The New York Jets have a private visit scheduled with quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. They need to end it there and not select him in the draft.
A franchise quarterback—the New York Jets have been trying to find one of those pesky things for what feels like forever. Okay, so may it’s only going on 40 years. The Jets had one before then, and his name was Joe Namath. Ever since he left the franchise back in 1977, they have been looking for the next one. Any Jets fan will tell you that they haven’t been very successful.
While general manager Mike Maccagnan and his staff prepare for the 2017 NFL Draft, they are leaving no stone unturned. In fact, they have scheduled some one-on-one time with a top quarterback prospect. Per Rich Cimini of ESPN, the Jets, among other teams, have scheduled a private workout with Mitchell Trubisky from North Carolina. He speculates that the team will bring him in for a visit as well.
Hopefully that is where it will stop. There is no doubt that the Jets need a starting quarterback to take into the future. However, drafting Mitchell Trubisky would be a huge mistake. They need to stay away.
Take a look at his stats for his college career (per Sports Reference):
| Passing | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | AY/A | TD | Int | Rate |
| *2014 | North Carolina | ACC | SO | QB | 9 | 42 | 78 | 53.8 | 459 | 5.9 | 4.9 | 5 | 4 | 114.2 |
| *2015 | North Carolina | ACC | SO | QB | 9 | 40 | 47 | 85.1 | 555 | 11.8 | 14.4 | 6 | 0 | 226.4 |
| 2016 | North Carolina | ACC | JR | QB | 13 | 304 | 447 | 68.0 | 3748 | 8.4 | 9.1 | 30 | 6 | 157.9 |
| Career | North Carolina | 386 | 572 | 67.5 | 4762 | 8.3 | 9.0 | 41 | 10 | 157.6 |
What jumps out is the lack of game experience. A quarterback that is chosen in the top 10 is expected to play sooner rather than later. That’s just how it works. There are expectations that come with your draft position. A quarterback selected in the fourth round is allowed a lot more leeway to learn than a quarterback selected in the top 10 overall. Is one season enough to start in the NFL? Not really.
Trubisky is talented, but he is not without flaws. Take a look at some game tape:
Trubisky has a strong arm, but his footwork is inconsistent, leading to inaccuracy. Footwork concerns can be hidden in college. The defensive backs aren’t good enough to make the quarterback pay. In the NFL, however, they are. You must set your feet every time and make a strong throw, otherwise you will not have pinpoint accuracy and that will lead to interceptions.
Finally, and maybe most importantly, selecting a quarterback at No. 6 sends the wrong message. The Jets currently field two young quarterbacks, Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg, on the roster. Between the two of them, they have approximately one half-season’s experience. The team truly has no idea what these two players really are. Selecting another quarterback, this time near the top of the draft, says to everyone that Petty and Hackenberg were mistakes.
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That is the wrong message to relay to the fan base. It’s also the wrong message to say to ownership. It doesn’t make Maccagnan look very good to say that he screwed up in two-straight drafts. If Trubisky was a guaranteed lock as a franchise quarterback, it would be more of a logical risk. He’s not, so they should stay away.