New York Jets 2021 Mock Draft: What if the Jets passed on a quarterback?

Now that the New York Jets will likely miss out on Trevor Lawrence, what if they passed on a quarterback.

After 13 straight losses to start their season, football fans expected nothing different for the New York Jets in December. They were cruising towards the first overall pick and Trevor Lawrence, and only a few more losses were in the way.

The Jets have surprised these last two weeks, beating the Los Angeles Rams and Cleveland Browns, two teams in the thick of the playoff race. These wins, though, mean that the Jacksonville Jaguars are now locked in with the first pick in April, and will likely select Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

While this definitely brings pain to Jets fans, all is not lost. The crop of quarterbacks looks pretty good in this year’s draft, and they could easily select one at pick two and build around them, hopefully with a new coach at the helm.

But, this brings about a quandary. What if the Jets decide to stick with Sam Darnold to see if a new coach could revitalize his career. Darnold has shown moments of promise throughout his up and down career so far, and taking another draft to build up the roster even more could be beneficial.

Before the outcries in the comments that range from “Have you even watched Darnold?” or “pointless mock”, this writer believes a quarterback is the right move for the Jets, and the pick at two should be Justin Fields. However, there’s no guarantee as to what the Jets decide between now and April. There’s nothing wrong with taking a look at different scenarios.

First up, the trade back occurs.

The 49ers are the trade partner in this scenario, as they give up a first and a second in 2021, along with a first, second, and third in 2022. This would give the Jets three first-round picks in 2022 to work with as well.

Now, it’s time to get to building around Darnold and getting better on the defensive side of the ball!