Realistic Jets Expectations for Geno

Aaron Glenn said Geno Smith is the guy who's going to lead the Jets to the promised land. Rich took that compliment for what it is, a head coach loving his quarterback in public, and then laid out why the Jets' smartest move is to wait a year before drafting a real one.

The Aaron Glenn clip ran first. He talked about Geno fitting exactly what the Jets are trying to do offensively, the identity being built, Geno being the guy who will touch the ball more than anyone else. Glenn's tone was classic first-year-coach optimism, culture change, sunny disposition, glass half full. Rich respects the move. If you're flipping a program after a disaster season, you have to love your quarterback out loud. Jim Harbaugh does it with Justin Herbert. It's good coaching.

But Rich is clear-eyed about what the Jets are actually doing. They are not trying to find a Mahomes or an Allen right now. They mortgaged their young Turks from previous drafts, Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner, to stockpile capital for next year's draft. They could have taken the Cowboys' pick this year. They chose to push the Cowboys draft capital into 2026, even knowing it might land late in the first round. That's a tell.

Matt Miller's mock had Ty Simpson going to the Jets at the first pick of the second round. Rich walked through why that would be a mistake. You're not trading up one spot with Seattle to get a fifth-year option. You're putting the kid on a four-year rookie deal, in New York, with all the pressure that comes with that, and you're also signaling to your locker room that you're not going to draft a quarterback in next year's quarterback-rich class. That's a self-inflicted box.

His argument for Geno is the pragmatic one. He's a really good veteran quarterback when protected. He's an avatar for Aaron Glenn's culture build. The only real knock is that he might win too many games and cost the Jets a top-10 pick next year. Rich's counter: that's a problem the owner wants to have.

The riff on Jet fans being upset about a re-tread landed hard. Who else was going to come to the Jets on their own volition? Nobody. They traded for Geno. If the Raiders had just cut him, would he have chosen New York? Unclear. But he's here now, and Glenn is doing the right thing by elevating him publicly.

The close was strategic. If Arizona starts to covet Ty Simpson, the Jets should pick up the phone and offer Arizona a one-spot trade up in exchange for extra draft consideration. That gives the Jets more help now at positions they actually need, keeps their 2026 quarterback flexibility intact, and puts the pressure of being the Jets' quarterback of the future on somebody else's timeline.

It's a restraint play. And for this franchise, restraint might actually be the aggressive move.