To any New York Jets fans waiting for the next great Manning quarterback to be their savior, Mike Francesa claims you’ll probably have to keep waiting.
The Jets are heading into the upcoming NFL season with Geno Smith as their likely starting quarterback for the first time since 2016. And while this version of Geno Smith might be better than the version they watched a decade ago, many Jets fans are just hoping he can do for them what he did for the Las Vegas Raiders last season, quarterback them to the top pick in the NFL Draft.
The Jets will miss out on Fernando Mendoza by one pick in the NFL Draft next month. But maybe Geno Smith can help flip the script by guiding the Jets to the top pick next season, with the possibility of Arch Manning sitting there for the taking. Francesa, however, believes that’s not possible.
“I’ll tell you this, Jet fans. I hate to give you this a year in advance, and it will probably make you hate the Mannings more if you’re a Jet fan and you hate the Mannings already, because remember, Peyton didn’t want to play for the Jets. They will not let Arch Manning play for the Jets,” Francesa declared. “I’m telling you right now, they will manipulate the draft, they will never let him get drafted by the Jets. You can take that to the bank.
“I’m telling you right now, a year in advance, I don’t know where he’s gonna wind up next year, he’s gonna be the first player picked unless something drastic happens. But he’s not gonna go to the Jets. The Jets aren’t gonna wind up with Arch Manning, it’s not gonna happen. It’s not going to happen under any circumstances; that family will not allow it. I’m telling you, they will not allow it.”
They didn’t let Eli Manning play for the San Diego Chargers, forcing his way to the New York Giants instead. And they didn’t let Peyton Manning play for the Jets, although the family has blamed Bill Parcells for not guaranteeing that the quarterback would be taken with the top pick. Instead, Manning went back to school for another year.
If history is any indication, the Mannings will want to find the best situation for the family’s next NFL quarterback. And if history is any indication, the Jets aren’t the best situation for any quarterback.
For what it’s worth, Kenny Mayne, who co-hosts We Need a Fourth with Cooper Manning, joined the Awful Announcing Podcast earlier this month. And Mayne was asked whether he believes Cooper Manning would let his son play for the Jets. Mayne didn’t want to answer for the Manning family, but he did predict they would let it play out without much interference.
If Arch Manning has the season everyone expected him to have last year, and the Jets have the type of season everyone is predicting in Aaron Glenn’s second year, both sides appear destined to meet at the NFL Draft. And if that happens, logic would dictate Francesa might be right, and the Mannings will attempt to keep Arch away from the Jets. But who knows, maybe a 36-year-old Geno Smith will surprise everyone and make this a moot point by playing the Jets out of the top pick anyway.
