Jets given clear ‘sign’ ahead of major QB decision

Geno Smith will be the starting quarterback for the New York Jets during the 2026 season. Nothing the team does in the NFL draft next week is going to change that.

That hasn’t stopped the organization from meeting several of the group’s top arms, including Alabama signal-caller Ty Simpson, Penn State’s Drew Allar, and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier.

It’s expected that the Jets will eventually take a quarterback this year to try to develop a project arm. Many organizations around the league follow a similar mold.

But what could separate the Jets from those plans is their long-term mindset around the quarterback position. More than ever, there is a sense that the Jets will punt their pursuit to 2027 as we count down the final days until the draft.

Jets’ long-term QB plans

NFL Draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah explained during a conference call with reporters Tuesday that “all signs” point to the Jets punting any major investments at quarterback to the 2027 draft.

The 2027 class is expected to consist of several top quarterback prospects, including Texas’ Arch Manning, Oregon’s Dante Moore, and South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers.

It’s a far cry from this year’s top-tier prospects, a group that arguably includes only Fernando Mendoza.

Jeremiah isn’t the only national pundit suggesting that the Jets are prepared to punt away a quarterback decision this year. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer echoed that report, adding that the Jets won’t be the only team with that plan.

“But with more than a dozen guys considered in this running and the chance that others emerge from outside the group, there’s a good chance next year will be a quarterback-rich year for teams in need,” Breer said. “That’s why, as I see it, the Jets, Browns, Dolphins, and Cardinals are kicking the can down the road a year.”

None of this should be too surprising for Jets fans. If the team truly fell in love with one of the second-tier quarterbacks of the class, there is nothing stopping them from drafting one of those players in the later rounds.

But no one will be thinking that someone like Allar is the quarterback of the team’s future. It won’t deter New York from taking another quarterback much higher in the following draft.

All it does is show that New York’s clear “sign” has been the same as ever at quarterback.