{"id":811933,"date":"2026-03-14T13:29:46","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T13:29:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/811933\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T13:29:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T13:29:46","slug":"obvious-favorite-emerges-for-jets-in-post-fa-consensus-mock-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/811933\/","title":{"rendered":"Obvious favorite emerges for Jets in post-FA consensus mock draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NFL\u2019s legal tampering window opened five days ago, and the New York Jets\u2019 depth chart<\/a> looks completely different from when the tri-state area woke up on Monday morning.<\/p>\n

That means the Jets\u2019 NFL draft<\/a> outlook has been clarified to a certain extent.<\/p>\n

Many needs that existed before the draft have become less pressing. In turn, the needs that were not addressed have become significantly more pressing.<\/p>\n

As a result, we are left with a fascinating shift in the Jets\u2019 expectations throughout the draft community. Mock drafters around the world have become noticeably more certain about who the Jets will end up selecting.<\/p>\n

Courtesy of\u00a0NFL Mock Draft Database<\/a>, here is the consensus mock draft as of March 14, using mocks from the past week.<\/p>\n

Las Vegas Raiders: Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana (100% of picks)<\/p>\n

New York Jets: Arvell Reese, LB, Ohio State (85%)<\/p>\n

Arizona Cardinals: Francis Mauigoa, OT, Miami (39%)<\/p>\n

Tennessee Titans: Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame (41%)<\/p>\n

New York Giants: Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State (52%)<\/p>\n

Cleveland Browns: Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State (22%)<\/p>\n

Washington Commanders: Rueben Bain, EDGE, Miami (29%)<\/p>\n

New Orleans Saints: Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State (9%)<\/p>\n

Kansas City Chiefs: Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU (24%)<\/p>\n

Cincinnati Bengals: David Bailey, EDGE, Texas Tech (4%)<\/p>\n

Miami Dolphins: Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee (9%)<\/p>\n

Dallas Cowboys: Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon (10%)<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Rams: Spencer Fano, OT, Utah (25%)<\/p>\n

Baltimore Ravens: Olaivavega Ioane, IOL, Penn State (50%)<\/p>\n

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Kenyon Sadiq, TE, Oregon (26%)<\/p>\n

New York Jets: Makai Lemon, WR, USC (30%)<\/p>\n

Ohio State linebacker\/edge defender Arvell Reese<\/a> has long been the favorite for New York at No. 2 overall. But after the Jets\u2019 recent wave of free agency moves, he has elevated to a near-lock in that slot.<\/p>\n

As of March 6<\/a>, only 65% of mock drafters in the site\u2019s database were projecting Reese to New York at No. 2. After free agency, that number has jumped by a whopping 20% to 85%.<\/p>\n

The Jets\u2019 free agency additions paint the picture of a schematic vision<\/a> that would perfectly suit Reese\u2019s aggressive play style<\/a> and versatile skill set. It is also important to note that, despite adding two edge defenders in free agency, the Jets did not take a big swing at the position, which means they still have a glaring need for a star at the position.<\/p>\n

At this point, it would be quite surprising if New York did not select Reese second overall.<\/p>\n

Things also seem to be clearing up for the Jets at No. 16, even if not nearly to the same extent as the No. 2 pick (which isn\u2019t possible, of course). There, the Jets are now favored to take USC wide receiver Makai Lemon<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Jets were also expected to select a wide receiver at No. 16 on March 6, but it was Arizona State\u2019s Jordyn Tyson, and only 23% of mock drafters were projecting it. Today, that number has risen to 30%, and Lemon has replaced Tyson.<\/p>\n

Outside of a long-term need at quarterback, wide receiver has emerged as the Jets\u2019 clear-cut No. 1 need after free agency. The Jets have yet to add a single player to a unit whose top player failed to reach 400 receiving yards last year. It\u2019s still just Garrett Wilson and a bunch of unproven youngsters.<\/p>\n

For that reason, a wide receiver selection at No. 16 is starting to look quite likely. Exactly who that wideout will be is a question that shall remain in limbo until draft night, but given the Jets\u2019 neglect of a desperate need at a premium position, it would be a mild shock if they are not planning on using a first-round pick to address the lingering problem.<\/p>\n

This is not to say that drafting a wide receiver at No. 16 is a lock for the Jets. No NFL team likes to draft for needs; \u201cbest player available\u201d remains the prevailing strategy.<\/p>\n

Still, when a need is this glaring, and there will likely be multiple worthy options to choose from, it stands to reason that the position has a high likelihood of ultimately being the choice.<\/p>\n

As of today, an EDGE\/WR first-round combo is the consensus favorite for the Jets, but don\u2019t take it to the bank just yet\u2014the draft is always full of surprises.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NFL\u2019s legal tampering window opened five days ago, and the New York Jets\u2019 depth chart looks completely…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":811934,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2051],"tags":[2222,7,3228,226,1917,255,2321,2097,6,15,3229,7823,71998,3231,3234],"class_list":["post-811933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-jets","tag-arvell-reese","tag-football","tag-free-content","tag-jets","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-jets","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkjets","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-draft","tag-ny-jets-free-agency","tag-ny-jets-image","tag-ny-jets-mock-draft","tag-ny-jets-news","tag-standard"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116227772509696916","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=811933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/811934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=811933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=811933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=811933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}