The James Morgan Pick

[slats]

First off, I didn't want a QB in this draft. I repeated that many times over the course of the off season, and again as recently as between the second and third days. If I have one complaint about this draft it's that they only hit the WR position once. Replace Morgan with Gandy-Golden, and I probably like this draft a lot better. 

But that said, I see the logic of it and maybe some inter-divisional strategy as well. There has been a lot of speculation that Morgan was the Pats' guy. Maybe he was? Tough to tell when the Pats opted to not take a QB at all. But I think he definitely could've been the Bills' target. Jacob Eason had just come off the board, any team thinking QB probably starts thinking about taking their guy right then. The big-armed James Morgan would've been a great potential backup for the big-armed Allen. He doesn't bring the running game, but certainly would've let them do the same things in the passing game. Much better fit than the Jake Frommington they took in the following round. Jets grabbed Morgan three picks before the Bills were back on the board, and four picks before they were back, themselves. They took the QB in that spot for a reason. 

Now that he's here, as long as the Jets think that between him and Fales they're good at backup QB, that's probably gonna save them a few million against the cap that they would've felt compelled to spend on one. Anyone who thinks Morgan is here to push Darnold or send him a message are out of their minds, he's Fales' competition and probably winds up being the #3 QB this year. If he can beat out Fales, that's a cheap, unexpected roster upgrade this year, and a cheap backup for the next few. No small value. If he can come in and perform well in preseasons and/or regular season action, he could get the Jets back much better draft capital than they spent on him down the road. And yeah, I guess for the Darnold darksiders he's a possible insurance policy, too, but just as a backup and potential trade chip I can't kill the pick - especially considering that he acquired that pick in a couple trade downs that netted him three extra picks between this year and next. 

So yeah, I'm on board. Now I need Mims to be everything I thought he might be before the draft, and that Cager or Campbell can make me forget I wanted another WR in the draft. 

[Dcat]

3 minutes ago, slats said:

 

So yeah, I'm on board. Now I need Mims to be everything I thought he might be before the draft, and that Cager or Campbell can make me forget I wanted another WR in the draft. 

I'm on board.  Time to develop our own back up instead of overpaying crappy cast offs.  Just like you, I did like AGG, there and was hoping he'd still be the pick at 129, where we took Clark.  I also was interested in Bredeson, Biadasz and Bryce Hall there.  

[Losmeister]

8 minutes ago, slats said:

he's Fales' competition and probably winds up being the #3 QB this year. If he can beat out Fales, that's a cheap, unexpected roster upgrade this year, and a cheap backup for the next few. No small value. If he can come in and perform well in preseasons and/or regular season action, he could get the Jets back much better draft capital than they spent on him down the road.

[T0mShane]

If you’re Joe Douglas and Adam Gase, you better believe they wanted an insurance policy for Darnold. Even if you think he has all the talent in the world, the fact is that he’s missed a month in each of his two seasons in the league. I’m sure, as Gase learned with Tannehill and as Douglas has observed with Wentz, putting all your chips in with a young QB is perilous business, and you better have someone behind that guy who can keep the ball rolling if/when they get hurt, or go Full Trubisky. 

[Irish Jet]

I doubt either Fales or Morgan will be the backup. Think we’ll add a vet at some stage. Certainly think we would if Darnold went down. Testaverde style.

[nico002]

5 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

If you’re Joe Douglas and Adam Gase, you better believe they wanted an insurance policy for Darnold. Even if you think he has all the talent in the world, the fact is that he’s missed a month in each of his two seasons in the league. I’m sure, as Gase learned with Tannehill and as Douglas has observed with Wentz, putting all your chips in with a young QB is perilous business, and you better have someone behind that guy who can keep the ball rolling if/when they get hurt, or go Full Trubisky. 

Missing a month because of mono is a one in a million random event that can’t be used to project future availability. 

[T0mShane]

1 minute ago, nico002 said:

Missing a month because of mono is a one in a million random event that can’t be used to project future availability. 

The point being, if he misses another block of time this year, it’ll be three straight seasons where your starting QB has gone missing, regardless of the cause. You need to be insulated from that eventuality. 

[Augustiniak]

10 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

If you’re Joe Douglas and Adam Gase, you better believe they wanted an insurance policy for Darnold. Even if you think he has all the talent in the world, the fact is that he’s missed a month in each of his two seasons in the league. I’m sure, as Gase learned with Tannehill and as Douglas has observed with Wentz, putting all your chips in with a young QB is perilous business, and you better have someone behind that guy who can keep the ball rolling if/when they get hurt, or go Full Trubisky. 

the 3 games darnold missed were among the most uncompetitive nfl games in history.  jets had no shot to get first downs.  whether it was morgan or someone else the jets needed to address backup qb regardless of who the starter is.  

[slats]

8 minutes ago, nico002 said:

Missing a month because of mono is a one in a million random event that can’t be used to project future availability. 

 

5 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

The point being, if he misses another block of time this year, it’ll be three straight seasons where your starting QB has gone missing, regardless of the cause. You need to be insulated from that eventuality. 

I'm with nico on this one. 

IMHO, his rookie season "injury," was a much-needed benching that they called an injury to take the spot-light off of it. He basically missed three weeks with a turned ankle. No way. Then he came back from that 1/1,000,000 mono event, probably not fully recovered, and still managed to survive behind one of the worst lines in the league last year. Really not worried about his durability any more than I would be any other QB. He's not Carson Wentz, yet, by a wide margin. 

[Warfish]

30 minutes ago, slats said:

Anyone who thinks Morgan is here to push Darnold or send him a message are out of their minds

Just curious, but would it be a bad thing if he pushed Darnold and Darnold took it as a message that he needs to improve?

[LIJetsFan]

Yeah if you're JD and you're watching those 4 mono games you have to be taking an oath to draft a QB prospect.   Seems to me JD is a pretty cap conscious GM, and me personally, I don't want an mentor vet on my payroll.  Maybe JD feels the same.   I didn't get/understand the Morgan pick at the time but it's growing on me as is Morgan himself.   

[slats]

14 minutes ago, Warfish said:

Just curious, but would it be a bad thing if he pushed Darnold and Darnold took it as a message that he needs to improve?

Personally, I think it would be a nothing burger. I really like Sam's mental makeup. It's one of the reasons I'm still very bullish on him. He comes across as a self-starter that doesn't need any artificial competition for him to get better. He's either gonna seize the job or he's not. I don't think his backup, whoever it may be, would be much of a factor. 

And I also think it's moot. Sam Darnold isn't feeling any pressure from a fourth round QB from Florida International. They'll probably wind up being buds. 

[T0mShane]

6 minutes ago, slats said:

 

I'm with nico on this one. 

IMHO, his rookie season "injury," was a much-needed benching that they called an injury to take the spot-light off of it. He basically missed three weeks with a turned ankle. No way. Then he came back from that 1/1,000,000 mono event, probably not fully recovered, and still managed to survive behind one of the worst lines in the league last year. Really not worried about his durability any more than I would be any other QB. He's not Carson Wentz, yet, by a wide margin. 

I think you have to consider the injury history, especially when it comes time to pay him, because you’re one more twisted ankle away from him missing significant time in three straight seasons. I get that his injuries are fluky, but he still missed the games, and those missed games are problematic. Not saying that Morgan is the heir to the throne, but you’d like to have your Kirk Cousins ready if the anointed starter flames out.

[Augustiniak]

8 minutes ago, slats said:

Personally, I think it would be a nothing burger. I really like Sam's mental makeup. It's one of the reasons I'm still very bullish on him. He comes across as a self-starter that doesn't need any artificial competition for him to get better. He's either gonna seize the job or he's not. I don't think his backup, whoever it may be, would be much of a factor. 

And I also think it's moot. Sam Darnold isn't feeling any pressure from a fourth round QB from Florida International. They'll probably wind up being buds. 

darnold is buddies with josh allen but when they're playing each other he wants to crush him.  no worries about darnold except his health

[peekskill68]

The Patriots routinely drafted mid round QBs behind the GOAT, developed most of them and wound up flipping a few for decent draft compensation...

[docdhc]

I like Morgan as the developmental QB and was fine with the pick. I don’t like Fales though as # 2. I don’t think either guy could step in this year and win a game or 2 if Darnold misses time. They were 0-7 the last 2 years without him so I’d like a decent vet backup who could keep them in a playoff hunt if necessary. Along with mentoring that’s the value of a good backup and Fales can’t win or mentor. 

[slats]

2 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

I think you have to consider the injury history, especially when it comes time to pay him, because you’re one more twisted ankle away from him missing significant time in three straight seasons. I get that his injuries are fluky, but he still missed the games, and those missed games are problematic. Not saying that Morgan is the heir to the throne, but you’d like to have your Kirk Cousins ready if the anointed starter flames out.

Well, I started the thread because I'm on board with the pick. I just don't agree that Sam Darnold has some sort of injury history that makes it even more important. This isn't the Eagles taking Hurts in the second round. I'm generally on board with the vet backup option. I could sign a Colt McCoy every year. But I get the logic of having a home-grown backup. 

[SAM SAM HE'S OUR MAN]

[ChuckkieB]

The Jets are dead in the water if Darnold misses multiple games in 2020, and rookie James Morgan isn't likely to be the savior.  For the first time in 15 years, the division is wide open as far as I'm concerned, and giving away games if your starter goes down is not the approach I would have taken.  I think a veteran backup who can actually win games would have been the better move under the circumstances.  If JD insisted on drafting a developmental QB, he could have waited to grab one in a later round and drafted other pressing needs with that 4th round pick - a player who could potentially have some positive impact on the field in 2020.

I hope Morgan is coached up and develops into a chip we can use for some draft capital in a future draft, but that would be a best case scenario in my mind, and I think that 4th round pick could have been used for more immediate needs.

[Jet Nut]

I wanted to draft a qb somewhere in this draft, wanted one that we could develop.  
Of those I thought would be available, Morgan was the one I wanted.  So obviously I’m happy.  Hopefully I’m right, I rarely am with late round picks but if I am we either have a dependable, long term solution for a backup or a trade chip for the future 

[Larz]

this is how successful teams  operate 

I know it will take time to get used to 

[Boynton Beach Jets]

No problem drafting Morgan, but where we drafted is the problem.  We were the only team to request video on this player.  We could have gotten him later in the draft or traded back and received more picks.  We had many areas to address at that spot.

[nycdan]

This is not a starter competition.

This is not a starter competition.

I can hit ctrl-V all day.

This is a backup competition we used a 4th round pick on.  Anyone in the media acting like we're GB taking Jordan Love with their 1st rounder needs to re-read lines 1 and 2.  

If the pick bothers you at all, consider it was a 'free' pick we got from the trade-down in the 2nd round.  Any of our previous GMs don't have that pick to make at all.  I like free picks and am not going to complain about what we used it on when the guy who got it for us made his choice.

[Bowles Movement]

7 minutes ago, Boynton Beach Jets said:

No problem drafting Morgan, but where we drafted is the problem.  We were the only team to request video on this player.  We could have gotten him later in the draft or traded back and received more picks.  We had many areas to address at that spot.

From what Ive read there is a good chance Buffalo or the Pats may have taken him if we didnt.  Not saying it was the right choice, and in fact I didnt like it when it was announced.  To be fair, he did trade down to get more picks and thats the kind of move you make when you have more picks than can likely make the team.  We got 10 new players including him.   Im in Ocean Ridge btw, so we are neighbors!

[Beerfish]

5 minutes ago, nycdan said:

This is not a starter competition.

This is not a starter competition.

I can hit ctrl-V all day.

This is a backup competition we used a 4th round pick on.  Anyone in the media acting like we're GB taking Jordan Love with their 1st rounder needs to re-read lines 1 and 2.  

If the pick bothers you at all, consider it was a 'free' pick we got from the trade-down in the 2nd round.  Any of our previous GMs don't have that pick to make at all.  I like free picks and am not going to complain about what we used it on when the guy who got it for us made his choice.

No such thing as a free pick, there were a LOT of good layers on the board when we made this pick.

Morgan does not sound much different than the guy we have no win white and davis webb who we punted.

We will see how he turns out, if a raw rookie who has not been that accurate is our solution to back up we are not winning games if darnold does out.

Douglas did a lot of things right in this draft but drafting this QB here was not one of them imo.

 

[viffer]

54 minutes ago, Warfish said:

Just curious, but would it be a bad thing if he pushed Darnold and Darnold took it as a message that he needs to improve?

If Darnold needs to be pushed then he is not the player most of us think he is. Darnold pushes himself; I don't think he is satisfied with his performance to date and he is trying to improve. If he needs to be pushed, then we are in trouble...

[Gastineau Lives]

1 hour ago, Warfish said:

Just curious, but would it be a bad thing if he pushed Darnold and Darnold took it as a message that he needs to improve?

What would he do differently than he's done so far? My understanding is that he's got a pretty good work ethic.

[Gastineau Lives]

Why do I have an odd feeling about James Morgan becoming a great QB? Is that the writer in me? Backup QBitis?

[JohnnyLV]

1 hour ago, ChuckkieB said:

The Jets are dead in the water if Darnold misses multiple games in 2020, and rookie James Morgan isn't likely to be the savior.  For the first time in 15 years, the division is wide open as far as I'm concerned, and giving away games if your starter goes down is not the approach I would have taken.  I think a veteran backup who can actually win games would have been the better move under the circumstances.  If JD insisted on drafting a developmental QB, he could have waited to grab one in a later round and drafted other pressing needs with that 4th round pick - a player who could potentially have some positive impact on the field in 2020.

I hope Morgan is coached up and develops into a chip we can use for some draft capital in a future draft, but that would be a best case scenario in my mind, and I think that 4th round pick could have been used for more immediate needs.

Im just not buying this. Veteran backups have not consistently shown the ability to win games. There are certainly exceptions, but I don't see the Jets going that route. I mean McCown is about as good of a veteran backup as you can get and he was clearly worse than Darnold 2 years ago. Develop Morgan and go with that.  

[bealeb319]

I'm a fan of bringing veteran backups when you have a young qb with injury history. When you have a vet qb is when you bring in someone young to develop. If darnold goes down do you want this kid being the starter or even backup his first year?

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using JetNation.com mobile app

[FidelioJet]

1 hour ago, T0mShane said:

I think you have to consider the injury history, especially when it comes time to pay him, because you’re one more twisted ankle away from him missing significant time in three straight seasons. I get that his injuries are fluky, but he still missed the games, and those missed games are problematic. Not saying that Morgan is the heir to the throne, but you’d like to have your Kirk Cousins ready if the anointed starter flames out.

He has no injury history.

He got benched and then go Mono.  My biggest concern with Darnold is is he shell shocked.  Did the combination of Mac and Gase ruin him?  

[#27TheDominator]

8 minutes ago, bealeb319 said:

I'm a fan of bringing veteran backups when you have a young qb with injury history. When you have a vet qb is when you bring in someone young to develop. If darnold goes down do you want this kid being the starter or even backup his first year?

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using JetNation.com mobile app
 

Darnold is in his third season.  He is either a vet now, or we need to start thinking about his replacement.  You decide which situations suits getting Morgan.

2 minutes ago, FidelioJet said:

He has no injury history.

He got benched and then go Mono.  My biggest concern with Darnold is is he shell shocked.  Did the combination of Mac and Gase ruin him?  

Shellshocked?  Didn't he finish both seasons strong?  I get that he did it against sh*t, but shellshocked means ruined and he beat up on the stiffs in front of him.  You aren't only shellshocked against the good defenses.

[14 in Green]

1 hour ago, slats said:

First off, I didn't want a QB in this draft. I repeated that many times over the course of the off season, and again as recently as between the second and third days. If I have one complaint about this draft it's that they only hit the WR position once. Replace Morgan with Gandy-Golden, and I probably like this draft a lot better. 

But that said, I see the logic of it and maybe some inter-divisional strategy as well. There has been a lot of speculation that Morgan was the Pats' guy. Maybe he was? Tough to tell when the Pats opted to not take a QB at all. But I think he definitely could've been the Bills' target. Jacob Eason had just come off the board, any team thinking QB probably starts thinking about taking their guy right then. The big-armed James Morgan would've been a great potential backup for the big-armed Allen. He doesn't bring the running game, but certainly would've let them do the same things in the passing game. Much better fit than the Jake Frommington they took in the following round. Jets grabbed Morgan three picks before the Bills were back on the board, and four picks before they were back, themselves. They took the QB in that spot for a reason. 

Now that he's here, as long as the Jets think that between him and Fales they're good at backup QB, that's probably gonna save them a few million against the cap that they would've felt compelled to spend on one. Anyone who thinks Morgan is here to push Darnold or send him a message are out of their minds, he's Fales' competition and probably winds up being the #3 QB this year. If he can beat out Fales, that's a cheap, unexpected roster upgrade this year, and a cheap backup for the next few. No small value. If he can come in and perform well in preseasons and/or regular season action, he could get the Jets back much better draft capital than they spent on him down the road. And yeah, I guess for the Darnold darksiders he's a possible insurance policy, too, but just as a backup and potential trade chip I can't kill the pick - especially considering that he acquired that pick in a couple trade downs that netted him three extra picks between this year and next. 

So yeah, I'm on board. Now I need Mims to be everything I thought he might be before the draft, and that Cager or Campbell can make me forget I wanted another WR in the draft. 

I agree with just about everything in this post. (I don't know if that will make you question your reasoning here or not...) ?

Like you, I would've preferred another WR, either here, or with the Davis pick earlier. Also like you, I wanted AGG, and think our draft would've been excellent with a player like him instead of a QB. I think Davis will be a contributor this year, so I'm better with picking him than I am with a small school "project" QB. With all the needs we had going into the draft, I didn't think this was the year to take a player who will most likely end up as either the 3rd QB or a PS player.

I get the reasoning for doing it, and I'm not going to diss JD for the pick. I love what he did over the weekend, I just wish he'd have waited maybe a year or so before making a Taylor type pick.

 

[JohnnyLV]

9 minutes ago, bealeb319 said:

I'm a fan of bringing veteran backups when you have a young qb with injury history. When you have a vet qb is when you bring in someone young to develop. If darnold goes down do you want this kid being the starter or even backup his first year?

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using JetNation.com mobile app
 

Does Darnold really have an injury history? I think it is ludicrous to consider mono an "injury" Plus in 2018 he was not injured enough not to play, he was benched by Bowles in an attempt to save his job. Darnold stated he could play. But Bowles trotted him out there. Unfortunately for Bowles but good for the Jets team McCown was clearly worse than Darnold. People keep saying "injury history" with Darnold and it just isn't true. He has been banged up but played through other issues like his thumb. Wentz has an injury history. Darnold had his coach using a playable injury as an excuse to bench him, and he got a friggin disease that literally threatened his life if he continued to play. This whole concept is a farce with regards to Darnold.

[FidelioJet]

3 minutes ago, #27TheDominator said:

 

Shellshocked?  Didn't he finish both seasons strong?  I get that he did it against sh*t, but shellshocked means ruined and he beat up on the stiffs in front of him.  You aren't only shellshocked against the good defenses.

He got full-on destroyed last year.  I have never seen a QB consistently under that much pressure in all my years watching the NFL.

You just don’t know how a season like that will affect him long term.

I’m as high on Darnold as anyone, but a year like that can sit in the back of his mind he’ll just start to rush things or see more ghosts.