THE SECRET CODE
Only three inside Jet camp knew which QB Gang wanted
Only a few people in the Jets organization actually knew who they wanted at QB
Before the football gods gave the Jets a gift of a lifetime on the first night of the draft, just about everyone in the war room was in the dark.
What was Gang Green’s quarterback pecking order? Baker Mayfield? Josh Rosen? Sam Darnold? Josh Allen? Lamar Jackson?
Only three people could answer that question. And none of them had uttered a word inside the building.
The Jets ratcheted up their secrecy before the franchise’s most important draft in memory. Browns general manager John Dorsey joked that his wife didn’t even know that he was going to take Mayfield with the No. 1 overall pick. Well, Jets GM Mike Maccagnan kept his intentions close to the vest too. Only CEO Christopher Johnson, Todd Bowles and Maccagnan knew the exact signal caller pecking order on One Jets Drive. Nobody else. For the first time, Maccagnan did not even put a final grade on any of the Top 5 quarterback prospects for fear that word might trickle out and jeopardize the most pivotal decision of his professional life. So, there was no record of the quarterback final grades in the Jets digital draft program or on the old-school cards that typically get stacked on one of the two big draft boards. Every other player except Darnold, Mayfield, Rosen, Allen and Jackson had a final grade next to his name. The cards identifying the Top 5 quarterbacks were separated from the rest of the cards.
Maccagnan kept the quarterback intel in his head.
If ever there was clear evidence of how critical this pick was to the franchise, this was it. There would be no visual evidence of how the Jets brain trust viewed these quarterbacks, no paper trail that could fall into the wrong hands, no hackers that could break into the digital ranking system, no loose lips that could sink this greenand-white ship.
Maccagnan, Bowles and Johnson were protective of this information like never before. The GM had solicited evaluations and grades from his scouts and coaches, listened to countless opinions, but he had to make the final decision. A collaborative process still needed one ultimate decision maker. It was Maccagnan’s call.
The Jets have two boards in their war room: One for draftable players and another for priority free-agent targets. On the first night of the draft, Maccagnan told the Coordinator of College Scouting Dan Zbojovsky to leave the board of draftable players down.
There was no reason to stack the big board. The Jets weren’t trading down from the No. 3 pick. Only two players would be gone. They were taking one of those coveted quarterbacks. That wasn’t exactly breaking news. So, what sense did it make to stack a bunch of players that weren’t a consideration on Day 1?
The Jets brass had believed that Darnold was destined for Cleveland for months before the tenor changed. By mid-afternoon on draft day, there were strong rumblings that Mayfield would be the next face of The Factory of Sadness. The Jets, however, still were unsure what the Giants would do even though they knew Dave Gettleman had an affinity for Penn State running back Saquon Barkley.
Would a quarterback-needy team make the Giants an offer they couldn’t refuse to leap over the Jets for Darnold? The Jets, frankly, couldn’t say for certain.
When Gettleman took Barkley, disbelief, joy, exhaustion and relief washed over the general manager and head coach. Did Darnold actually fall into their laps?
A short while later, Maccagnan was coy about whether Darnold was, indeed, his top choice.
“I don’t want to get into where we had guys ranked,” Maccagnan said the night he drafted Darnold, “But we were very excited when he was available for us at three.”
The Daily News’ understanding is that Darnold was the organization’s top choice that appeared unattainable for the longest time. But what was Maccagnan’s pecking order?
He’ll take that information to the grave… or Canton for Darnold’s enshrinement one day.
@MMehtaNYDN