New York Jets: Kirk Cousins could be captain consistency

Stability is key at the quarterback position, and Kirk Cousins can give that to the New York Jets given what he showed in Washington.

Many people think the New York Jets need to find a franchise quarterback, one who can bring them to consistent playoff contention. What they’re really looking for is stability. The Jets have had 10 seasons in the 18 since 2000 in which they started multiple quarterbacks. In fact, the Jets have had 37 different players start at quarterback in their history. Kirk Cousins can bring stability and consistency to the position they haven’t had in a long time.

Expecting a rookie to duplicate what he did in college early in his career is unrealistic. There are four major categories to look at: first down passing, third down passing, fourth quarter and overtime passing and under pressure. Even though Baker Mayfield is in the top two among the top four quarterbacks in the draft, it would be ridiculous to expect him to duplicate that as a rookie.

That said, Kirk Cousins was consistent across the board in 2017, and that’s with the poor situation in Washington. He had frequent changes on the offensive line, and the team let go of his top two targets.

According to ESPN’s Rich Cimini (via ESPN Stats and Info), here are the numbers for Cousins in those categories:

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Cousins may not be a great quarterback, and he may end up being slightly overpaid by the Jets, but that’s mostly given the quarterback market. Cousins can give the Jets stability they haven’t had in a long time, nor could get from a rookie. He’s their best option for 2018 and into the near future.