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NFL Draft 2024: Joe Douglas talks trading up, potential surprise: ‘I’d love to be a QB factory’
On Friday, Douglas reaffirmed his openness to trading up in the first round on Thursday, provided the right player is available.
“These are the questions we’re asking ourselves… who are those players we would consider moving up from the No. 10 spot to draft?” Douglas said at the team’s facility, just six days before the Jets are set to be on the clock. “How many of them are there? How far are we willing to move up?”
However, with the draft approaching, it’s clear that a quarterback is not among the players the Jets would be targeting early on.
This decision aligns with the team’s existing quarterback situation, featuring Aaron Rodgers and Tyrod Taylor as the starter and backup, respectively. The Jets also have roughly $10 million committed to Zach Wilson, the team’s unsuccessful No. 2 overall pick from 2021, in the final year of his rookie contract. Additionally, the Jets are eager to transform their talented roster into a playoff team during Douglas’ fifth season as general manager.
Even if the Jets were inclined to select a quarterback early in the draft, Douglas acknowledged that last year’s trade for Aaron Rodgers “limits” their ability to move up too far, as they traded their second-round pick to the Packers. Despite Rodgers’ season-ending Achilles injury in 2023, Douglas stated he would make the trade for Rodgers again without hesitation.
If the Jets decide to trade up, it would likely be to acquire one of the coveted pass-catching talents in this year’s draft.
However, Douglas also indicated he might consider drafting a quarterback on Day 2 or 3 of the draft, which aligns with the desires of many Jets fans.
“The quarterback position is the most important in sports, and for us,” Douglas said. “I was reviewing past drafts and the way some teams handled the quarterback position, including how the Packers managed the 1990s.”
The Packers’ approach serves as a solid example of the benefits of drafting quarterbacks when the opportunity arises.
“I’d love to create a quarterback pipeline like that,” Douglas said. “Having quarterbacks drafted each year and even hitting on two or three of them, like the Packers did, can yield future picks and players who develop into starters elsewhere.”
Between 1990 and 2005, the Packers drafted one quarterback in 10 drafts, with most of them coming after they traded for Brett Favre. Aaron Rodgers, their first-round pick in 2005, was the only quarterback they selected before the fourth round.
Since Douglas’ first draft with the Jets in 2020, the team has drafted just two quarterbacks: James Morgan in the fourth round in 2020 (who never played in the NFL) and Zach Wilson in 2021 (whom the Jets have struggled to trade).
The 1990s Packers also had several misses in their quarterback drafts, including players like Kirk Baumgartner (ninth round, 1990), Jay Barker (fifth round, 1995), and others who never took a snap in the NFL. But drafting quarterbacks in the later rounds is less risky, and the occasional success can yield significant rewards.
The Packers did have some moderate success with their later-round picks, such as 1992’s ninth-round pick Ty Detmer, who played 54 games (including 25 starts) in his eight-year NFL career. While Detmer played all those games with other teams, his draft selection demonstrates the potential value of drafting quarterbacks late in the draft.
The Packers later found great value in drafting Mark Brunell in the third round in 1993, Matt Hasselbeck in the sixth round in 1998, and Aaron Brooks in the fourth round in 1999.
The Packers traded Brunell to the Jaguars in 1995 in exchange for third- and fifth-round picks for their inaugural season. Brunell led the NFL in passing in 1996, earned three Pro Bowl selections, and is in the Jaguars’ Hall of Fame for his eight seasons as their starting quarterback. He concluded his 19-year NFL career with a two-year stint as the Jets’ backup in 2011.
In 2001, the Packers traded Hasselbeck to the Seahawks before the draft, swapping a third-round pick and their No. 17 overall pick for the Seahawks’ No. 10 overall pick. They missed with their selection of defensive end Jamal Reynolds, who only played 18 games in the NFL. However, Hasselbeck led the Seahawks to six playoff appearances in his 10 seasons as their starter, including a Super Bowl appearance in 2005, earning three Pro Bowl selections and later being inducted into the Seahawks’ Ring of Honor.
The Packers also traded Brooks to the Saints in 2000 in exchange for linebacker K.D. Williams and a 2001 third-round pick. Brooks became the Saints’ starting quarterback by the end of the 2000 season and maintained the starting role from 2001 to 2004.
“The Packers were a quarterback farm when Favre was there,” Douglas said.
Whether Douglas will have the chance to replicate that success with the Jets remains to be seen, depending on how his other offseason moves, including his decisions at the top of this draft, play out. However, it seems clear he plans to pursue that opportunity.”
