NFL Draft: Jets pick up QB Jordan Travis from Florida State in fifth round
Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis (13) looks for a receiver as Miami linebacker K.J. Cloyd (23) closes during the first half of an NCAA college football game Nov. 11, 2023, in Tallahassee, Fla. Credit: AP/Colin Hackley
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The Jets have their new quarterback of the future — they hope.
The Jets drafted Florida State senior Jordan Travis in the fifth round of the NFL Draft on Saturday. Travis would have gone higher had he not broken his leg last season.
Joe Douglas said Travis should be able to practice at some point this season. In the meantime, he is looking forward to watching and learning from Aaron Rodgers and Tyrod Taylor.
“It’s a dream come true,” Travis said. “I can’t wait to meet Aaron and Tyrod and just pick their brains every single day . . . I can’t wait.”
The Jets traded up to take the developmental quarterback with pick No. 171. They sent Nos. 185 and 190 in the sixth round to Philadelphia.
Travis, who will turn 24 on Thursday, spent one year at Louisville and five at Florida State. He threw 20 touchdown passes and two interceptions last season before suffering the season-ending injury.
In his last three years at FSU, Travis threw for 7,509 yards, 59 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,950 yards and 31 touchdowns in his college career.
“I make plays when everything breaks down,” Travis said. “I’m just a baller. I’m a competitor. Every single time I get on the field, I want to dominate the guy across from me.”
The Jets needed another quarterback after trading Zach Wilson to Denver on Tuesday.
Travis can learn from seeing how Rodgers plays the position, which was what the Jets wanted for Wilson. Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon in Week 1 last season and Wilson became the starter.
The hope is that Rodgers can play two or three years before someone else takes over, maybe Travis.
Douglas made four draft trades Saturday, including three involving the Jets’ first two fourth-round picks.
He kept the third one and took running back Braelon Allen from Wisconsin at 134.
Allen, 20, is a big, bruising back who uses his 6-1, 235-pound frame to run over defenders. He rushed for 3,494 yards and 35 touchdowns in three seasons.
“I try to punish defenders and create contact more than taking it, absorb it,” Allen said. “I think I’m a well-rounded back that’s bigger than most.”
The Jets selected another running back, Isaiah Davis from South Dakota State, in the fifth round (No. 173). Allen and Davis add depth behind Breece Hall in a running back room that includes Izzy Abanikanda, a fifth-round pick last year.
After drafting five offensive players, the Jets finally went defense with the No. 176 pick in the fifth round. They took cornerback Qwan-Tez Stiggers, who didn’t play in college and was with the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League last year.
Douglas also set the Jets up for the future with one trade. He flipped the No. 126 pick (fourth round) that he acquired from Green Bay on Saturday and sent it to Detroit for a 2025 third-round pick.
The Jets had the final pick of the entire draft, No. 257, colloquially known as Mr. Irrelevant, safety Jaylen Key out of Alabama.
Douglas said the Jets are picking up the fifth-year option on right guard Alijah Vera-Tucker.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
