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It’s no secret that the Jets were on a mission this off-season to improve their backup QB situation after the position kind of hurt them last year.
The Jets went into the 2023 season with a dubious backup plan behind quarterback Aaron Rodgers, going with Zach Wilson, who needed a redshirt year if they were truly going to fix his broken mechanics.
The organization had hit the reset button with Wilson to try and fix him, after he was rushed into action too quickly early in his career.
So he clearly should have been the #3 QB in 2023, not one snap away from having to replace Rodgers, which happened four offensive plays into the season when Rodgers tore his Achilles.
Not a good plan, and the Jets’ brass would be the first to admit it, with the owner even saying at a Super Bowl event that the team didn’t have a backup QB last year.
No surprise, one of the first moves the Jets made out of the gate in free agency was signing veteran QB Tyrod Taylor, a player with a long history as a backup, along with 57 NFL starts.
So what are the Jets getting in Taylor?
Watching Taylor in the open practices this spring, what you see is a very conservative quarterback.
That isn’t meant as a criticism of Taylor, just an observation.
He’s very careful with the ball, not a risk taker.
And to his credit, his style of high-level ball security has helped him stay in the league 13 years, about to enter his 14th. Teams have no interest in a backup QB who is a turnover machine when he has to enter the game.
But if Rodgers gets hurt, what kind of success can the Jets have with Taylor under center?
You could argue his career record as a starter will tell you what to expect.
He is 28-28-1 as an NFL starter.
He is a .500 starter.
Considering the Jets have had losing records, under .500, in every season since 2016, perhaps .500 would be an upgrade.
Watching Taylor at Tuesday’s OTA practice, we saw him take off and run on three plays on passing plays.
I’ve never loved that in practices where you can’t touch the QB. Why not experiment, instead of running, because it’s not only a wasted rep for his receivers, tight ends or running backs who could use the reps in the passing game, but also the pass defenders, like cornerbacks, who could haved used the chance to make a play on the ball on these three plays.
Wilson used to run a lot in these practices leading to a lot of wasted reps.
Look, this is who Taylor is. A class act, who when asked to backup, is always the consummate team player, and supportive of the starter, and when asked to play, he can manage the game, but will take few chances.
And I actually think that if something happened to Rodgers this season, Taylor could do better than his .500 career record.
Not because Taylor has changed his style or improved. He is what he is.
The reason I think he could do better than .500 this season is because the Jets might have the easiest schedule in the league, featuring a lot of teams with suspect QB situations.
Even with his ultra-conservative playing style, Taylor will be better than a number of the QBs the Jets play this season.
Plus, the Jets should have a very good defense, so if Taylor has to play, he likely won’t have to win games 40-35. This defense, especially against this schedule, should keep the scores down.
So Taylor should be able to have a winning record for the Jets as a starter, this particular season, if Rodgers gets hurt.
June 5, 2024
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