The NFL Draft brings a lot of nerves to certain organizations, especially the New York Jets. If there's one thing the Jets just haven't done at a high enough level in much of their existence, it's drafting elite players.
Over the past few years, the Jets seemingly got a bit better with it, but they still need to hit a couple of draft picks out of the park to feel confident heading into the 2026-2027 season and beyond.
This will be Aaron Glenn's second season as the head coach of the Jets, allowing him to probably have a more hands-on approach to what will happen in draft rooms.
When speaking about what he's looking for, Glenn said that he's excited about the day. Obviously, a lot of that is due to bettering his team, but even more of that is just the uncertainty that lies around what each team is going to do.
Outside of the Las Vegas Raiders taking Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick, there doesn't seem to be much of a guarantee about what will happen.
"Draft day, I love that day, I really do, because you just never know what's going to happen," Glenn said, per the team. "You hear all these guys that are going to get drafted in these certain spots and it's never that, so to me that's the exciting part of it and I love every part of it. Hell, I was a part of that when I came out. Shoot, I thought I was going to be the sixth pick and I wound up going 12, so that's how it happens."
Having the second pick, the Jets are obviously in a position where they have to hit this out of the park. It remains uncertain who they're going to go with in this scenario, but it sounds like New York will be taking a smart approach in the draft, one that Glenn learned with Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton. The Jets are looking for the best player available, and if they continue to hit that right, they'll be in a pretty good spot.
"I learned this, really, with Sean Payton — man, you've got to shut off the outside noise and who do you love? If you love the player, go get the player. And I truly believe that. Regardless of what everybody thinks, regardless of positional value, if you love the player, go and get him. And obviously, me and Dan [Campbell, Lions HC] were together in New Orleans all those years, and that never left us. I'm not changing that either, and that's something that me and Mougey talk about a lot and we utilize that. If we love the player, man, we're going to get him.”