THREE OF A KIND
Jets’ options to re-arm after tank
By releasing defensive linchpin David Harris on Tuesday, and stating No. 1 wide receiver Eric Decker won’t be back with the team, the Jets essentially have decided they are willing to endure one historically awful season to finally find someone to fill Joe Namath’s spikes. (Unless 2017 is the Year of Christian Hackenberg, that is.)
With no realistic path to the playoffs — even with Harris and Decker — the Jets seem to be taking steps to ensure they won’t come close to last year’s five-win total, which would put them in position to land a potential franchise quarterback from among the strong crop available in the 2018 draft. Even if general manager Mike Maccagnan won’t admit it, the tank has begun.
Here is a look at the quarterbacks who could be leading the Jets in just over a year, the players you should be watching on Saturdays as long as Sundays will be stripped of suspense:
Sam Darnold USC, sophomore (redshirt)
Darnold didn’t even make his first career start until the Trojans’ fourth game last season, but he quickly became a star — leading a team that started 1-3 to nine straight wins to end the season. During that winning streak, Darnold had 2,833 yards passing and 31 touchdowns while completing nearly 70 percent of his passes, capped by his 453-yard, five-touchdown performance in the Rose Bowl.
Even with Louisville’s Lamar Jackson returning to school, Darnold is the Heisman favorite — and the most likely candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Plus: The 6-foot-4, 225-pound quar- terback has the size, arm strength and accuracy all teams covet — and mobility as a runner as well. Teammates have touted his leadership at such a young age.
Minus: He has started just nine games. How will Darnold handle entering a season with enormous Heisman hype?
Josh Rosen UCLA, junior
Rosen’s NFL prospects were being discussed before he even arrived on campus. Touted as a future star since high school, Rosen started for the Bruins as a true freshman, and showed the potential that makes scouts salivate. As a sophomore, Rosen played just six games, though, after undergoing surgery on his throwing shoulder, and finished the season with 1,915 passing yards, 10