With five weeks to go until the 2018 NFL Draft, there is still plenty of time for teams to change their minds on prospective selections, but the general consensus is that the New York Jets are going select a quarterback.
Ever since the Jets moved up from No. 6 to No. 3 in a deal with the Indianapolis Colts, they now will have their pick of the proverbial quarterback litter outside of USC’s Sam Darnold, who has impressed the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants picking at Nos. 1 and 2 respectively. Thanks to a deep class of first-round-worthy quarterbacks, that still leaves UCLA’s Josh Rosen, Wyoming’s Josh Allen and Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield as possible top-10 options.
Per ESPN’s NFL Live telecast, the Jets’ “top-decision makers” are on hand at Wyoming’s pro day watching Allen and like the passing prospect a lot.
Allen has been atop quarterback draft boards for much of the last season following a 2016 campaign in which he passed for 3,203 yards and 28 touchdowns. However, he experienced a down 2017, passing for 1,812 yards, 16 touchdowns and six interceptions while being limited to just 11 games due to injury.
Regardless of those numbers last year, the 6-foot-5 quarterback is making scouts salivate, including quarterback guru Jordan Palmer:
“I’ve never seen anybody like him,” Palmer said (h/t Cleveland.com). “He’s got the craziest arm I’ve ever seen…those are quantifiable things. Those aren’t the ‘spirit of this kid is unique’. There’s some of that stuff that’s amazing too but just the things that you can literally sit there watch and quantify, it’s crazy.”
He showed off that big arm at the NFL Combine, unleashing throws that traveled almost 70 yards through the air.
On Friday at Wyoming’s pro day, he did it again as it was quickly apparent that his arm could become elite. To put it simply, the ball explodes from his hands with the kind of pace and accuracy that should translate extremely well to the NFL level.
It’s the kind of possible franchise talent the Jets have been starved of for most of the last five decades and might be too good to pass up. While the newly-signed Teddy Bridgewater is just 25 years old, there is a lot of questions surrounding his ability to get back under center and succeed after a horrific dislocated knee and torn ACL prior to the 2016 season that’s limited him to just two pass attempts in the last two years.
It’s a big reason why he was brought in on a one-year deal along with the returning veteran Josh McCown. In a best-case scenario for the Jets, Bridgewater and McCown will be placeholders for Allen to step in and become the face of the franchise.
