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More and more people in the Jets’ Nation are realizing
that the team’s GM, Joe Douglas, brings a lot to the table.
Today is the two year anniversary of the day he was hired by the Jets.
The Jets tweeted out this anniversary on their official Twitter account.
Jets fan Pietro DiSante replied, “And every day since, the legend of Joe Douglas has grown bigger and bigger.”
I have said it before, and I will say it again. Christopher Johnson hiring Joe Douglas was the best hire, of any kind, by the Johnson Family, since they bought the team in 2000.
And I’ve said that to Christopher.
Now some people might say it’s premature to praise Douglas too much since the Jets were 9-23 his first two seasons with the team. Perhaps, but you have to be pretty oblivious to not see that this GM has a lot on the ball.
I will let a couple of fans jump in here.
“The Jets got more for Sam Darnold than the Falcons got for Julio Jones,” tweeted Matt O’Leary.
Obviously, they play different positions, but Jones has certainly had a more decorated career than Darnold, and might get Hall-of-Fame consideration.
Honestly, considering Darnold was the NFL’s lowest-rated pass the last three seasons, It was somewhat surprising Douglas was able to get a second-round pick in the deal. Fourth and sixth round picks, fine, but a second, wow.
“Douglas getting TWO firsts for Jamal (Adams) will never not be funny,” tweeted P.J. Clark.
That was pretty amazing also. Two first round picks for a safety who plays mostly in the box, in pass happy league, was great value.
Look, we have no idea how the 2021 draft will turn out, but getting QB Zach Wilson, G Alijah Vera-Tucker, WR Elijah Moore and RB Michael Carter with their first four picks looks like an impressive quartet on paper, and all could be foundational pieces moving forward. We see if paper turns into on-field NFL success, but it’s hard to argue with the value at this point.
Let’s put it this way, Douglas still has a lot of prove, but he exudes big-time competency.
And Christopher Johnson making him the football czar, and moving on from the old hierarchy, of the coach and GM being equals, also puts the Jets in better shape moving forward.
Now Douglas still has a lot of work to do, like continuing to fix the secondary.
Also, he hasn’t been perfect. The signing of Ryan Kalil right out of the gate was a snafu, and his two third-round picks from 2020 have a lot of work to do, but most Jets fans seem to realize that they have the right guy in the GM office.
Some of the past GM’s and coaches didn’t seem to pass the smell test with many Jets fan, but this guy clearly does.
June 7, 2021
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