Why Oregon’s Quarterback Returning to School Could Benefit the New York Jets
When Oregon quarterback Dante Moore announced on ESPN that he would be returning to school for one more year, all hell broke loose in the media. Many pundits and talking heads were quick to laugh at the Jets, saying that Moore returning to school was because they were in line to pick him at number two. Many fans were upset that there would now likely be no quarterback in the draft worth taking with a top pick, and that they’d have to go into next year with another bridge guy and hope their savior is in the next draft. Fortunately for fans, and the team, Moore might have just saved the Jets from themselves.
While the Jets do need a quarterback, and Moore is undoubtedly a first-round talent, it’s a bit more complicated than that. One issue is that because he is such an inexperienced starter, only having 20 starts in two years of college football, Moore would need to sit and develop for at least a good part of his rookie season. It’s not like he’s an instant fix for the quarterback issue. Another problem is that because of his lack of experience, he’s still a very raw prospect. A guy like that just might not be the best fit on a team like the Jets. Their coach in Aaron Glenn hasn’t given much of a reason for fans to believe that he or his staff could develop a guy like that right now, and if things don’t improve next season he could be gone anyway, which would also hinder the development of a young quarterback.
The reason Moore’s return could really benefit the Jets is that now they have no pressure to take a guy that comes with all kinds of asterisks and concerns because they need the position. They can focus on building a better roster in preparation for a quarterback in next year’s class. There’s lots of blue-chip talent at the top of this draft, and the Jets have many, many holes that they need to fill. They can also now entertain possible trade-down scenarios if teams they’re in front of decide they really want a player like Arvell Reese or David Bailey. Overall, even though the media and fans are acting like the sky is falling, the Jets position in the draft is still plenty advantageous.
