Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty needs time to sit and learn in the NFL. But given that he was drafted by the New York Jets, it's likely the pressure to play him quickly is going to be great.
Petty was the fourth pick in the fourth round (103rd overall) Saturday, and he was the fifth quarterback selected overall. He heads to a Jets team that has holdover Geno Smith and newly acquired Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback. Fitzpatrick is a stop-gap guy, and Smith hasn't shown he can handle the job. But slow down on the calls to play Petty now.
"He throws the ball as naturally as any quarterback in the draft," NFL Media analyst Mike Mayock said during the NFL Network's draft coverage. "Beautiful touch, accuracy, play-action, quick feet, big arm, can drop it in the bucket. He's got all the tools to work with.
"But when you say, 'You need a redshirt year,' here's why. The more he has to move away from the pocket, the more he has to get into second and third reads, it leads to bad decisions. ... He's got a long way to go."
Petty put up big numbers in his two seasons as Baylor's starter -- 8,055 yards, 61 touchdowns, just 10 interceptions -- but the Bears' offense is extremely quarterback-friendly, and Petty's main job was to get the ball out quickly to predetermined targets. When his initial target was covered, he tended to struggle.
Jeremiah pointed out that, like Petty, Smith came from a pass-happy spread attack in college and needed time to adjust. What should scare Jets fans is that Jeremiah said Smith was "way further along" at the same stage as Petty.
"Bryce Petty needs to sit," Jeremiah said. "Now, hopefully, whoever's playing ahead of him -- be it Geno Smith or Fitzpatrick -- hopefully they afford him that luxury."
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
