A-
New York Jets
Nobody dealt better than the Jets this weekend: A-.
by Fodd ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 18 picks
· 2 steals
· 7 reaches
You can fall in love with a player. You are not supposed to marry him in the wrong round. The Jets did exactly that with Barion Brown in the 211th pick.
Landing Hill Jr. that late papers over a lot of smaller sins. They robbed the room blind at the table, and it lifts the grade on its own.
Stockpiling next year's capital is patient, if unglamorous, asset work.
Bottom line, they left the weekend a clearly better team, and they earned every bit of it.
Pick-by-Pick
By-the-book stuff, Olaivavega Ioane at No. 20 squarely in line with his ranking. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
In Round 1, Pick 28 they get the heartbeat of the defense. Need was not the driver here.
Zion Young at pick No. 37 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Emmanuel Pregnon in the 38th overall pick is fair value, right on his grade. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
The board had Caleb Banks higher than pick 49, and the interior defensive lineman fell to them anyway. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Anthony Hill Jr. at the 62nd pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Daylen Everette in the 80th overall pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
No edge and no loss on Sam Roush in Round 3, Pick 28; it is a wash and a sensible one. A minor itch, scratched.
A clean, defensible pick in pick 103 with a little surplus value in Treydan Stukes. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Davison Igbinosun at the Round 4 slot is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A market-rate safety, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Jakobe Thomas. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Taylen Green at the 163rd pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They liked Jeff Caldwell enough to skip the value, taking him in pick No. 179. It fills a real need, too.
They reached a country mile for Barion Brown at slot 211, and the board is aghast. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A wild overpay on Nolan Rucci in slot 228, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Nick Barrett at pick 242 is a conviction pick that outran the value. The roster fit checks out.
They left a pile of value on the table to take J. Michael Sturdivant this early at pick No. 250. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Value said wait; Jam Miller in the 257th pick says they were not listening. A need, and now a little less of one.