After failing to reach the high expectations set by the New York Jets this season, general manager Darren Mougey and the rest of the front office will now shift their focus towards the 2026 NFL Draft.

Luckily for the struggling franchise, Mougey’s fire sale during the 2025 NFL Trade Deadline resulted in the team acquiring an additional 2026 first-round pick from the Indianapolis Colts, which will likely fall in the back half of the first round. With two first-round picks in the upcoming draft, New York has a perfect opportunity to make a franchise-altering move this offseason.

Here’s what NFL Draft Analysts believe the Jets’ draft plans will be come April.

Out of 21 mock drafts from experts throughout the month of November, Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson is the consensus selection for New York’s first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft by a slight margin.

t2.  Fernando Mendoza (QB, Indiana): 28.6%

t2.  Dante Moore (QB, Oregon): 28.6%

t4.  Caleb Downs (SAF, Ohio State): 5%

t4. Jordyn Tyson (WR, Arizona State): 5%

Simpson, along with Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza and Oregon’s Dante Moore, is considered the top quarterback prospect in this year’s upcoming draft class. However, with Moore and Simpson having an extra year of eligibility, there’s a chance that Mendoza could become the lone first-round quarterback in the 2026 draft class.

If Simpson does enter the draft and the Jets select the young playmaker, the organization would be receiving a future franchise quarterback. Simpson possesses tons of poise within the pocket, along with the ability to complete throws at all three levels of the field.

In order to select a quarterback in most of the mock drafts, four of the 16 experts who completed a full round-one draft had to trade the Jets’ second pick to land quarterback Justin Fields’ replacement.

NFL draft analyst Matt Miller gave an explanation for his trade-up, claiming that the Tennessee Titans would be willing to move down in the draft.

“Since the Titans used their 2025 No. 1 pick on quarterback Cam Ward, they could be persuaded to move down and accumulate draft capital to build around their young QB,” Miller wrote. “In this deal, the Jets would send both of their first-round picks (Nos. 4 and 28) and their 2027 second-round pick to the Titans for the top selection.”

Outside of the trade-up and Washington wide receiver Denzel Boston, the rest of the analysts made a wide variety of picks for the Colts’ first-round pick, including Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy and Louisville wide receiver Chris Bell.

In the 12 mock drafts that featured the Jets not using the pick to trade up for a quarterback, 42 percent of the experts had New York selecting a wide receiver, followed by 25 percent of the picks being on a cornerback.