D
New York Jets
A franchise passer in Simpson headlines a D weekend for the Jets.
by austinrwilliams2005 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 24 picks
· 0 steals
· 24 reaches
The Jets looked at the value chart, folded it up, and took Drew Pyne at Round 7, Pick 41 regardless, 219 picks early. The math is unkind, and the D follows.
Ty Simpson is the bet, and the class will be judged on how it pays off. The cornerback hole is the one line item this class does not answer. Spend now, pay later; the math only works if this class delivers.
The dealing nudged the ledger their way without much fuss.
Add it up and it is a weekend the front office will hope everyone forgets, cornerback very much included.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 2 they get a passer to set the clock by, reach and all. The biggest hole, addressed.
In pick 16 they get their quarterback of the future, a steep price for the projection. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
They reached into another round for Carson Beck, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Cade Klubnik. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Drew Allar in slot 103 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Value said wait; Taylen Green in the 109th overall pick says they were not listening. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Cole Payton at the 140th overall pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They talked themselves into Sawyer Robertson at pick 148, and the board did not agree. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Diego Pavia this early at slot 169. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Luke Altmyer at the Round 5 slot is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Miller Moss well ahead of where he belonged. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A real head-scratcher, Jalon Daniels in Round 6, Pick 29 is miles ahead of his ranking. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Joe Fagnano at pick No. 228 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A big swing on Haynes King at the 234th pick, well ahead of any board in the building. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Behren Morton in Round 7, Pick 19 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They reached a country mile for Kyron Drones at the 242nd pick, and the board is aghast. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Preston Stone at the 244th overall pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Tyler Van Dyke in pick 246, miles early. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A wild overpay on Kaidon Salter in No. 249, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Blake Shapen well ahead of where he belonged. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Matthew Sluka this early at the Round 7 slot. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Value said wait; Zach Calzada in slot 254 says they were not listening. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Jeff Sims in pick No. 256, miles early. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Drew Pyne in the Round 7 slot is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.