The Jets didn’t draft well for a very long time. While that may be changing now that Joe Douglas is running the show, there were a lot of bad picks made by the organization in the recent past.
New York has made 20 picks since 2006 and almost none of them panned out well for the team. There were some bright spots – Nick Mangold, D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Darrelle Revis, to name a few – but for every Revis, there were at least two horrific decisions.
But which draft pick was the worst? Pro Football Focus’ Michael Renner said it’s 2009 first-rounder Mark Sanchez.
The Jets traded their first- and second-round picks and three players to move up and take the USC quarterback. Sanchez enjoyed two consecutive AFC championship appearances in his first two years with the Jets, but the team regressed significantly from there on out and he was released before the 2014 season.
Though Sanchez had his moments, his Jets tenure will always be remembered by the Butt Fumble – a 2012 game in which the Jets were demoralized by the Patriots. But Sanchez ranks sixth in franchise history in passing yards and touchdowns. He finished with a 33-29 record and was 4-2 in the playoffs.
Despite Sanchez’s quick rise and fall in Jets lore, it’s a little unfair to call him the team’s worst draft pick in the last 15 years just because Gang Green spent a lot to move up and take him.
There are plenty of other picks who were much bigger busts and did absolutely nothing to help the team over that span. Dee Milliner, Quinton Coples, Darren Lee and Vernon Gholston were much worse picks than Sanchez – they just didn’t cost anything more than their original pick. Sam Darnold also was statistically worse than Sanchez over a shorter period of time, but his pick was somewhat offset by the trade return he earned this offseason. And then, of course, there was Christian Hackenberg, who never saw a regular season snap.
The Jets appear to be heading in a much better direction recently with Douglas making the calls. Mekhi Becton looks like a stud offensive lineman, Zach Wilson continues to improve, and Alijah Vera-Tucker is a perfect zone-blocking lineman in the new Jets offense. The jury is far from out on Douglas’ first three first-rounders, but the early returns look more promising than most of the Jets’ picks from the past 15 years.
