A lot of the talk over the past few days after the 2026 NFL Draft has been centered around how impressive the New York Jets' haul was.
With three first-round picks, there was certainly a reason for them to do what was needed, and anything less than that would have been viewed as a disappointment, but we still have to give credit where credit is due. Aaron Glenn, Darren Mougey, and whoever else was making the decisions in New York did a great job throughout this draft.
It's received a lot of praise recently, including the most recent comments from Todd McShay, who stated that next year, when they eventually have their quarterback, there are a lot of pieces in this offense to like.
“That haul man. They moved up from 33 to 30 to get back in the first round to get three first rounders. David Bailey, obviously the pass rusher, you know what he is as a pass rusher. Kenyon Sadiq, now with the two tight end option they have with Mason Taylor from a year ago. That gives Frank Reich some flexibility,” McShay said on Sunday, per Clutch. “This is a league that’s going to thirteen personnel. One back, three tight ends. Not all the time, but you got to be able to line that up…
“Then Omar Cooper Jr. The Indiana wide receiver, some people thought he could go 16 to 25. If he’s on the board at 30, let’s go get him, he’s our guy,” McShay added. “Contact balance, toughness, aggressiveness, big catches, big moments, contested catches. He’s a guy that when they insert their quarterback next year, Arch Manning, Dante Moore, now they have some weapons. Then D'Angelo Ponds, I get that he’s undersized, but he’s one of the toughest sons of guns in the world.”
It's interesting that McShay brings up guys like Arch Manning, Dante Moore, and others, as the reality here is that if the Jets are able to get one of them in next year's draft, they're likely to go in that direction. It doesn't guarantee that they will have a chance to do so, but all indications point to them doing so. Regardless, leading up to that, New York did what was needed.