Some significant college football news broke on Saturday morning, and it has implications for the future of the New York Jets.

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers is nearing a deal to return to the Gamecocks for the 2026 season. Sellers is the consensus No. 4 quarterback prospect in the 2026 draft class, and one of just four ranked in the top 32 (per NFL Mock Draft Database), leaving the quarterback-needy Jets with one less option in the first round of the 2026 draft.

For pro-tank Jets fans, the Sellers news turns up the pressure just a little bit more for New York to successfully tank their way up the draft board. If the Jets want to land a potential franchise quarterback in 2026 without trading the farm, they might need to climb a few more spots from their current No. 7 position.

Luckily (for pro-tank fans; not all Jets fans are on board with the endeavor), the Tennessee Titans’ Week 14 victory opened the door back up for the Jets to climb all the way to the top of the draft.

Here is how the top 10 of the draft order is shaping up heading into Week 15’s Sunday games:

New York Giants: 2-11 (.532 SOS)

Las Vegas Raiders: 2-11 (.550 SOS)

Tennessee Titans: 2-11 (.575 SOS)

Cleveland Browns: 3-10 (.486 SOS)

New Orleans Saints: 3-10 (.498 SOS)

Washington Commanders: 3-10 (.511 SOS)

New York Jets: 3-10 (.540 SOS)

Arizona Cardinals: 3-10 (.570 SOS)

Cincinnati Bengals: 4-9 (.523 SOS)

Los Angeles Rams, via Atlanta Falcons: 5-9 (.498 SOS)

The highest the Jets can climb in the order by the end of Week 15 is the third overall pick, but they can enter a tie for the No. 1 slot if everything breaks their way.

With these results, the Jets would finish Week 15 in the No. 3 slot, losing the strength-of-schedule tiebreaker to the Commanders and Giants as part of a five-way tie involving Las Vegas and Tennessee:

Giants win vs. Commanders

Raiders win @ Eagles

Browns win @ Bears

Titans win @ 49ers

It would leave the Jets in a pivotal Week 16 game against the Saints, who currently have an identical 3-10 record but a much weaker schedule (.498 vs. New York’s .540).

The Jets’ strength-of-schedule will be an obstacle as they attempt to climb the board. Their .540 mark is currently higher than four of the six teams above them in the order, with the exceptions being Las Vegas (.550) and Tennessee (.575). The Jets are close enough to the Giants (.532) for the tiebreaker to have a realistic chance of flipping, but they are significantly behind the Browns (.486), Saints (.498), and Commanders (.511).

New York is traveling to Jacksonville for a battle with the 9-4 Jaguars, who are 13.5-point favorites over the Jets heading into Sunday’s matchup. Undrafted rookie quarterback Brady Cook will make his first career start for the Jets, and he’ll do it without many key players in the lineup, such as tight end Mason Taylor, wide receiver Garrett Wilson, and cornerback Azareye’h Thomas.

With a preseason-esque lineup on the field, many Jets fans have turned their focus to climbing the draft board. The team itself, though, will never give tanking the slightest consideration, and is fully focused on spoiling Jacksonville’s pursuit of the AFC South title.

New York has not won on the road against a team that finished with 10+ wins (which Jacksonville has not clinched but is likely to do) since defeating the Los Angeles Rams in 2020, which, ironically, was also at a point of the season when Jets fans were hoping to climb the draft board. However, that game was in front of no fans. Before that, you have to go back to the season finale of 2019, when they took out the Buffalo Bills, but the Bills were resting their starters for the playoffs.

To find the Jets’ last “real” road win against a 10+ win team, featuring fans in the stands and a full lineup of starters, we have to travel all the way back to 2010, when they took down the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Winning in Jacksonville with an undrafted rookie quarterback and an injury-ravaged roster would be quite the signature victory for Aaron Glenn in his first season as a head coach, even if it spoils the Jets’ draft outlook. As Glenn prepares to give it his best shot, Jets fans will remain divided on the outcome they would prefer to see in Duval County.