At 0-9, the New York Jets have been the worst team in the NFL this season. With each passing week, the franchise inches closer to the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft.
The only question is whether Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence will actually go there.
“I really believe it’s the worst roster in the NFL right now,” former NFL MVP and current NFL on CBS analyst Rich Gannon said on The DA Show. “It’s just void of talented, Pro Bowl players. You look at the group, the offensive line is still a work in progress. I think [Mekhi] Becton is going to be a good player, the left tackle. The tight end position, they get no production from that group. The best receiver is Jamison Crowder. Defensively, when is the last time the last time the Jets had a dominant pass-rusher off the edge, whether it’s a defensive end or an outside linebacker? When is the last time a Jets defender had 12, 14, 15 sacks? It’s been too long. And then they get rid of their best safety [Jamal Adams]. The top corner that they picked up in free agency [Pierre Desir], they just cut him. I don’t know what’s going on with this roster.”
Lawrence, who won a national title and played for another at Clemson, is considered a generational talent. But he, his family, and his agent could have a tough decision to make next April.
“You really want to put your son in a position where he’s got a chance – or your client in a position where he’s got a chance – to be successful,” Gannon said. “I think when you look at these organizations, the thing you want to look at is stability. Is there stability with the ownership? Is there stability with the general manager? Is there stability with the head coach? Is there stability with the play-caller? Is there stability with the roster? I’m not sure you can make that argument with the Jets. You don’t know if the head coach is going to come back. You don’t know how many more head coaches the general manager is going to get to hire. That, to me, is not a good situation.”
Not for Lawrence, and potentially not for the Jets.
“It’s not just whether Trevor Lawrence is ready to play right away, which I think he is,” Gannon said. “It’s also is the team ready for a young quarterback? In other words, do we have a good offensive line? Do we have a good running game? Do we have talented players on the perimeter? Do we have a good defense that we can hang our hat on? The answer to all those questions is really no. It’s going to be a work in progress and there’s going to be a lot of growing pains and there’s going to be a lot of rough Sunday afternoons.”
Plenty of first-round quarterbacks, of course, have success in the NFL. Many of them have success as rookies. But the ones who do usually have a good supporting cast.
“The situation that Ben Roethlisberger went to when he went to Pittsburgh – when they had Jerome Bettis and the best defense in football – [is] very different than what Trevor Lawrence is going to step into if he comes to the Jets,” Gannon said. “The situation that Joe Flacco went to when he went to the Ravens – they had a good offensive line, an established running game, Ed Reed, Ray Lewis and a top defense – that’s a different situation than stepping into the situation there in New York with the Jets.”