{"id":396202,"date":"2026-01-08T13:52:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T13:52:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/396202\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T13:52:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T13:52:07","slug":"jets-say-cfp-games-will-have-impact-on-nfl-draft-decisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/396202\/","title":{"rendered":"Jets say CFP games will have ‘impact’ on NFL draft decisions"},"content":{"rendered":"

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The New York Jets<\/a>\u2019 quarterback of the future could be playing Friday night in the College Football Playoff semifinals, so you can bet general manager Darren Mougey will have a keen interest in watching Indiana\u2019s Fernando Mendoza and Oregon\u2019s Dante Moore.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s still several games to be played, and I think these games will be big and have an impact [on draft evaluation],\u201d Mougey said Tuesday at his end-of-season news conference.<\/p>\n

The Jets, coming off the failed Justin Fields<\/a> experiment, need a quarterback in the worst way. Mendoza and Moore are considered the top two quarterback prospects — if Moore opts for the draft — and the Jets are in prime position with the No. 2 pick behind the Las Vegas Raiders<\/a>, who are also in need of a quarterback.<\/p>\n

The Peach Bowl matchup conjures up memories of Nov. 18, 2017, when USC\u2019s Sam Darnold<\/a> and UCLA\u2019s Josh Rosen met at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The Jets\u2019 quarterback-hungry GM, Mike Maccagnan, scouted the game from a seat in the crowd (he preferred that to the press box), knowing he was watching two of the top college talents. He wound up drafting Darnold in 2018.<\/p>\n

No word on whether Mougey will be in Atlanta for the Mendoza-Moore showdown (or Moore-Mendoza, depending on your preference). He already has scouted each player in person, and so have the Jets\u2019 college scouts. The draft is one piece to a giant puzzle, one that will begin to come together when the new league year begins in March.<\/p>\n

The Jets must add a quarterback. Two, probably. Three isn\u2019t out of the question.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can tell you this,\u201d Mougey said, \u201cwe will exhaust every option: Free agency, [trades], obviously the draft. We will exhaust that and have a good solution for the New York Jets<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve been searching for a franchise quarterback for … oh, about 50 years, give or take a decade. Mougey and coach Aaron Glenn, who went 3-14 as a rookie GM\/coach tandem this season, talk about their plan and \u201cclear vision\u201d for success. It will be impossible to execute that plan without a competent quarterback.<\/p>\n

Fields and rookie Brady Cook<\/a> are under contract for 2026, though neither seems to factor into their long-term plans. Fields might not be on the roster, period. Neither Glenn nor Mougey gave him a vote of confidence, fueling speculation that Fields will be one-and-done after signing a two-year, $40 million contract last offseason.<\/p>\n

After cutting Aaron Rodgers<\/a>, they thought enough of Fields as a free agent to sign him despite a career of inconsistency. He was shaky in training camp and had only nine starts before he was benched in favor of Tyrod Taylor<\/a> (pending free agent), throwing the entire offense into a free fall.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s fair to wonder if the Jets have the infrastructure to develop a young quarterback such as Mendoza or Moore. Glenn\u2019s background is defense, and his offensive coordinator, Tanner Engstrand, has no experience in grooming a highly drafted quarterback. The Fields flop reinforced the perception that the Jets might not be the ideal place for a young arm.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to exhaust everything that we can to make sure that we surround our quarterbacks now — and if we get any quarterbacks in the future — with the guys that are going to help them,\u201d said Glenn, hinting he might look to add an experienced coach to his offensive staff.<\/p>\n

This is a perennial issue, one that has vexed so many previous regimes. It\u2019s no coincidence that, over their current 15-year playoff drought, the Jets are last in passing yards, touchdown passes and QBR.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, we have to be better,\u201d Mougey said. \u201cWe have to be better at several spots, quarterback included.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Jets fielded one of the worst passing attacks in recent history. Fields, Taylor and Cook combined for only 15 touchdown passes and 2,385 yards — both league lows. The yardage total is the NFL\u2019s second lowest in the past 14 years, only 166 yards more than the 2022 Chicago Bears<\/a>. Common denominator? Fields was the quarterback for both teams.<\/p>\n

What does it say that the most memorable pass of the season was thrown by a running back? We\u2019re talking about Breece Hall<\/a>\u2019s game-winning halfback option against the Cincinnati Bengals<\/a> on Oct. 26.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s dig a little deeper into the lack of production. Prepare to be shocked.<\/p>\n

The Jets recorded only two first-quarter touchdown passes and passed for only 759 yards in the first half of games, the league\u2019s lowest total over at least the past 20 years. Some of that can be attributed to their reliance on the ground game.<\/p>\n

They went into almost every game at a disadvantage at quarterback, exacerbated by a porous defense that couldn\u2019t keep games close. The Jets trailed by double digits for 53.1% of their offensive plays, the highest percentage by any team this century, per ESPN Research.<\/p>\n

Now it\u2019s incumbent upon Mougey and Glenn to acquire a starting-caliber quarterback, which might be as tricky as pulling a rabbit out of a hat. The free agent market is thin — Daniel Jones<\/a>, Marcus Mariota<\/a>, Jimmy Garoppolo<\/a> and Malik Willis<\/a> are the top names. Kirk Cousins<\/a> could become a free agent; he restructured his contract in a way that forces the Atlanta Falcons<\/a> to make a decision by March 13. Potential trade targets are Jacoby Brissett<\/a>, Mac Jones<\/a> and Kyler Murray<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Jets have enough draft assets to be a high-end player in the quarterback market, in the event someone unexpected becomes available (Lamar Jackson<\/a>?). They have two first-round picks and two second-round picks this year, plus three first-round picks in 2027.<\/p>\n

Mougey and Glenn, in their news conferences, made several references to the draft capital. At one point, Glenn, seated alongside his GM, was nodding his head as Mougey mentioned the array of picks.<\/p>\n

Ideal situation: Moore declares for the draft, impresses Jets brass during the predraft process and earns a high grade on the Jets\u2019 draftboard. Ditto, Mendoza. That way, they\u2019d be content with either one.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s not forget about Alabama\u2019s Ty Simpson, who declared Wednesday. As of now, talent evaluators don\u2019t have him on the same level as Mendoza and Moore — Simpson has only 15 college starts — but maybe he will be a consideration with the 16th pick. The Jets acquired that choice from the Indianapolis Colts<\/a> in the Sauce Gardner<\/a> trade, and it could turn out to be a significant wild card in their quarterback pursuit.<\/p>\n

If it plays out this way, the Jets will have to manage a rookie quarterback in 2026 while attempting to make strides in the standings. Owner Woody Johnson gave Glenn and Mougey a pass on 3-14, but he might not be as forgiving if it happens again.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all know Woody and we all know he wants to win, just like we do,\u201d Glenn said. \u201cSo, yes, there\u2019s a sense of urgency from that.\u201d<\/p>\n

A quarterback can change everything. The trick is picking the right one and putting him in a position to succeed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The New York Jets\u2019 quarterback of the future could be playing Friday night in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":396203,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[49,48,525,514,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-396202","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-ncaa","11":"tag-nfl","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=396202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396202\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/396203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=396202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=396202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=396202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}