New York Jets: Sam Darnold needs to be Pro Bowler for Jets to make the playoffs

The New York Jets are looking serious as an AFC Wild Card contender, but them making the playoffs lies in the play of young quarterback Sam Darnold.

To say the pressure is on for 21-year-old New York Jets QB Sam Darnold is the understatement of the year. After adding Le’Veon Bell, C.J. Mosley, Jamison Crowder, and whoever will be eventual number three pick in this year’s NFL Draft, the Jets have everything they need to make the Playoffs in 2019, at least they hope.

Starting the year off 3-3 and then finishing the season 4-12 was not where Darnold and the Jets wanted to be. However, everyone knew that this wasn’t going to be an instant change that made the Jets a playoff team. This is the type of player that any organization needs to take time with, and New York fans were okay with waiting. Then, they had this unbelievable offseason and the whole outlook of this team changed. No more waiting?

During his rookie year, he had his moments where he looked like the franchise piece the Jets will sport for years to come, but he also had classic rookie moments like throwing an interception on his very first regular season snap.

He’s the youngest quarterback to ever start and NFL Week 1 game, and he’s still so incredibly young. So, maybe the expectations are too high going into this year, but they have to be with the signings the Jets just made. Bottom line, he has to make the Pro-Bowl in order for the Jets to contend in the AFC.

In a highly competitive AFC where elite quarterbacks like Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Andrew Luck, and Phillip Rivers reside, it’s going to be extremely difficult for Sam Darnold to break through and literally be a Pro Bowler.

It’s a long shot to some people, but compare his rookie season to  one of the best QB’s ever and how his second season could look with more weapons, it may not be a stretch.

Comparing the two, they’re incredibly close and what Brady and most pocket passers were able to do the following year is a promising sign for Darnold. In his next season, Brady made a dramatic jump in stats throwing for almost 1000 more yards and throwing 10 more touchdowns. You could make the argument that Brady had won a Super Bowl that year, but he had many more weapons than Darnold.

Many quarterbacks make a statistical jump their second years in the league as a starter and it’s very realistic to think the same could happen for Darnold. Now that he has not only secured multiple, young weapons offensively, but a massive defensive presence to couple it, he has a chance to sustain in this league for a long time and make some noise this coming year.

The Jets have spent years trying to find their guy, they finally found him. Quite frankly, they deserve it too. The last quarterback to “lead” them to a deep playoff run was Mark Sanchez, and most of that playoff run could be contributed to the stellar defense the Jets played. Many have dubbed Darnold the best QB out of the stacked 2018 draft, and he literally has all the potential to be the most talented prospect of the past decade.

The fans have been looking for their first playoff appearance since 2010, and it seems that the pieces are slowly starting to fall into place. Darnold’s numbers can only trend upward up from here, and I can genuinely see him being the X-Factor that puts the Jets over the cusp of humiliation and back into the playoff picture.