NFL: 30 of the biggest what-ifs in NFL history: 10. The New York Jets get a real quarterback
Like most of the league at the time, the New York Jets had no idea that Russell Wilson was going to be a future star. The former Wisconsin Badger sat patiently as several undeserving names went before him.
With the Jets in need of a quarterback, they had eight picks in the 2012 NFL Draft but didn’t use any of them on Wilson. Instead, the Seahawks grabbed him in the fourth round and he’s been lighting up the NFL world ever since.
What makes missing out on Wilson even more depressing for New Yorkers, is that Terry Bradshaw, the team’s former general manager and senior personnel consultant at the time, begged the Jets to take a shot on Wilson.
For Jets fans, they’ve watched as their franchise has sent out stellar defense after stellar defense almost yearly, only to be let down in a huge way by the offense. In short, the Jets have had problems scoring for nearly two decades now. Just imagine, the incredibly underwhelming Mark Sanchez led the Jets to back-to-back AFC Championship games. If Sanchez could pull that off, there’s no reason why Wilson couldn’t have brought home multiple Super Bowl titles for a franchise that hasn’t sniffed one since the 1960s.