{"id":853022,"date":"2026-04-04T10:34:54","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T10:34:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/853022\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T10:34:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T10:34:54","slug":"new-york-jets-2026-nfl-draft-needs-picks-depth-chart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/853022\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Jets 2026 NFL Draft Needs, Picks & Depth Chart"},"content":{"rendered":"

Subscribe to the Sharp Football Email Newsletter to receive all our 2026 NFL content:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

No matter how well they did in free agency, all 32 NFL teams head into the 2026 NFL Draft<\/a> with holes to fill on the roster.<\/p>\n

Leading into the draft, we will identify the top needs for every team and break down the depth chart position by position.<\/p>\n

What are the Jets’ top positions of need heading into the 2026 NFL draft?<\/p>\n

New York Jets Needs: Top Positions of Need in 2026<\/p>\n

Quarterback
\nEDGE
\nCornerback<\/p>\n

Explore all of our 2026 NFL Draft content:<\/p>\n

Pre-Order The Best Analytical 2026 Football Preview<\/p>\n

Don’t miss out on Warren Sharp’s 500+ page preview of the 2026 NFL season.<\/p>\n

The preview is unlike anything you have ever seen, featuring stunning visualizations built with the reader in mind.<\/p>\n

This preview shares insights into players, coaches, teams, and philosophies with one goal in mind: to get you prepared for the 2026 NFL season by delivering the smartest information in the fastest, most direct way possible.<\/p>\n

Pre-order the 2026 Football Preview now!<\/a><\/p>\n

New York Jets 2026 Draft Capital<\/p>\n

The Jets have the most draft capital according to our Sharp Football Draft Value<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Jets<\/a><\/p>\n

Our Sharp Football Draft Value is a valuation of draft capital based on a combination of average performance delivered and average dollars earned on second contracts.<\/p>\n

New York Jets 2026 NFL Draft Picks<\/p>\n

Find the complete list of Jets draft picks in our 2026 NFL Draft order tracker<\/a>.<\/p>\n

New York Jets Mock Draft Predictions<\/p>\n

Find out who our top-rated experts expect the Jets to draft:<\/p>\n

New York Jets Offense: Depth Chart, Analysis & Draft Needs<\/p>\n

Rich Hribar breaks down the offensive depth chart by position for the New York Jets, identifying areas where the team could improve in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

\"Jets<\/a><\/p>\n

Quarterback<\/p>\n

Geno Smith
\nBrady Cook
\nBailey Zappe<\/p>\n

The Jets received anemic quarterback play in 2025.<\/p>\n

Their quarterbacks combined to rank 31st in the league in rating (75.0), completing 60.3% of their passes (29th), for 5.6 yards per pass attempt (last), 9.3 yards per completion (last), a 3% touchdown rate (30th), and a 2.6% interception rate (25th).<\/p>\n

Justin Fields (9), Tyrod Taylor (4), and Brady Cook (4) all started four or more games for them last year.<\/p>\n

Only Cook remains with the team.<\/p>\n

The Jets brought back Geno Smith this offseason in an effort to be a bridge quarterback for either a rookie they pick in this draft or to get them through the season to a future selection at the position.<\/p>\n

Smith will be 36 in October and is coming off a disastrous runout with the Raiders last season.<\/p>\n

Smith was still viable in completing 67.4% of his passes (11th among qualifiers for the league\u2019s passer rating), but he only managed 6.8 yards per attempt (24th), 10.0 yards per completion (29th), a 4.2% touchdown rate (26th), a 3.8% interception rate (31st), and took a sack on a league-high 10.9% of his dropbacks.<\/p>\n

To be fair, that is an improvement in many areas over what the Jets received in 2025.<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s largest ongoing issue for his career (even during his best run with Seattle) is that he has some of the starkest splits when pressured.<\/p>\n

That held again in 2025.<\/p>\n

When pressured last year, Smith completed 49.6% of his passes (17th) for 5.3 Y\/A (27th) with a 4.7% interception rate (32nd).<\/p>\n

Over the past four years, Smith has averaged 6.0 Y\/A (26th) with a 4.3% interception rate (35th) under pressure.<\/p>\n

From a clean pocket over that stretch, Smith averages 7.9 Y\/A (12th) with only a 1.6% interception rate (18th).<\/p>\n

Even if the Jets do not find the answer in this class, they should still throw a dart at a passer with one of their picks.<\/p>\n

Cook was not put in a great position to succeed in his small sample as a rookie, but the results were uninspiring.<\/p>\n

Over the final five weeks of 2025, Cook was last in the league in rating (55.4), completion rate (57.5%), yards per pass attempt (4.8 Y\/A), yards per completion (8.4), and touchdown rate (1.3%).<\/p>\n

He threw an interception on 4.6% of his throws (29th) and took a sack on 11% of his dropbacks (28th).<\/p>\n

Running Back<\/p>\n

Breece Hall
\nBraelon Allen
\nIsaiah Davis
\nKene Nwangwu<\/p>\n

This is an area where the Jets are not pressed to make an immediate move unless they believe that a long-term commitment from Breece Hall is off the table.<\/p>\n

After rumors swirled that he would be moved last season at the trade deadline, Hall remained on the team to close 2025.<\/p>\n

The Jets then used the franchise tag on him this offseason in hopes that he can remain part of their big-picture plans moving forward.<\/p>\n

Hall is coming off 1,415 yards from scrimmage and 5 touchdowns on 279 touches in 2025.<\/p>\n

He rushed for a career-high 1,065 yards, adding 36 catches for 350 yards as a pass catcher.<\/p>\n

Hall has had an efficiency dip since his rookie season, when he posted 6.9 yards per touch, but he is a reliable contributor in a bad offense, putting up at least 1,300 total yards in each of the past three seasons.<\/p>\n

Behind Hall, Braelon Allen missed the final 13 games of 2025 with an MCL injury.<\/p>\n

With two years remaining on his rookie contract, Allen is expected to be available for training camp this summer.<\/p>\n

The Jets also still have Isaiah Davis with two years left on his rookie contract.<\/p>\n

Davis has been a solid contributor when called upon, averaging 6.4 yards and 6.6 yards per touch over his first two seasons.<\/p>\n

You can make the case that he has been underused.<\/p>\n

In five career games playing 40% of the snaps, Davis has averaged 53.4 total yards per game and 6.9 yards per touch.<\/p>\n

Wide Receiver<\/p>\n

Garrett Wilson
\nAdonai Mitchell
\nIsaiah Williams
\nArian Smith
\nIrvin Charles
\nJamaal Pritchett
\nQuentin Skinner<\/p>\n

Jets wide receivers combined for 156 receptions (27th), 1,586 yards (31st), and 10 touchdowns (25th) in 2025.<\/p>\n

It was much worse after accounting for the absence of Garrett Wilson.<\/p>\n

Wilson led the team with 395 receiving yards on the season, and he played only 19 snaps after Week 6 due to an ongoing knee injury.<\/p>\n

Through Week 6, Wilson was third among wide receivers in targets (56), third in receptions (36), fourth in receiving yards (395), and tied for second in touchdowns (4).<\/p>\n

Over the final 11 games of the year, New York wide receivers averaged 9.1 catches (24th) for 90.6 yards (30th) per game with 5 touchdowns (31st).<\/p>\n

The team acquired Adonai Mitchell as part of the Sauce Gardner trade at the deadline, which did provide some downfield juice.<\/p>\n

From Week 11 on, Mitchell was targeted on 23.8% of his routes (12th), but he was impacted by a league-worst 27.6% inaccurate target rate over that span.<\/p>\n

Mitchell still has two more years on his rookie deal, giving him some room to grow with more accurate quarterback play alongside Wilson.<\/p>\n

Mitchell is a former second-round pick and has upside, but the Jets should not rest on him being locked in as their only option to develop as the WR2 next to Wilson.<\/p>\n

After that, there is not much of note here.<\/p>\n

The only receivers signed beyond 2026 are Arian Smith, Quentin Skinner, and Jamaal Pritchett.<\/p>\n

Smith had a rough rookie season and was eventually shelved to close the year.<\/p>\n

Out of 118 receivers to run 200 routes last year, Smith was last in yards per route run (0.21), catching 7 of 16 targets for 52 yards.<\/p>\n

Tight End<\/p>\n

Mason Taylor
\nJeremy Ruckert
\nJelani Woods<\/p>\n

Outside of day three depth, the Jets are unlikely to do much here.<\/p>\n

The team selected Mason Taylor in the second round (42nd overall) in last year\u2019s draft.<\/p>\n

Playing in 13 games as a rookie, Taylor caught 44 of 65 targets for 369 yards and 1 touchdown.<\/p>\n

In his games played, Taylor was on the field for 81% of the offensive snaps.<\/p>\n

Jeremy Ruckert still has two years remaining on his contract, while Jelani Woods is a pending free agent.<\/p>\n

Offensive Line<\/p>\n

LT: Olu Fashanu, Max Mitchell
LG: Dylan Parham, Xavier Newman, Kohl Levao
C: Josh Myers, Liam Fornadel, Gus Hartwig
RG: Joe Tippmann, Marquis Hayes
RT: Armand Membou, Chukwuma Okorafor<\/p>\n

The Jets were a mixed bag up front in 2025.<\/p>\n

They ranked 26th in pass block win rate (58%) per ESPN and 14th in run block win rate (71%).<\/p>\n

At Pro Football Focus, they ranked 15th in pass block grade and 21st in run block grade.<\/p>\n

They were 25th in pressure rate allowed (38.9%)<\/p>\n

The positives are that they were the healthiest unit in the league.<\/p>\n

The most used offensive line combination was on the field for 95.8% of their offensive snaps, tops in the league.<\/p>\n

The next closest team (Atlanta) was at 80.2%.<\/p>\n

Four of those five linemen are back, with them losing left guard John Simpson in free agency.<\/p>\n

The team signed Dylan Parham from the Raiders to a two-year deal to compete for that starting spot.<\/p>\n

The interior of the line is the largest question mark in terms of quality.<\/p>\n

Joe Tippmann moved from center to right guard last year after Alijah Vera-Tucker was lost for the year in the preseason.<\/p>\n

Tippmann is in the final season of his rookie contract.<\/p>\n

Center Josh Myers has two years remaining on his current contract.<\/p>\n

The Jets do not have to aggressively look to upgrade the interior of their offensive line, but any of those spots can be upgraded or at least have added competition.<\/p>\n

Especially since they ran into a lot of fortune on the injury front during the season.<\/p>\n

The tackle spots are manned by back-to-back first-round picks in Olu Fashanu in 2024 and Armand Membou last year.<\/p>\n

Fashanu took a step forward in his second season.<\/p>\n

After ranking 64th in pass blocking grade per Pro Football Focus among tackles as a rookie, Fashanu was 27th last season.<\/p>\n

He played 99% of the snaps after 57% as a rookie.<\/p>\n

Membou opened his career right behind him at 29th while playing 100% of the snaps.<\/p>\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\"Sharp\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

New York Jets Defense: Depth Chart, Analysis & Draft Needs<\/p>\n

Raymond Summerlin breaks down the defensive depth chart by position for the New York Jets, identifying areas where the team could improve in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

\"Jets<\/a><\/p>\n

Defensive Line<\/p>\n

T\u2019Vondre Sweat
\nDavid Onyemata
\nHarrison Phillips
\nJowon Briggs
\nMazi Smith
\nPayton Page
\nEric Watts
\nJack Heflin<\/p>\n

The Jets struggled to stop the run last season, allowing 4.4 yards per carry to running backs (21st), but they were seventh in yards before contact allowed on those runs.<\/p>\n

New York beefed up the defensive line this offseason, trading for T\u2019Vondre Sweat and signing David Onyemata.<\/p>\n

Onyemata is in the later stages of his career, but he has been a consistent force against the run throughout his career.<\/p>\n

Sweat is only entering the third year of his career, but he also already has a strong track record defending the run.<\/p>\n

Both players finished in the top 32 among qualified defensive linemen in run stuff rate last year.<\/p>\n

With Harrison Phillips and Jowon Briggs back, the Jets have the makings of a solid unit up front, though they could perhaps use more of a pass-rush push from this group.<\/p>\n

Briggs did log a solid 12.7% pressure rate on 300 pass rush snaps, but that was his first real run of playing time in the NFL.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the Jets can get something from former Cowboys first-round pick Mazi Smith, but he played just 54 snaps across three games after joining the team in November.<\/p>\n

He is probably competing more for a roster spot than real playing time.<\/p>\n

Edge Defenders<\/p>\n

Will McDonald
\nJoseph Ossai
\nKingsley Enagbare
\nBraiden McGregor
\nTyler Baron
\nOchaun Mathis
\nKingsley Jonathan
\nPaschal Ekeji<\/p>\n

The Jets ranked dead last in pressure rate last season and 31st with just 26 total sacks.<\/p>\n

Jermaine Johnson was dealt in the trade that brought in Sweat, but Will McDonald is back to lead the pass rush.<\/p>\n

McDonald took a step back over 15 games last season, but he has a solid 13.1% career pressure rate and 21.5 sacks in 47 games.<\/p>\n

He can be the anchor for this unit.<\/p>\n

New York brought in Joseph Ossai and Kingsley Enagbare in free agency to help shore up the pass rush.<\/p>\n

Ossai has never recorded more than 5 sacks in a season, but he had a career-best 12.1% pressure rate last year.<\/p>\n

Enagbare has never recorded more than 4.5 sacks in a season playing in a rotational role while with the Packers.<\/p>\n

The reality is that neither Ossai nor Enagbare should feel comfortable with their spot on the depth chart.<\/p>\n

The Jets are very likely to add a pass rusher early in the draft, perhaps even with the No. 2 overall selection, and that makes sense when looking at the relative strength of this unit.<\/p>\n

That player added to McDonald should give New York enough talent on the outside.<\/p>\n

Linebacker<\/p>\n

Demario Davis
\nJamien Sherwood
\nKiko Mauigoa
\nMykal Walker
\nMarcelino McCrary-Ball
\nKobe King<\/p>\n

Quincy Williams left in free agency, but New York brought in veteran Demario Davis to take his spot.<\/p>\n

Originally a third-round pick by the Jets in 2012, Davis is entering his 15th season in the league at age 37.<\/p>\n

Davis was still productive in the running game last season, recording the second-most run stuffs among qualified linebackers.<\/p>\n

He also ranked fine against the pass, posting 0.7 yards allowed per coverage snap.<\/p>\n

There is always concern about an older player hitting the wall, but Davis has not shown any signs of slowing down.<\/p>\n

Adding Davis should be good for Jamien Sherwood, who took a small step back last season but was still effective in the running game.<\/p>\n

New York added Mykal Walker in free agency as depth, and they have 2025 fifth-round pick Kiko Mauigoa behind that trio.<\/p>\n

The Jets could look to add some long-term talent to this group, but they have bigger immediate issues on the roster right now.<\/p>\n

Cornerback<\/p>\n

Brandon Stephens
\nNahshon Wright
\nAzareye\u2019h Thomas
\nJarvis Brownlee
\nQwan\u2019tez Stiggers
\nJordan Clark
\nTre Brown
\nSamuel Womack<\/p>\n

The pass defense fell apart last season, allowing 7.5 yards per attempt and finishing last in EPA per pass attempt allowed.<\/p>\n

Infamously, they did not record a single interception all season.<\/p>\n

The environment did not help Brandon Stephens, but he struggled in his first season with the team, allowing a 134.3 quarterback rating in his coverage.<\/p>\n

A third-round pick last year, Azareye\u2019h Thomas was on the field for just 311 snaps over 12 games, and he did not shine in those snaps.<\/p>\n

Traded to the team in September, Jarvis Brownlee appeared in seven games before landing on injured reserve.<\/p>\n

Brownlee looked better in New York than he did with the Titans, but it remains another question mark for this unit.<\/p>\n

Nahshon Wright was the only addition in free agency, and he signed a one-year, relatively small deal.<\/p>\n

Wright was not great snap to snap with the Bears last season, his first extended run of playing time in the league, but he did log 5 interceptions.<\/p>\n

This group could also get a boost from Minkah Fitzpatrick, depending on how the Jets plan to utilize the recently acquired safety in sub-packages.<\/p>\n

Even if Fitzpatrick helps out in the slot, though, the Jets could use some help at corner.<\/p>\n

Safety<\/p>\n

Minkah Fitzpatrick
\nDane Belton
\nMalachi Moore
\nAndre Cisco
\nDean Clark
\nJarius Monroe
\nKeidron Smith
\nChris Smith<\/p>\n

As mentioned above, Fitzpatrick should play a role at corner in clear passing situations, something that makes even more sense when looking at the strength of the safety spot compared to corner.<\/p>\n

Dane Belton was added from the cross-town Giants in free agency.<\/p>\n

He is not an impact addition like Fitzpatrick, but he is a solid option who has the versatility to move around the defensive formation.<\/p>\n

A fourth-round pick last year, Malachi Moore did not have the best rookie campaign, but he was given a big role in a bad situation.<\/p>\n

The Jets also somewhat surprisingly brought back Andre Cisco, who lasted just eight games in his first season with the Jets last year.<\/p>\n

There are certainly questions in this safety room, but they have an impact player at the top and a lot of options behind him.<\/p>\n

Safety should not be a primary focus heading into the draft.<\/p>\n

2026 Depth Chart Analysis & Team Needs for All 32 NFL Teams<\/p>\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\"Sharp\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Subscribe to the Sharp Football Email Newsletter to receive all our 2026 NFL content: \u00a0 No matter how…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":853023,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2051],"tags":[7,226,1917,255,2321,2097,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-853022","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-jets","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-jets","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-jets","12":"tag-newyork","13":"tag-newyorkjets","14":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116345998786833873","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853022","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=853022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853022\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/853023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=853022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=853022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=853022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}