The Jets have landed their quarterback.
They made Sam Darnold of USC the third overall pick of the NFL Draft on Thursday night.
Darnold will join a quarterback depth chart that also features Josh McCown, Teddy Bridgewater, Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty. The last two guys may not be long for the roster and the state of Bridgewater’s knee will determine how many players are in the mix for the starting job.
The Jets moved into the third spot in a March trade that saw them send both of this year’s second-round picks and their 2019 second-round pick to the Colts in order to move up from the sixth spot in the order. There was little doubt that the Jets had a quarterback in their sights and their lack of pre-draft meetings with top players at other positions did nothing to change that.
Darnold is the first quarterback the Jets have taken in the first round since drafting Mark Sanchez out of USC fifth overall in 2009. The only time the Jets have used a higher pick on a quarterback was when they drafted Joe Namath first overall in 1965.
Darnold and Sanchez may share an alma mater, but the hope is that will bring the organization the kind of success that Namath brought in Super Bowl III and has eluded them ever since.