How Jets could pick a quarterback in 2026 NFL Draft — just not at No….
This is the second in a two-part sequence analyzing the Jets’ choices at quarterback. We examined veteran choices in the first half and now we take a look at what the Jets could do in the NFL draft.
When it involves quarterbacks, the Jets and the NFL draft, they could should undertake the previous rallying cry of the Brooklyn Dodgers and “Wait Till Next Year.”
The Jets discover themselves in an unbelievable state of affairs this 12 months the place they’ve the No. 2 total pick in a draft the place only one quarterback — Fernando Mendoza — is seen as value taking at the top of the draft.
If the Jets can’t discover a quarterback in this 12 months’s draft, the expectation is that they’ll discover one in 2027 when the Jets have three first-round picks to make use of as ammunition to commerce up if they should.
The 2027 draft is considered as having many quarterbacks value a top pick, however we’re 13 months away from that and Arch Manning, Dante Moore, LaNorris Sellers all have a school season to play and issues can change.
“It’s a weird place [for the Jets] to be in if I’m being frank and being honest,” said former Titans common supervisor Ran Carthon, who’s now an analyst for SiriusXM, “just because if you remember like we came into the 2025 draft saying that, ‘Oh my god, like, you just wait, the 2026 draft class is gonna be loaded.’ And there are good players in this draft, but then now we’re saying that for 2027. You know, like 2027 is going to be loaded.”
NFL Network analyst Charles Davis factors out that at this time last 12 months, we’d have thought Manning could be the potential No. 1 pick in 2026.
“If you and I had talked at this time last year, we would have been like, ‘Hey man, that 2026 class is loaded.’ That is not revisionist history,” Davis said. “Now, we’re talking about, ‘I don’t know about these guys.’ Things change quickly in both directions. [Joe] Burrow was not supposed to be the dude, he ended up being the dude. Zach Wilson wasn’t supposed to be the dude and he ended up being the guy. We can go right on down the line through the years.”
The thought of ready until 2027 sounds nice until you might be coach Aaron Glenn and common supervisor Darren Mougey and must win games after a 3-14 rookie campaign.
Penn State quarterback Drew Allar throws a cross during an NFL Combine workout on Feb. 28, 2026. Getty Images
Will they really feel strain to take a quarterback this 12 months even in the event that they’re not in love with one?
The one quarterback considered as a true wild card in this 12 months’s draft is Alabama’s Ty Simpson.
If you have been ranking quarterbacks midway by the last school season, Simpson could have been No. 1, however he light down the stretch and did not play nicely in his final 4 games.
He also only began 15 school games, and most groups need quarterbacks to have began 25 games or more to really feel that they’re prepared for the NFL.
“In my mind, he’s a second-round quarterback,” Davis said. “But that’s me and I’m not the one picking for teams. Him going in the first round feels like it’s gaining momentum and understandably, but I think in a perfect world I’d want a guy that I’m picking that high to have more than 15 college starts. Anthony Richardson doesn’t help the case.”
Richardson made 13 school begins before the Colts took him No. 4 total in 2023. Now, they’re anticipated to commerce him this offseason after he flopped as their starter.
It’s clear the Jets can’t take Simpson at No. 2, however what about at No. 16, the pick they obtained from the Colts in the Sauce Gardner commerce? Most draft consultants have Simpson going late in the first round.
Davis advised the Jets could attempt to commerce again from 16, pick up some belongings and take Simpson in the 20s.
Miami quarterback Carson Beck throws a cross during an NFL Combine workout on Feb. 28, 2026. AP
“If I’m the Jets at 2 and 16, I’m going to try to get to a more advantageous place to try to make sure I get him,” Davis said. “If they’ll drop down and get another pick or two and still discover a method to get him, that is sensible. Sixteen could be a very fascinating spot for his title to be called.
“I think the Jets are in a really tough spot at 16, but we are in an era if you like a guy, you better not let the number tell you otherwise.”
After Simpson, there may be a drop-off at the place.
The next group, anticipated to go on Day 2 or early on Day 3 of the draft are Penn State’s Drew Allar, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier and Miami’s Carson Beck. None of them could be considered as Day 1 starters they usually probably could be No. 3 quarterbacks as rookies.
Beck is an fascinating case because he’s the reverse of Simpson. He began 43 games in school at Georgia and Miami. Some current quarterbacks who had lengthy school careers and have performed nicely early in their NFL profession embrace Brock Purdy with the 49ers and Tyler Shough with the Saints.
“[Beck] played in the system at Georgia where it was kind of restrictive. And his job was to play complementary football and manage it because they had such a strong defense,” Carthon said. “And then even though they had a strong defense in Miami, you know, he had the keys to the offense for Miami, so he’s played in both style systems and understands how to operate in them, which would make him intriguing, like if I’m the Jets, you know, at [No.] 33 or 44 whatever the case may be.”
Unless Mougey can by some means persuade the Raiders to commerce the No. 1 pick, the Jets seem like they’re staring at a 12 months with a bridge quarterback, hoping that their franchise savior is there in the 2027 draft.
“It’s amazing,” former Jets quarterback Boomer Esiason said. “It’s a crapshoot. It really is, and the Jets are really in a real bad spot.”
Like their Brooklyn Dodgers ancestors, the Jets know all too nicely what it feels prefer to say “Wait Till Next Year.”
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