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It looks like the Jets’ war room functioned well during the draft, with them seemingly knocking their first four picks out of the park.
Defensive end David Bailey, tight end Kenyon Sadiq, wide receiver Omar Cooper, and D’Angelo Ponds will all have big roles this year.
I hesitate to say they are all going to “start” because, from a semantic standpoint, that might not be 100% accurate.
Yes, Bailey should be a full-time starting defensive end, but Sadiq could be the #2 tight end to start. Now teams play a lot of “12 personnel” – meaning one running back and two tight ends, but do you consider that second tight end a starter? Mason Taylor will likely be the #1 tight end. Cooper could be the slot receiver. Slot receivers play a ton, but do you consider them starters? Ponds will likely be the nickel back, the slot corner. Since the NFL is such a pass-heavy league, slot corners are the field most of the time, but do you consider them starters?
So Sadiq, Cooper, and Ponds are going to play a ton, but from a pure semantics standpoint, it might not be accurate to call them all “starters.”
But they all look like smart picks who will help the Jets a great deal in 2026 and beyond.
The Day 3 picks all look like projects, but the kind of projects you want to take on – guys with good measurables, who are like balls of clay that good assistant coaches can mold into contributors.
So the Jets draft room seemed to function smoothly, even though the relationship between Jets head coach Aaron Glenn and GM Darren Mougey is shrouded in mystery.
We really don’t know much about their relationship.
Remember, this was a shotgun marriage – they had never worked together before.
This isn’t like the new scenario in Miami, where the head coach Jeff Hafley and GM Jon-Eric Sullivan worked together in Green Bay before heading to South Beach to take over the Dolphins’ football operation.
These guys seem to have a strong bond.
Is there a strong bond between Glenn and Mougey?
Who knows?
Remember that legendary WFAN host Mike Francesa, who now does a podcast, recently said, “Glenn was clearly the voice and the power of the whole thing. And you can see now, if you’re paying attention, that has shifted dramatically. Mougey’s now in charge and clearly, my understanding is Woody made a decision that Mougey’s in charge.”
Now some Jets beat-writers dismissed this report, but they really don’t know. They are just going with what they were told, but they are not in the meetings, and neither am I.
So you might believe that Francesa’s source is wrong, and that is your right, but I can tell you the beat-writers who refuted it don’t know either. They don’t.
All I will say is that watching Glenn and Mougey on the podium, after each of the first three days of the draft, they certainly didn’t come across as bosom buddies.
But, you know what, that can be overrated. When Bill Parcells coached the Giants, and George Young was his GM, they weren’t bosom buddies, but butted heads sometimes, they ended up hoisting up two Lombardi Trophies together.
So, creative conflict when running sports operations is not the worst thing in the world.
Billy Martin and George Steinbrenner won a championship with the New York Yankees in 1977, and it’s well-documented that they didn’t always see eye-to-eye.
The Oakland A’s, under owner Charlie Finley, had a lot of conflict, and won three World Series Championships from 1972-74.
Now I’m not saying there is conflict between Glenn and Mougey. I have no idea, and neither do the people who shot down Francesa’s report.
But, however the power structure is currently set up in Florham Park, it certainly looked like it functioned well during the draft.
April 28, 2026
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