Henry McKenna
NFL reporter
The excellent news for Jaguars followers is that they did not have to look at their workforce lose final weekend. Jacksonville was on its bye. And, in flip, the Jags maintained their finest probability at getting the No. 1 choose within the 2025 NFL Draft.
But these aren’t the one dumpster fires burning. The New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders – each with out beginning quarterbacks – stay at two wins. It appears to be like like all of those groups might attain pole place for the draft by the tip of the season. But we won’t rely the three-win groups, just like the New York Jets, who we’ll speak about subsequent.
Here’s what the highest 10 seem like in provisional order by way of Week 12:
- Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9)
- New York Giants (2-9)
- Las Vegas Raiders (2-9)
- New England Patriots (3-9)
- Carolina Panthers (3-8)
- Tennessee Titans (3-8)
- New York jet (3-8)
- Cleveland Browns (3-8)
- New Orleans Saints (4-7)
- Cincinnati Bengals (4-7)
As we comply with the race for the No. 1 choose, we’ll spotlight a special workforce every week till the order is established. Last week it was the Dallas Cowboys, whose win over the Commanders on Sunday took them out of the highest 10 of the draft.
(2025 NFL Draft order: What ought to the Cowboys do in the event that they get the No. 1 choose?)
It looks as if any time is an efficient time for the Jets to begin serious about the longer term. They’ve been absolutely invested in Aaron Rodgers for a lot of the final two years, but it surely would not seem like that may final lengthy. New York fired its coach (Robert Saleh) and basic supervisor (Joe Douglas). Will the subsequent regime need to come again with Rodgers after this yr’s workforce was such a catastrophe?
Here’s what FOX Sports NFL writers Henry McKenna and Ben Arthur imagine the Jets ought to do in the event that they get the No. 1 choose.
McKenna: I like Miami QB Cam Ward for the Jets. It seems it is going to come right down to a race between Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders for the QB1 of the 2025 draft. But with Sanders, the Jets would discover themselves in the same scenario to that of Rodgers. When Sanders comes, it is the Sanders present. And that would imply the arrival of coach Deion Sanders. Whether he is a package deal deal or not, Deion shall be a headache for no matter franchise Shedeur chooses. The Jets can be clever to keep away from quarterbacks with baggage, if just for a short time.
Ward, nevertheless, just isn’t with out issues. It could remind followers of Zach Wilson popping out of BYU in 2021, partly as a result of Miami’s schedule would not embody formidable opponents. This affected Ward’s online game statistics: 343 passing yards per recreation with 34 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Ward is about 6-foot-2 and weighs 220 kilos. And given his super arm power and off-platform throwing talents, I guess he’ll draw comparisons to Caleb Williams attributable to their comparable dimension and profile. Williams was a greater prospect, however his rookie points with the Bears might foreshadow potential pitfalls for Ward.
It’s about weaponizing vanity. Once within the NFL, elite throwers want extra than simply arm power to finish a go. And that is the place the most important questions stay in Ward’s recreation. How a lot can he enhance his footwork, timing and throwing movement? How a lot is he keen to study recreation administration?
We affiliate Ward with a coach like Lions OC Ben Johnson or Ravens OC Todd Monken in New York. Let’s lastly get the Jets rolling.
Arthur: I’ll have to stay to Henry’s thought course of. The Jets completely must get quarterbacks, and with the No. 1 choose, it must be Ward or Sanders. The latter is my alternative, although.
I feel one thing to bear in mind is Sanders’ need to need to be with the Jets within the first place. Deion Sanders stated he would intervene “privately” if the fallacious workforce wished to draft his son. We should not underestimate the power of highly effective soccer households to do that (see the Mannings, who managed to get Eli with the Giants as an alternative of the Chargers in 2004). And let’s be trustworthy, the Jets are a powerful contender for the “fallacious” workforce.
Aside from the chance the New York market would current for the younger Sanders, the Jets have been engulfed in a long time of dysfunction, failing early-round quarterbacks within the course of. For instance, Sam Darnold and Geno Smith have been labeled busts by the franchise, solely to seek out success later of their careers with different groups. The Sanders household can be justified in doubting the Jets’ means to domesticate a quarterback-friendly surroundings.
New York would have each motive to pursue the youthful Sanders, who has accomplished 73.4 p.c of his passes for 3,488 yards and 30 touchdowns towards simply seven interceptions for Colorado this season. His glorious court docket imaginative and prescient and pinpoint accuracy might make for a superb match with Garrett Wilson. The Jets even have a promising backfield (Breece Hall, Braelon Allen) that would take the strain off them with the correct scheme. Sanders’ mobility is a priority, so the offensive line must be hermetic. As for Deion’s potential involvement, I do not assume the household scenario can be as onerous as has been made out.
From my perspective, the Jets can do no fallacious with Shedeur Sanders.
Before becoming a member of FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven years overlaying the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.
Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He beforehand labored for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, the place he was Titans beat the author for a yr and a half. It lined the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for 3 seasons (2018-20) earlier than transferring to Tennessee. You can comply with Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.
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