Jets fans, forget about the tank — there’s something more important at stake

I cannot conduct a poll that includes every Jets fan extant, and thus I know better than to assume I can speak with absolute authority on behalf of the entirety of that tortured fan base. What I can do is speak for myself, and how I would like to believe Jets fans would feel on this matter if given a pinch of truth serum with their morning coffee. 

I believe — genuinely — that no fan really wants to tank. Part of the reason for this is that for every Peyton Manning, there is a JaMarcus Russell. For every Victor Wembanyama there is an Anthony Bennett. For every Connor McDavid there is an Alexandre Daigle.

Tanking guarantees nothing, unless I’ve been Rip Van Winkle-ing the endless stretch of playoffs success that the Jaguars have piled up with Trevor Lawrence, or that Jameis Winston has collected with … well, just about everybody. And that especially applies in a year, such as this, when there is no obvious game-changing college player that’s yet emerged.

I think what Jets fans would like to see most of all, especially after getting a taste of success last Sunday in Cincinnati heading into this week’s bye, is this: evidence — real, abiding proof — across the season’s final nine weeks that a foundation is being built here. Win a few more games, don’t let the impact those games have on their draft status even enter your orbit.