Who was the worst Jets #2 overall pick — Zach Wilson, Blair Thomas, or Lam Jones?
October 7, 2025
Who was the worst Jets #2 overall pick — Zach Wilson, Blair Thomas, or Lam Jones?
25 comments
Johnny Lam Jones for sure.
Never should’ve been picked that high.
Thomas hurt himself. It wasn’t really a draft mistake.
Wilson was a mistake from the jump, but another team would’ve made it high if not the Jets.
Complete the sequence. Ryan Leaf, JaMarcus Russell, _____. There’s your answer
don’t remember the other two, but Zach Wilson has to be the leader. I will never understand using a 2nd overall pick on him. I don’t want to hear “OHhh other teams had him on their boards too”. sometimes the experts are just idiots…nothing about that kid’s college career screamed he would be a star in the nfl.
I never had any expectation zach wilson would live up to his draft status
Zack, and it’s not close
Lam Jones was not good, but he was competent at least. His issue was that he jumped to catch balls which negated his track star speed
Blair Thomas was weird because EVERYONE thought he would be a star. When he fumbled during a Monday Night game it basically broke him.
Zack was aggressively terrible and he made everyone around him worse. While the Jets have had worse QBs, I can’t think of anyone who lasted as long despite sucking so bad.
It is easily Wilson.
If you whiff on a RB or a WR it’s a bad pick. But it’s easy enough to find someone else to plug in there and move forward.
If you whiff on a QB it destroys the entire offense and everyone gets fired.
Wilson set the Jets back at least 5 years. Especially when you consider the rumors that they could’ve traded back with SF and added multiple first round picks. Brutal.
We’re still dealing with the effects of drafting zach wilson
Blair Thomas started off strong and was playing well until that fumble Monday night in Chicago as the Jets were about to pull the upset. He was never the same after that.
Wilson was the worst Jets QB I’ve seen in awhile, gonna be hard to beat him.
I loved Lam Jones as a very young kid, thought he had a cool name.
My dad always said he had “backwards hands.” He could catch the hard ones, but the easy ones bounced right off of em.
Jones
Jones by a whisker (could have had Anthony Munoz)
Zach. And every game I watch Sam Darnold play makes it so much worse
Wilson cause it set the franchise back yrs. They made the playoffs the 2yrs after jones and made the playoffs 1yr after Thomas
Do we get to use hindsight?
Because Blaire Thomas could have been an Emmitt Smith pick.
And Lam Jones could have been Art Monk.
Both of these were the second picks at their position in their drafts.
Third overall in both of those drafts were also HoFs.
Wilson was just a bad draft year for qbs. We could look at other positions and miss Chase, Sewell, and Surtain.
If we are judging on, “we grabbed the wrong guy” it looks like 1990 is the worst.
It’s not necessarily Wilson himself but rather the decision to go QB. Wilson, Trey Lance, Fields, even Mac Jones would’ve all been horrible picks that did the same damage. Had we stuck with Darnold and gone either Chase or Sewell we’d have been much better off
Nothing like suffering through a horrible season then having to relive past nightmares.
Hard to say. I’m only old enough(40) and been a fan long enough(1995) to remember Wilson.
I guess I’d say whiffing on a QB is worse than a bad pick on a RB or WR.
Wilson was always a day 2 pick that should have sat as a backup for a couple of years before ever seeing the field. Hype is a bitch and Joe Douglas got caught up.
In my life time, I can’t imagine a world where I see anyone ever surpasses how bad Zach was. I mean he was just genuinely terrible. It’s not just the stats, but the tape was god awful. I didn’t like the pick then, hated it after he was on the field for two years. We should’ve given Sam a chance with a real team, especially considering SF was apparently offering a buttload of picks for our spot.
Their picks + Seattle’s picks would’ve set us up in a way so ridiculously good it would’ve felt like we were playing Madden with how much draft ammo we had.
And then sure, if Sam keeps sucking, get a QB in a following draft. But we gave him *nothing* and expected him to save us.
Most painful thing about Zack draft is when you look at the trade compensation Niners gave up for #3 pick. And JD stubbornness to never give the team any other options. Remember Zack rookie year in week one, the only player that had thrown NFL pass was slot WR Crowder.
Blair Thomas was mentally broken after the MNF loss against the Bears. Afterwards, everything about him went downhill.
Lam Jones is the worst and actually worst than drafting a kicker in the first round. One of the dumbest picks in NFL history not just Jets history.
His hands were so terrible that you knew this pick was a bust before he even hit the field for his first game.
For as much damage as they did to this franchise? It has to be Zach
Depends on how you define “worst.”
If “worst” is based on overall on-field impact, it’s Zach.
If “worst” is based on quality of draft pick at the time, without the benefit of hindsight, it’s Jones. It’s not even remotely close to being Zach because if the Jets didn’t take him at #2, any other team picking there would have.
Lam Jones and it really isn’t close. Blair Thomas was very good at Penn State and was not at all a reach. He would have been taken quickly if the Jets passed. The fumble in the Bears game was a catastrophic turning point for him. He was never close to the same. Wilson was a credible QB, the Jets reached but he did show throwing ability prior to the draft. Lam Jones was a “WTF” they must have made a mistake on the card moment. People at the draft didn’t know who he was. Think about that, picked 2nd overall and football fans had no idea of him. An inexcusable pick. Add in the guy could NOT catch at all, that’s incredible when evaluating a receiver.
Zach Wilson is – easily – the worst draft pick the Jets have ever made.
Not only because he was a colossal bust as a player at the game’s single most important position – but the opportunity cost of draft capital that would have been acquired by trading down.
25 comments
Johnny Lam Jones for sure.
Never should’ve been picked that high.
Thomas hurt himself. It wasn’t really a draft mistake.
Wilson was a mistake from the jump, but another team would’ve made it high if not the Jets.
Complete the sequence. Ryan Leaf, JaMarcus Russell, _____. There’s your answer
don’t remember the other two, but Zach Wilson has to be the leader. I will never understand using a 2nd overall pick on him. I don’t want to hear “OHhh other teams had him on their boards too”. sometimes the experts are just idiots…nothing about that kid’s college career screamed he would be a star in the nfl.
I never had any expectation zach wilson would live up to his draft status
Zack, and it’s not close
Lam Jones was not good, but he was competent at least. His issue was that he jumped to catch balls which negated his track star speed
Blair Thomas was weird because EVERYONE thought he would be a star. When he fumbled during a Monday Night game it basically broke him.
Zack was aggressively terrible and he made everyone around him worse. While the Jets have had worse QBs, I can’t think of anyone who lasted as long despite sucking so bad.
It is easily Wilson.
If you whiff on a RB or a WR it’s a bad pick. But it’s easy enough to find someone else to plug in there and move forward.
If you whiff on a QB it destroys the entire offense and everyone gets fired.
Wilson set the Jets back at least 5 years. Especially when you consider the rumors that they could’ve traded back with SF and added multiple first round picks. Brutal.
We’re still dealing with the effects of drafting zach wilson
Blair Thomas started off strong and was playing well until that fumble Monday night in Chicago as the Jets were about to pull the upset. He was never the same after that.
Wilson was the worst Jets QB I’ve seen in awhile, gonna be hard to beat him.
I loved Lam Jones as a very young kid, thought he had a cool name.
My dad always said he had “backwards hands.” He could catch the hard ones, but the easy ones bounced right off of em.
Jones
Jones by a whisker (could have had Anthony Munoz)
Zach. And every game I watch Sam Darnold play makes it so much worse
Wilson cause it set the franchise back yrs. They made the playoffs the 2yrs after jones and made the playoffs 1yr after Thomas
Do we get to use hindsight?
Because Blaire Thomas could have been an Emmitt Smith pick.
And Lam Jones could have been Art Monk.
Both of these were the second picks at their position in their drafts.
Third overall in both of those drafts were also HoFs.
Wilson was just a bad draft year for qbs. We could look at other positions and miss Chase, Sewell, and Surtain.
If we are judging on, “we grabbed the wrong guy” it looks like 1990 is the worst.
It’s not necessarily Wilson himself but rather the decision to go QB. Wilson, Trey Lance, Fields, even Mac Jones would’ve all been horrible picks that did the same damage. Had we stuck with Darnold and gone either Chase or Sewell we’d have been much better off
Nothing like suffering through a horrible season then having to relive past nightmares.
Hard to say. I’m only old enough(40) and been a fan long enough(1995) to remember Wilson.
I guess I’d say whiffing on a QB is worse than a bad pick on a RB or WR.
Wilson was always a day 2 pick that should have sat as a backup for a couple of years before ever seeing the field. Hype is a bitch and Joe Douglas got caught up.
In my life time, I can’t imagine a world where I see anyone ever surpasses how bad Zach was. I mean he was just genuinely terrible. It’s not just the stats, but the tape was god awful. I didn’t like the pick then, hated it after he was on the field for two years. We should’ve given Sam a chance with a real team, especially considering SF was apparently offering a buttload of picks for our spot.
Their picks + Seattle’s picks would’ve set us up in a way so ridiculously good it would’ve felt like we were playing Madden with how much draft ammo we had.
And then sure, if Sam keeps sucking, get a QB in a following draft. But we gave him *nothing* and expected him to save us.
Most painful thing about Zack draft is when you look at the trade compensation Niners gave up for #3 pick. And JD stubbornness to never give the team any other options. Remember Zack rookie year in week one, the only player that had thrown NFL pass was slot WR Crowder.
Blair Thomas was mentally broken after the MNF loss against the Bears. Afterwards, everything about him went downhill.
Lam Jones is the worst and actually worst than drafting a kicker in the first round. One of the dumbest picks in NFL history not just Jets history.
His hands were so terrible that you knew this pick was a bust before he even hit the field for his first game.
For as much damage as they did to this franchise? It has to be Zach
Depends on how you define “worst.”
If “worst” is based on overall on-field impact, it’s Zach.
If “worst” is based on quality of draft pick at the time, without the benefit of hindsight, it’s Jones. It’s not even remotely close to being Zach because if the Jets didn’t take him at #2, any other team picking there would have.
Lam Jones and it really isn’t close. Blair Thomas was very good at Penn State and was not at all a reach. He would have been taken quickly if the Jets passed. The fumble in the Bears game was a catastrophic turning point for him. He was never close to the same. Wilson was a credible QB, the Jets reached but he did show throwing ability prior to the draft. Lam Jones was a “WTF” they must have made a mistake on the card moment. People at the draft didn’t know who he was. Think about that, picked 2nd overall and football fans had no idea of him. An inexcusable pick. Add in the guy could NOT catch at all, that’s incredible when evaluating a receiver.
Zach Wilson is – easily – the worst draft pick the Jets have ever made.
Not only because he was a colossal bust as a player at the game’s single most important position – but the opportunity cost of draft capital that would have been acquired by trading down.
It set the franchise back 5 years and counting.
amazing wilson is still in the league