Bart Scott Says Jets Should Target Mac Jones, Not A First-Round QB
The New York Jets are competitive, but they’re not great.
The Jets are 2-4 after the first six weeks of the season following their 26-19 loss to the New England Patriots. The team has definitely improved compared with last season, when it finished with just three wins, ranked 31st in defense and forced zero interceptions. The Jets rank seventh in defense this season, and quarterback Geno Smith has played relatively well, not throwing his first interception until the loss to the Patriots.
Former Jets Point To Situational Football
Bart Scott and Willie Colon are both former Jets who spent several seasons with the franchise. Scott helped lead New York to back-to-back AFC Championship Game appearances in the 2009 and 2010 seasons, and Colon spent the final three seasons (2013-15) of his career in New York.
The duo — they now host a podcast together through Playmaker — said the problem with the team is “situational football.” The Jets aren’t executing in clutch and timely situations — they failed on a couple of early fourth-down conversions in the loss to the Patriots — which is why they’re losing close games.
The Jets have lost three of their games by one possession.
“Obviously they will, I think they’re going to again go search for a quarterback,” Colon said in a one-on-one interview with Ratings.
“I think right now, yesterday proved that they haven’t arrived to the point where they can win in situational football. There’s too many miscommunication errors that really cost them, especially in the middle of that game. I think Bart alluded to it, I think they had two miscommunications that resulted in 14 points.”
Jets Need To Get Garrett Wilson More Involved
Colon said the Jets have a lot of young talent on the team, which gives reason for optimism about the future. They’re building a solid nucleus with their young running backs, but the former offensive lineman said the Jets need to find a way to get Garrett Wilson more involved in the offense.
The young receiver is seen as the star of the offensive unit after winning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors and starting his career with three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. He signed a four-year, $135 million contract extension before the 2025 season but had an injury-plagued down year, recording 36 catches for 395 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
“If you’re the Jets right now, listen — this year was built on projections,” Colon said. “They wanted to see where Kenyon Sadiq was going to be. He’s turning out to be a stud. Omar Cooper had a big game. There’s so much young talent on the offensive line that continues to grow. I think they have one of the best running back groups in the NFL between Breece Hall, Braelon Allen, Isaiah Davis. All three backs can have an impact. I think the biggest issue for them, and we were just talking about it on the pod, Garrett Wilson being the superstar of your offense, he has to have more targets. He has to be more productive. You gotta figure out ways to get him the football, especially when you know he’s your lead dog.”
Why A 4-4 Start Is Still In Reach
Colon said the loss doesn’t break the Jets’ season, considering they could be 4-4 in the next couple of weeks with games against the Miami Dolphins and Las Vegas Raiders.
“I think it’s interesting. I think Aaron Glenn needed to win last week against the Browns — that happened,” Colon said. “We wanted them to win this game against the Patriots because I think it changed the narrative of the team and organization as a whole. He would have been 3-3. That would have been great considering how they lost to the Bears previously. But with all that said, the loss to the Pats doesn’t break them, right? They have an opportunity to play the Dolphins, Raiders, who are scrappy both teams, and if they can end up 4-4, we’re looking at a whole different season right now.”
Scott Wants Mac Jones, Not A First-Round QB
Scott said that when it comes to the Jets’ first-round draft pick next year, they don’t necessarily have to target a quarterback. He said they could get one in the second round of a deep draft class or target a veteran quarterback such as Mac Jones. Jones has spent the past couple of seasons as the San Francisco 49ers’ backup quarterback, but he has shown promise in his starts and was previously a Pro Bowl quarterback who reached the playoffs with the New England Patriots.
“Everybody else is in selling mode,” Scott said. “So if the Jets can get to 4-4, they have the draft capital and equity to be able to improve their football team. We haven’t seen this team at full health this year. We haven’t seen Adonai Mitchell, who takes a lot of pressure off of Garrett Wilson and gives them that vertical threat. Next year, I don’t know if they have to get a quarterback in the first round. I think they can get a quarterback in the second round. A target of mine would be Mac Jones. I think Mac Jones, being under Kyle Shanahan, will be the next Sam Darnold.”
Scott also referenced the Jets’ earlier trade with the Indianapolis Colts that sent cornerback Sauce Gardner to Indianapolis. It netted New York two first-round draft picks.
“We’ll see what happens with Kyler Murray if they decide to sign Kyler Murray (in Minnesota), but in my vision, you sign Mac Jones because of money,” Scott said. “So he’s going to come out and not take a lot of money. I think it’ll come out maybe $40 million instead of the $60 or $70 million that top-end guys get. The Jets still have salary cap space, but then what a luxury that Chris Ballard got fired because the Indianapolis coach sucked, which means that the Jets are going to have a tremendous high-value first-round draft pick. Could you imagine if they’re able to get Jeremiah Smith?”