Johnson won’t join Jet QB search party
The Jets might be crisscrossing the country in their ongoing search for a franchise quarterback, but don’t expect CEO and Chairman Christopher Johnson to join team brass in these fact-finding missions.
The Daily News has learned that Johnson will not be a part of the team’s traveling caravan for any of the private workouts for Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Josh Allen or Baker Mayfield.
So, Johnson won’t be headed to Oklahoma on Saturday when Gang Green’s brain trust holds a private workout with Mayfield.
There are smart reasons for Johnson not to partake in these private workouts like not tipping off other teams of the Jets’ quarterback preferences.
My understanding is that there are scheduling hurdles that would preclude Johnson from attending all of the private sessions for the top four signal callers.
If Johnson can’t make all of the sessions, it’s sound strategy for him to stay away altogether. Going to only one or two private workouts, for example, might reveal the Jets’ preferences.
There’s also a good chance that Johnson will meet Darnold, Rosen, Allen and/or Mayfield when each comes to the team facility for a pre-draft visit in April.
My understanding is that the Jets believe there’s a clear line of demarcation separating the Darnold/Rosen/Allen group and the next quarterback tier that includes Mayfield.
Regardless, the Jets braintrust will be thorough in its evaluations of each of the top signal callers over the next several weeks. The Jets army will attend Allen’s Pro Day in Wyoming on Friday after watching Darnold at USC Pro Day on Wednesday.
Gang Green is operating under the idea that the Browns will take Darnold with the No. 1 pick.
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam took Darnold out to dinner Tuesday night in California before watching him sling it around in the rain (with the quarterback’s parents in the stands) on Wednesday. Cleveland, of course, doesn’t have to worry about tipping off anyone.
In 2009, Woody Johnson and Jets brass that included Rex Ryan and Mike Tannenbaum went out to dinner with Mark Sanchez after a private workout one month before trading up for him with the No. 5 pick in the draft.