They had to do it.
Because of past failures at the quarterback position, the New York Jets -- in a decades-long search for a franchise quarterback -- put themselves in the unenviable position of having to trade up.
The Jets whiffed on draft picks Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg and they missed out on prized free agent Kirk Cousins even though they offered more money than the Minnesota Vikings. So general manager Mike Maccagnan had a choice:
Sit tight with the sixth pick and pray one of the top four quarterbacks falls in his lap -- a quarterback he actually believes in -- or be proactive and jump for one he really likes.