Sam Darnold will change course of Jets franchise, says owner Christopher Johnson

NEW YORK -- Sam Darnold was never going to fly under the radar as the Jets' quarterback.

He was the No. 3 overall pick last month's draft and he's coming to a team that hasn't won a Super Bowl in 50 years. The expectations were always going to be high.

But Jets CEO Christopher Johnson on Tuesday gave a sense of just how much the team expects of their new franchise quarterback.

"I think people are going to look back," Johnson said at a charity event in Midtown. "I honestly think they're going to look back 20 years from now and say that this is the moment that the Jets shifted into a new gear -- that they became a great team."

That's an immense amount of pressure to place on the shoulders of a rookie -- keep in mind, he won't even celebrate his 21st until next month. But Johnson clearly believes that Darnold is ready to stand up to the pressure that will come with great expectations. And the intense scrutiny that he'll face being a recognizable public figure in the New York City media market.

"He is focused on football," said Johnson, who appeared at BTIG Charity Day in support of the Lupus Research Alliance. "He's not a flashy guy. I think he's a good fit with New York. There's nothing about him that looks like he has that deer in the headlights feel. I think he'll be fine."

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Johnson is echoing the general belief on 1 Jets Drive: that things are finally headed in the right direction for a team that hasn't made the playoffs in seven years and is coming off of back-to-back 5-11 seasons.

Jets coach Todd Bowles has already made it clear that Darnold will have every opportunity to win the starting job as a rookie -- if he's ready. But even if that doesn't happen this year, it's obvious that the Jets believe that they've finally found the quarterback that will lead them back to relevance.

"I absolutely think that he can be our quarterback of the future," Johnson said of Darnold. "I'm not the GM, I'm not the head coach but I can recognize a great football player.

"I think we've got a real future with this kid and he's not even 21 yet. We might have a long time with this young man. And I hope so because right now he is really our future."

We're still at least four months away from Darnold playing in a meaningful game. But the new quarterback passed his first test at rookie minicamp over the weekend, where he looked like he belonged.

Johnson, in particular, is impressed by Darnold's ability to maintain his composure no matter the situation.

"He's so good at playing football when everything goes wrong," Johnson said. "When the pocket collapses, when it all goes to hell.

"He can throw across his body, he can throw when his feet are in the wrong place, he can do a lot of things that are hard to teach," Johnson said. "I think that really bodes well for our future."

Johnson is also clearly very satisfied with his general manager, Mike Maccagnan. The jets CEO raved about the team's decision to trade up from No. 6 to No. 3, at the cost of three second-round picks, about a month before the draft.

"That was not a move for the meek," Johnson said. "It was in my view a pretty aggressive move and people have argued that it was an expensive move. I think it was a move we had to make."

Johnson also admitted that the Jets "got a little lucky" that Darnold, who was projected as the top quarterback for most of the last year, fell to the Jets.

"Luck goes a long way in the NFL and we'll see how far it can take us," Johnson said. "But I'm really happy with where things stand right now. ... I am a really happy man, I think we did really well."

Email: vasqueza@northjersey.com

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