Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Jets’ perfect 2026 NFL Draft trade

Originally posted on NFL on ClutchPoints | Last updated Apr 7, 2026 5:31 PM ET

The New York Jets are in the deep throes of a rebuild, making the NFL Draft a key day for their fans. With two first-round draft picks and two second-round picks, there are plenty of options for draft day. The best move that Jets general manager Darren Mougey can make at the NFL Draft is to trade down from one of their top picks.

The Jets earned the second overall pick with their dreadful 3-14 record. Just one more loss and they would have the option to take Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. But he will likely go to the Las Vegas Raiders with the first overall pick. They will have their pick of edge rushers at second overall, but may be better off moving that pick to land a 2027 first-round selection.

The problem with the Jets trading the second-overall pick is the lack of an obvious player to select at the position. If this were a year like last year, where Travis Hunter was a seemingly obvious second-overall pick, New York could do what the Cleveland Browns did. They picked up an extra first-round pick in 2026 to move down three spots in 2025. But without a prospect like Hunter at two, that will be a hard trade to pull off.

The Jets can draft Arvell Reese at number two and try to add 2027 picks with their 16th overall selection. They already have two extra picks in the first round of the 2027 NFL Draft, but should be looking to add more. Geno Smith is not the quarterback of the future, so why burn a year of a rookie on a team trying to lose?

Finding a team to trade a future first for the 16th overall pick may be difficult, but Mougey must find one.

The Jets should trade the 16th overall pick

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Despite the poor roster Mougey is working with, they should move as many chips as they can into 2027. That is what they did with the Quinnen Williams trade, prioritizing a 2027 first-round pick from the Dallas Cowboys. They also picked up a second-round pick in the upcoming draft, which sits at 44th overall. So even if the Jets don’t draft at 16, they will land three of the top 45 prospects in the draft.

Last year, the Falcons traded a 2026 first-round pick, a 2025 second-rounder, and a 2025 seventh-rounder for the 26th overall pick last year. They took edge rusher James Pearce Jr with the pick that originally belonged to the Rams. While that may not work out for off-the-field reasons, it helped boost Atlanta’s defense. If a team sees that move and wants to recreate it for a better pick, the Jets should be listening.

Wide receivers have been routinely mocked to the Jets at 16th overall. Whether it’s Indiana’s Omar Cooper Jr or Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson, a pass catcher would be a good fit for New York. But there are certainly teams that are more desperate for a wideout than the Jets are, considering they are trying to lose games this season.

The Rams are an option to trade up again, but they are picking 13th. They will have just selected when 16th overall comes up, so that is unlikely. The Denver Broncos do not have a first-round pick, so if someone they like is falling, maybe Sean Peyton picks up the phone.

The Jets are trying to earn the first-overall pick in the 2027 Draft. Any person associated with the team saying anything otherwise is lying through their teeth. No one trades for Geno Smith to make the playoffs. But if they fail in that quest, falling short of the top pick again, they would have three other first-rounders to offer to the team in the top spot.

This article first appeared on NFL on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: