Sports Time Radio

Now at this time of year you can almost always as yourself; do the New York Jets know what they’re doing? Now there are plenty of good reasons for that question and will have to see if the latest move they just made falls into that category.

The Jets gave into what almost seemed to be pressure from the media and traded Sam Darnold. Darnold went to the Carolina Panthers and for a former #3 overall pick the Jets didn’t get much in return. New York will receive a 6th round pick in this upcoming draft along with a 2nd and a 4th round pick in the 2022 draft.

The Jets own the #2 overall pick in this upcoming draft and it’s now clear that they will also be taking a quarterback and it appears as they’ve settle on Zach Wilson out of BYU. Now the Jets hired a new head coach this off season and in a lot of cases new head coaches like to have their own quarterback when they take over and the Jets are doing that for Robert Saleh. Now will have to wait and see if it’s the right quarterback.

As for Darnold it’s been reported that he’ll be the Panthers starting quarterback next season even though Teddy Bridgewater is still on their roster. You have to wonder if the Panthers will try to use Bridgewater as trade bait with some of the other teams out their that are still looking for a quarterback. Dealing Bridgewater could also help Carolina recoup some of the draft picks they just gave up to get Darnold.

Don’t forget that Darnold will be just 24 years old at the start of the season and never really had much of a team put around him in New York. The biggest question about Darnold might be; can he stay healthy for a full season? Darnold has never played more than 13 games in his three year career; so that may be some motivation for Carolina to hang on to Bridgewater just in case Darnold gets injured during the season.

Adam Gase was the Jets head coach that was supposed to develop Darnold into and NFL quarterback, but obviously that didn’t happen. In 38 starts for the Jets the team went 13-25 with Darnold. He threw for 8097 yards in those 38 games with 45 touchdowns and 39 interceptions. Last season Darnold actually threw more interceptions (11) than he did touchdowns (9). That’s never a good stat for a quarterback. One thing for sure that would help Darnold improve immediately would be if the Panthers can find a way to keep him upright. In his three seasons with the Jets Darnold was sacked 30 times in 2018, 33 times in 2019 and 35 times last season. Those are big sack totals for a young quarterback to dal with and it’s not like Darnold can’t run a little.

Now it’s Carolina’s head coach Matt Rhule’s job to turn Darnold into the quarterback people thought he’d be when he was the 3rd pick in the 2018 draft.

Let me know what you think of this trade. Did the Jets get enough in return for Darnold? How do you think Darnold will do with his new team?

With the Darnold trade it looks like we’ll see quarterbacks taken with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd picks in this upcoming draft. It would be a huge shock if the Jacksonville Jaquars didn’t take Trevor Lawrence with the #1 overall pick. Now it looks like the Jets will go with Wilson at #2 and all report seem to have the San Francisco 49ers; who now own the 3rd pick in the draft from a trade they made a week or so ago taking Mac Jones. There are no real questions in the draft until we get to the 4th pick which is currently owned by the Atlanta Falcons.

There was some talk and even in some early mock drafts that the Falcons would also be selecting a quarterback, but that has changed lately. The Falcons themselves have come out and said that they would listen to trade offers for that #4 pick and now in most cases if the Falcons end up holding onto that 4th pick most new mock drafts have them adding Kyle Pitts the tight end from Florida.

What the Falcons do will they a lot about where their franchise might be headed very soon. They have a veteran quarterback already in Matt Ryan; so you have to wonder if they would take his successor in this draft or if they would wait another year or two. The Falcons have Ryan under contract until the 2023 season; so if they where to draft a young quarterback he’d have some time to sit behind a veteran quarterback and learn the NFL game unlike a lot of quarterback do in today’s game.

While it may not make sense for the Falcons to draft a quarterback trading that pick could bring them the windfall they need to compete in a division that features the New Orleans Saints and the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Is it possible that a team like the Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears or the Washington Football Team be willing to give up enough to move up to that #4 pick. San Francisco gave up three 1st round picks and a 3rd round pick to move up from #12 to #3 you have to wonder if Atlanta would want a similar return for a team to move into that 4th spot.

We’re just 22 days away from the NFL draft; so it won’t be long until we find out who ends up doing what.

Don’t forget to listen to the live version of the Sports Time Radio podcast on BlogTalkRadio.com. Now if you miss the podcast live all you have to do is head over to TuneIn.com and you can listen any time you want.

I’m also on Twitter @Burketime if you’d like to look me up there.