be very different if they are staring at the possibility of taking Lawrence with the No. 1 pick next April.
Sources told ESPN earlier this month that they don't think the Jets would get a first-round pick for Darnold if they decide to trade him and select Lawrence at No. 1, comparing him to what the Cardinals got for Josh Rosen when they selected Kyler Murray in 2019 -- a second- and fifth-round pick.
"I don't think they'd get a (first-round pick) for Sam, but it also depends what he puts on tape the rest of the year," one general manager told ESPN. "The problem is, (Darnold) is struggling with his accuracy, his durability -- so they're in a tough spot. And if everyone knows the Jets are taking a quarterback, then they won't get as much back."
Darnold has one year left on his rookie deal after this season, so there's an outside chance the Jets keep him even if they select Lawrence and let the two battle it out for a year before the team turns to Lawrence fully.
First things first, though, the Jets have to get that No. 1 overall pick. We'll see where they land at the end of December and then really let the questions start flying.
