Mel Kiper finds new QB for Jets in new 2026 NFL mock draft

We've still got to get through championship weekend, and then there's the Super Bowl, but for all but four fan bases, it's time to kick off mock draft season.

The 2026 NFL Draft kicks off on April 23 from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and there are plenty of intriguing prospects who are hoping to make their mark in the NFL sooner rather than later.

The top five teams in the draft, pending any trades, are the Las Vegas Raiders, New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans and New York Giants.

In a new mock, ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. made selections for all 32 first-round picks. The no-brainer for the Raiders is Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza at No. 1 overall, but will the quarterback-hungry Jets follow suit and take a quarterback high in the draft as well?

Kiper doesn't think so, as he's mocking Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese to the Jets at pick No. 2.

"For the Jets fans screaming that the team needs a quarterback, I'm with you. There just isn't another passer worthy of a top-two selection right now after Dante Moore decided to go back to Oregon for another season. Perhaps that changes. Maybe the Jets go get a veteran and make this irrelevant anyway, waiting for 2027, instead, when they have three first-rounders. But right now, New York is better off taking the top defensive prospect on the board -- and maybe getting lucky at the QB position when it is back on the board in the middle of Round 1," Kiper wrote.

New York Jets mocked to select Alabama Crimson Tide QB Ty Simpson 

The Jets also hold pick No. 16 in the draft thanks to the trade that sent Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts. For what it's worth, that's where Kiper can see New York taking a flyer on a first-round quarterback, and the player he sees them going for is Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson.

Kiper said he does have some concerns about Simpson, but he is the QB2 in this draft. He also has a ton of upside. 

"Simpson has good pocket presence, and he fired 28 touchdown passes and only five interceptions this past season. If the Jets can surround him with talent on offense and develop him, he has a high ceiling," Kiper wrote.

Simpson threw for 3,567 yards and 28 touchdowns compared to five interceptions at Alabama this past season.