F
New York Jets
The board had answers; the Jets had Drones. Grade: F.
by iAndorz ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 20 picks
· 11 steals
· 5 reaches
The Kyron Drones selection is the head-turner. The Jets reached 82 spots for him, and it will define how this weekend is remembered. Little went right, and the F does not pretend otherwise.
Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere. It is not that Styles is a bad player; it is that the Jets had louder needs to answer first. They banked enough surplus on Green to cover a lot of smaller sins.
That interior defensive lineman hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. They are betting the present roster is worth a lighter draft next spring.
In the end, a class that has to defy its grades just to matter.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 12 they get a ballhawk on the back end, and a steal at that. The biggest hole, addressed.
In the Round 1 slot they get the heartbeat of the defense, outstanding value to boot. More want than need.
They bypassed pressing needs at interior defensive lineman to take Sonny Styles, a linebacker that was not the priority.
In the 24th overall pick they get a three-down runner at a price that makes it sweeter. A real need, handled.
In Round 1, Pick 28 they get a difference-maker at receiver. A clean fit for the roster.
Fair-plus on Chris Brazzell II, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
R Mason Thomas at the Round 2 slot is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Gabe Jacas slid further than he should have, and No. 70 is lovely value for the edge rusher. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Keionte Scott at the 103rd pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They robbed the room for Jadarian Price here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They went early on Mikail Kamara in the 140th overall pick, and the value did not follow. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They talked themselves into Wesley Williams at pick 146, and the board did not agree. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Charles Demmings in Round 5, Pick 9 is fair value, right on his grade. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
The board fumbled Marlin Klein all the way to slot 206, and they scooped it up. It adds depth where they could use a little.
By-the-book stuff, Kaelon Black at Round 7, Pick 12 squarely in line with his ranking. It fills a real need, too.
Circle this one: Taylen Green at pick 242 is a fall that decides a draft. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Fa'alili Fa'amoe in the 243rd pick is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Kalil Alexander at the Round 7 slot is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Zavion Thomas in the 256th overall pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Kyron Drones at No. 257 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.