In the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night, the New York Jets will pick twice: first with the second pick, and again with the 16th pick.
There’s been speculation about what the Jets will do, but analysts believe that they’ll use the latter pick to draft a wide receiver. Ahead of the draft, general manager Darren Mougey was asked about the wide receiver class and finding a partner for Garrett Wilson.
Jets’ Darren Mougey’s Thoughts on Wide Receiver Class
Earlier today, the Jets held a pre-draft press conference, and one of the speakers was Mougey. Brian Costello of the New York Post asked Mougey how he views the wide receiver class, and he responded with the following:
“I think it’s a good class,” Mougey said. “I think there’s some guys that could help. Again, different shapes, sizes, different skillsets, but I think there’s some good players in the wide receiver class.”
As it currently stands, the Jets’ wide receiver room consists of Wilson, Adonai Mitchell, Isaiah Williams, Arian Smith, Irvin Charles, Jamaal Pritchett, Quentin Skinner, and Mac Dalena. Only three of those players qualified to get ranked on PFSN’s NFL Wide Receiver Impact Metric last season.
Wilson ranked 63rd in the league with an impact score of 72.8 and a letter grade of C-. Aside from being witness to a poor quarterback room, he played only 7 games due to injury.
Then there’s Mitchell, who finished ranked 94th with an impact score of 65.7 and a letter grade of D. He joined the team in the middle of last season, as he was a part of the Indianapolis Colts trade in which they landed cornerback Sauce Gardner.
Last is Williams, who ranked 98th with an impact score of 65.0 and a letter grade of D. Aside from being the second-worst team last season, their wide receiver room was unproductive.
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The Jets have been linked to a number of players for the 2026 NFL Draft, but at pick 16, the two names that appear the most are Omar Cooper Jr. and Makai Lemon. In fact, PFSN’s Jacob Infante predicts the team to draft Lemon in his final mock draft.
“It could make sense for the Jets to use the second of their two first-round picks on defense, seeing as though they traded both Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner at the trade deadline,” Infante wrote. “Their offense, however, is severely lacking in passing-game weapons, so we find them a talented receiver to pair with Garrett Wilson.
“Makai Lemon was an All-American in 2025 with 79 catches, 1,156 yards, and 11 touchdowns,” Infante added. “He is a sure-handed slot receiver who’s quick after the catch and consistently gets open against both man and zone coverage with sharp breaks and good leverage work through his stems.”
Cooper would be an excellent pick for the team as well. In his final season with Indiana, he caught 69 receptions from Fernando Mendoza for 937 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns, which tied for the third most touchdowns by a wide receiver in the country.
The two ranked pretty similarly as well in PFSN’s CFB Wide Receiver Impact Metric, with Lemon placing in fourth with an impact score of 85.1 and a letter grade of B, whereas Cooper ranked 10th with an impact score of 83.0 and a letter grade of B-.
Whatever receiver the Jets pick, it is an immediate upgrade to their wide receiver room.
