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The Jets have an unbelievable opportunity in the upcoming draft to improve their talent level, and potentially land four starters.
Not forced starters, like one of their fourth-round picks last year, but legitimate starters.
When you have four picks in the top 44 like the Jets, two picks in both the first and second rounds, that is a unique opportunity.
What they did during the season, trading Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner, to get some of these extra high picks, and so more next year, were moves that were hard to argue with.
Both Williams and Gardner are good, but perhaps a little overrated, and the Jets didn’t win a lot of games with them. Not blaming those two players for all the losing during their time with the club, but the bottom line is the team didn’t win a lot with them.
So what is the old saying, “We can lose with you, or without them.”
Not saying the Jets are going to lose moving forward. That remains to be seen, just saying they didn’t win a lot with those guys.
With four picks in the top 44, the Jets should be able to land four starters. Not saying all four will start right out of the gate. A couple might, a couple might need a little more time. We will see how it plays out.
But in the long-run, if the Jets do a good job with these picks, all four should eventually start.
These four picks set up a seminal moment in Jets history. These picks could be transformative for their roster.
Aaron Glenn was asked about these picks in Phoenix on Tuesday at the NFL League Meeting.
“And to have two first-round picks, two second-round picks, to have the picks we have in the middle and toward the end of the draft. … The first-round picks, those are the easy ones,” Glenn said. “It’s the ones from the third, fourth, fifth, sixth rounds, those are the ones that really set your team up for success. Our coaches have to develop those guys. I love having those later picks also because it gives you a chance to pick some guys that might not have all the traits you want but they have something in them that you know you can develop to make them key parts of your team.”
Yes, all picks are important, but when you have four picks in the top 44, and all are going to make the team have huge roles, the importance of those picks far outweighs those later picks.
If this were a regular draft, with let’s say one pick in each round, then the importance of nailing all the picks goes to another level, or let’s say you don’t have a first round pick due to a trade, then the entire draft class is huge.
But to me, while the Jets need to do a good job with all picks, this year, what is front and center are the four picks in the top 44.
With Glenn commenting on the significance of later round picks, while it’s still early, it’s hard to rave about what the Jets did later in the draft last year.
- Round 4, Pick 110: Arian Smith (WR, Georgia) – Deep threat with significant speed.
- Round 4, Pick 130: Malachi Moore (S, Alabama) – Versatile secondary player.
- Round 5, Pick 162: Francisco Mauigoa (LB, Miami) – Led Miami in tackles in 2024 and 2025.
- Round 5, Pick 176: Tyler Baron (EDGE, Miami) – Developmental pass.
Smith had little impact, hardly getting through the ball, and then landing in the doghouse briefly for some reason.
Moore was rushed into the starting line-up and was too often out of position in coverage, leading to some big plays.
Mauigoa, also rushed into action before he was ready, is tough as boot leather and will bring the wood as a run defender, but his coverage instincts were substandard.
Baron was a non-factor before unfortunately hurting his knee, ending the season.
So if you want to talk about the importance of the later picks, and how you need to do a good job developing these players, well, the Jets better do a better job of developing these later picks than what we saw last year.
But we can talk until the cows come home about the importance of nailing all your draft picks, early and later.
But this draft is mostly about nailing these four picks in the drop 44.
Because, let’s be honest, most draft classes, you often only get about four players that end up helping you long-term.
And this year, the Jets have a chance to land those four in the top 44, and they could all end up starting.
April 1, 2026
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