2012 NFL Draft: Why the New York Jets Should Draft a Quarterback

The criticism of the New York Jets and Mark Sanchez is as high as its ever been. The Jets were a huge disappointment as they failed to make the playoffs after being in the AFC Championship Game in back-to-back seasons.

The person that much of the blame has been put on is Mark Sanchez. Sanchez entered his third season with high expectations. Many people felt this would be the year that he would take the next steps in becoming an elite quarterback in the NFL.

While he did not necessarily regress as many people have stated, he did not make any vast improvements.

One thing that was called into question was Sanchez's motivation and work ethic. The Jets organization has been split on this issue of Sanchez's work ethic. Some teammates have called out Sanchez on it. However, LaDainian Tomlinson vouched for Sanchez's work ethic and expressed that he could use some competition.

The Jets' backup quarterback the past two seasons has been veteran Mark Brunell. Brunell had no chance of starting over Sanchez. LT might be correct; a solution to help Sanchez could be for the Jets to draft a young quarterback out of the 2012 NFL draft.

The Jets need to put some heat on Sanchez. If he starts feeling the heat and continues to play poorly, he will now feel his starting job threatened by the newly drafted rookie. An old saying goes, "competition brings out the best in people."

Since joining the NFL in 2009, Sanchez has had the second-most interceptions (51) and second-most turnovers (63). Maybe if he loses some job security, Sanchez will be more protective of the football and turn it over less.

If Sanchez can not improve into a solid and reliable NFL quarterback, the Jets might have to cut their losses and look somewhere else. Drafting a quarterback in this year's draft could provide them with that backup plan.

The rookie quarterback will start on the sidelines, learning the Jets' system. Then if Sanchez continues to struggle, the Jets could turn to their rookie quarterback in hopes of something better than Sanchez.

Depending on when the Jets want to draft a quarterback, some possible draft options could include Brock Osweiler, Nick Foles or Kirk Cousins.

Arizona State's Osweiler is a big quarterback, standing at 6'8", with a big arm. He is a surprisingly agile and capable of scrambling when needed. Osweiler will need some development, but his athletic ability and impressive size is intriguing.

Foles played quarterback at Arizona, which lacked a solid defense. Foles found himself getting into shootouts, and last season he completed 69 percent of his passes for 4,334 yards and 28 touchdowns. One criticism with Foles, which is similar to the criticism of Sanchez, is that he stares down one receiver without looking at the entire field.

Michigan State's Cousins was stuck in an offense that was run-heavy. The Jets are going to be a "ground and pound" team, so Cousins should not have any problems adjusting to their style of offense. Cousins is a good game-managing quarterback, which is effective in a run-first offensive scheme.

The Jets should not give up on Sanchez yet. He has potential and is still a young quarterback. But a little competition never hurt anybody, and drafting a young quarterback might light a flame in Sanchez and turn his game up to the next level.