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The Jets need a QB of the future, but some think they are not going to address it this year, but instead wait until next year.
Yahoo Sports headline – “New York Jets Already Accused Of Tanking For Arch Manning.”
A couple of theories are behind this talking point.
The first is that they signed journeyman Geno Smith to likely be their starting QB this year, so theoretically, in the minds of some, they aren’t trying that hard to win this year.
Smith has a 42-56 record as an NFL starter, on various teams, including his first stint with the Jets.
The second theory is that after Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, who is expected to be picked first overall by the Las Vegas Raiders, there aren’t any great QB prospects in this draft, but next year’s draft is loaded with them.
Let’s start with the second theory. First of all, we don’t even know if Mendoza is going to be a great NFL QB.
We never know if any of these college quarterbacks are going to be good on the NFL level.
Evaluating college QBs as NFL prospects is extremely hard, and the reason is that most college offenses don’t translate to the NFL. So many college offenses are simplistic one-read systems with a lot of run-pass options.
So if somebody hasn’t be asked to read defenses or go through progressions in college, how do you know if they can do it in the NFL?
So in other words, you are asking a potential employee you are interested in hiring, to do a job they have never done before – read one, read two, read three, check down progressions.
Just apply that to any industry. If you are looking to hire somebody who has never done the job you are asking them to do, clearly, hiring them is a crapshoot.
And this idea that next year’s class is much better than this year’s group, perhaps, but who the heck knows until these college QBs play next year.
It’s not like Manning was lights out last season.
The last time we saw Oregon’s Dante Moore, he struggled mightily in a college football playoff loss to Indiana.
So let’s pump the brakes on how great the 2027 QB class is. Let’s see how they look in the 2026 college football season.
If the Jets like a QB like Ty Simpson or Garrett Nussmeier, they should take the player rather than buy into next year being better.
And getting back to the first theory, they are tanking since they traded for Geno Smith to be their QB. As I’ve said many times, considering they have missed the playoffs the last 15 years, the Jets would sign up for any of Smith’s last three seasons in Seattle, where he went 9-8, 8-7, and 10-7 from 2002-24.
Granted, Smith went 2-13 last season in Las Vegas, but that was a truly horrible team, with a bad offensive line.
The line Smith will be playing behind with the Jets is a lot better than what Las Vegas had last year.
Look, Smith is a middle-of-the-pack QB, but if you team him with a good offensive line and play-caller (which he will have with the Jets in Frank Reich), you can have a winning record with him.
And one last thing, do you really think Aaron Glenn is in a position to tank this year to get a high pick for a QB in the 2027 draft?
After going 3-14 in his first season with the Jets, you could argue he can’t afford another season like that and survive.
So the last thing on Glenn’s mind right now is tanking for a QB in the 2027 draft.
He is looking to have a good season in 2026 for the sake of his job security.
And like I’ve said throughout the article, why would you tank for a college QB when none of them are slam dunk prospects?
March 20, 2026
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