This New York Jets 2026 NFL mock draft marks the next phase of a rebuild that began when the team traded Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams at the deadline last season. In classic Jets fashion, they lost their final eight games, only to miss out on the first overall pick due to unfavorable tiebreakers.
New York’s 2025 campaign was disastrous all around. Their hapless defense allowed 503 points and failed to record a single interception. Thanks to historically awful quarterback play, their offense ranked dead-last in passing, nearly 500 yards behind the second-worst Browns. Not to mention, the year ended with ex-Jet Sam Darnold hoisting the Lombardi Trophy with the Seattle Seahawks.
While it stings to lose the Fernando Mendoza lottery, NYC isn’t a quarterback-friendly destination at the moment, anyway. The Jets should focus on building a strong foundation and a winning culture, so they can find and develop a franchise QB in 2027.
In the 2026 NFL Draft, the Jets have picks in the first (2 and 16), second (1 and 44), fourth (103 and 140), fifth (179), and seventh rounds (228 and 242). With nine total selections and one of the NFL’s weakest rosters, New York is both poised and desperate for a transformational draft. They’ll start things off with an elite pass rusher. . .
