Ben McAdoo was fired as the head coach of the New York Giants last year and did not land a job with any team for the 2018 season, but he apparently still spent time evaluating incoming rookies. If the New York Jets value the offensive-minded coach’s opinion, they aren’t going to be happy to hear how he views their first-round pick.
McAdoo discussed this year’s rookie QB class in an interview with Paul Schwartz of the New York Post, and he was critical of Sam Darnold. While he said Darnold is “special,” he questioned the former USC star’s mechanics and indicated he would not have drafted him.
“I think the kid the Jets drafted has a lot of magic in his game,” McAdoo said. “I think he’s special. He’s obviously a talented guy, he can make plays with his feet. I’d just have a hard time drafting a guy in the first round where you don’t necessarily like the way he throws.
“He can overcome it, guys have, but that’s something that’s a challenge for me. I’m gonna be looking at that, trying to fix it, because it’s a fundamental flaw, and I believe in the fundamentals. The quarterback, his No. 1 job is to pass the football. If I don’t like the way he throws the ball, I have a hard time picking him, right?”
McAdoo said there was no can’t-miss prospect like Andrew Luck in this year’s draft, but he saw the board a lot differently than most teams. He said he had Josh Allen, who was taken by the Buffalo Bills at No. 7 behind both Darnold and Baker Mayfield, as his top-ranked quarterback. McAdoo had LaMar Jackson, who was the last pick in the first round, rated as the second-best QB.
Most people would agree that there was no QB as good as Luck in the draft, which is why there was very little consensus. While we have heard plenty of encouraging things about Darnold this offseason, the Jets seem to have no intention of rushing him. Perhaps that has something to do with those mechanics McAdoo referred to.
