Suck for the Duck: The race for Marcus Mariota

When I started following the NFL properly five years ago, I made an error in judgement that has both given me joy and haunted me every since.

Infatuated with the underdog, enraptured by the idea of following a reasonably young team and curious about their flamboyant and boastful head coach, I chose to follow the New York Jets.

It started as a cheerful relationship. Their underdog status soon turned into one of ‘surprise packets’ with a 9-7 record and an AFC Championship game appearance led by a rookie quarterback that nobody saw coming.

It got even better in 2010.

A cocky pre-season Superbowl prediction from Rex Ryan set the tone for an exciting run in which Mark Sanchez and a stingy defence led them all the way back to the brink again.

But alas, in 2011 it began to fall apart – again – as Sanchez began his descent into butt-fumbler and Darrelle Revis packed his bags for pastures greener.

The Jets have been close to awful ever since.

You can’t even call it a curse, more like a rich history of catastrophe that surges through the veins of Woody Johnson’s franchise and poisons everything from player development and draft classes to front-office strategy and head coaching nous.

But still, every Monday or Tuesday morning I rise in the often fruitless search of a Jets win. The only solace I often get from December is the misplaced optimism I feel in anticipation of next year’s draft.

So I guess you could call Monday’s win over the also-horrible Tennessee Titans a summation of my love for the Jets. A microcosm.

Both teams entered the game 2-11, well and truly in the hunt for the number one pick with the most likely choice being Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota, if he chooses to declare (which seems likely).

But in typical Jets fashion, they did exactly the opposite of what they needed to do.

They won.

It’s not everyday you want your favourite team to lose, but on this occasion it was exactly what was called for and by winning they essentially knocked themselves out of the Mariota sweepstakes.

With just two weeks to play, the Jets find themselves scrapping it out for not only a top-five draft pick, but possibly the first overall.

Pretty much every positional group except the defensive line and running back is in need of improvement, but as is the case for any NFL team, they would love an upgrade at quarterback after the Geno Smith experiment ended horribly after two seasons and Michael Vick clearly not being a long-term answer to start.

Heisman winner Mariota is the closest thing to a phenomenon you’ll ever find – great size at 6 ft 4 and 220 pounds, incredible athleticism and despite operating out of the Ducks’ spread system he has great accuracy and arm strength.

He’s faster than Cam Newton and stronger than RGIII, and with better football smarts than both.

Barring a phenomenal run home, the bottom six teams look set in stone – Tampa Bay, Washington, Tennessee, Oakland, Jacksonville and the Jets – but in what order nobody knows.

Logistically, you can rule Oakland and Jacksonville out of drafting a quarterback after taking Derek Carr and Blake Bortles respectively in last year’s draft.

Carr has been surprisingly good without being outstanding and Bortles has looked great at times and poor at others, but neither team is going to give up after one year especially with all the other gaping holes on their rosters.

That leaves us with Washington, Tennessee, Tampa Bay and the Jets.

I don’t see RGIII lasting past the offseason in the capital and it’s clear Josh McCown was not worth the money he got paid to join Lovie Smith in Tampa. Tennessee might be inclined to pass on a quarterback after the play of late-round pick Zach Mettenberger this year, but I doubt they would pass on Mariota given the chance.

None of these teams are likely to win another game, meaning Oakland should finish last with Tampa Bay, Tennessee, New York, Jacksonville (who should beat Tennessee at home next week) and Washington to follow.

But as we’ve seen in the NFL, nothing is ever certain. Their remaining schedules are hard, but it doesn’t mean Tampa Bay won’t upset Green Bay or New Orleans at home, or that Tennessee can’t beat the Jacksonville or the Colts either.

The most likely scenario though appears to be Marcus Mariota becoming a Tampa Bay Buccaneer in 2015 (with the exception of a draft day trade), leaving Tennessee, New York and Washington to fight over the crumbs.

So what about if you’re a Jet fan? Where on earth do we possibly look for in the future with so many holes?

We could trade up to land Mariota, but we almost definitely don’t have the cards to do so and giving up any key pieces or draft picks would be disastrous.

The most obvious selection would be last year’s Heisman winner, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston, if available. But in my opinion that too could end in disaster. The last thing the Jets need is another developmental prospect with off-field issues, especially when you consider New York’s track record with drafting quarterbacks.

The New York media would eat Winston alive.

There’s a few other prospects the Jets could look at. Wide receiver Amari Cooper out of Alabama could provide star power to a group lacking a true number one (sorry, Eric Decker) especially if you take Percy Harvin, who has already said he wants $10 million a season, out of the equation.

Trae Waynes from Michigan State (if he declares) and Ifo Ekpre-Olomu out of Oregon would be a huge upgrades at cornerback.

I also like ‘safe’ pick Brandon Scherff, a tackle from Iowa who would shore up an ageing and incomplete offensive line, and explosive outside linebacker Vic Beasley who would finally provide a true pass rusher to the Jets defence.

Whoever the general manager is, he has an unthankful job lying ahead.

There might not be a club in worse shape heading into the 2015 offseason.