The New York Jets have three first-round 2026 NFL Draft picks after trading Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts. In year two of their rebuild, Darren Mougey and Aaron Glenn will have to use those picks effectively. Here are some prospects they could target.
New York Jets 2026 NFL Draft Picks Headlined by Two First-Rounders
The New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts made a splash on the day of the NFL trade deadline, with the Jets sending All-Pro CB Sauce Gardner to the Colts in exchange for a first-round pick in 2026, a first-round pick in 2027, and wide receiver AD Mitchell. The move was first reported by NFL insider Ian Rapoport.
Sources: The #Jets are trading Sauce Gardner to the #Colts. Blockbuster.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 4, 2025
The move gives the Jets a potential buy-low addition with natural talent at WR, but more importantly, it also gives them an additional Round 1 selection in 2026. The Jets were already on track to pick in the top-five with their original selection, and with no Round 3 pick on tap, this added selection helps a great deal.
The Jets weren’t done there. They also traded Quinnen Williams to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick, and former first-round pick Mazi Smith.
Per Rapoport, the Jets will be getting whichever 2027 first-rounder is higher from the Cowboys — either Dallas’ own or the Packers’ first-rounder that Dallas acquired in the Micah Parsons trade.
The Jets now have seven picks within the first two rounds over the next two NFL Draft cycles. It’s an absurd amount of high-end capital, and it’ll help New York accelerate their organizational rebuild.
Here’s what the Jets’ current 2026 NFL Draft slate looks like:
- Round 1
- Round 1 (via IND)
- Round 2
- Round 2 (via DAL)
- Round 4
- Round 4 (Compensatory)
- Round 7 (via TEN)
- Round 7 (via CLE)
- Round 7 (Compensatory)
The Jets’ third-round pick was tied up in their fruitless trade for Haason Reddick a year and a half ago, while they shipped away their fifth-rounder in a trade-up for Tyler Baron in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Those gaps in the Jets’ 2026 NFL Draft slate aren’t ideal, but with their first-rounders and their early second-round pick alone, the Jets will be able to make meaningful upgrades to their roster. And with the following capital, they’ll be able to keep the momentum alive.
2026 NFL Draft Prospects the New York Jets Could Target in Round 1
Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana
Every week, it’s been something different Mendoza does on tape that earns the allure of NFL Draft minds. In his outing against Illinois, it was his timeliness and ability to distribute efficiently.
Against Iowa, it was his ability to rebound from a tough late-game interception to throw the game-winning touchdown pass with pressure bearing down. Against Oregon, it was his unflinching consistency driving the ball outside the numbers with anticipation. And against Michigan State, it was his effortless deep touch and layering on boundary fades.
Put it all together, and you have a staggeringly complete 2026 NFL Draft prospect: At 6’5″, 225 pounds, Mendoza has the prototypical frame, along with the requisite athleticism to create when needed. But ultimately, he depends on his passing ability first, and it’s easy to see why.
Mendoza has stellar pocket depth discipline and navigation ability, he’s a quick processor who stays on-schedule, he can deliver throws with sharp situational precision, and he has the rifle arm to drive high-level velocity and hit tight windows. He’s the favorite to be the first overall pick, and if the Jets are in that seat, they can reap the rewards.
Dante Moore, QB, Oregon
You want to see QBs deliver in high-pressure situations, and Moore has shown glimpses of that verifiable clutch gene. He was ice-cold against Penn State through four quarters and overtime. And though a forced throw doomed him late against Indiana, he rebounded and showed resolve with a dominant performance against Rutgers the following week.
Mendoza’s out-dueling of Moore reflects a bigger truth at bird’s-eye view: Mendoza has slightly outplayed the 20-year-old in the QB1 fight. But Moore is still a very viable candidate.
At 6’3″, 208 pounds, Moore has nimble athleticism, easy arm talent and velocity generation, effortless layering ability, accuracy, and an efficient distributing mentality.
So many aspects of Moore’s game — from his physical framework, to his adherence to pocket play over creation, to his age-defying field vision — are reminiscent of 2023 second overall pick C.J. Stroud, and Moore has the ability to make a similar impact as a franchise QB.
Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama
One-year starters don’t have an inspiring track record as early-round NFL Draft picks, but Simpson is giving evaluators every reason to believe he’ll be an exception to the rule.
Despite his closer-to-average size, Simpson has a fairly strong and elastic arm, and he’s a jittery, agile athlete with supreme creative instincts and extension ability both in and out of structure.
Simpson doesn’t rely on his athleticism as a crutch; he exhausts all options in the pocket, and can even move the pocket to nullify pressure threats with his spatial feel and eye discipline, and he has the strong processing ability to read and anticipate windows over the middle.
All this, and Simpson’s greatest strength can’t always be quantified: It’s his clutch gene, and his ice-cold nature in high-pressure situations. On “need to have it” downs, Simpson’s laser focus, mechanical discipline, and accuracy win time and time again. He’s closed the gap between himself and the top two, and could win the Jets over down the line.
Chris Bell, WR, Louisville
At 6’2″, 227 pounds, with arms likely around 32″ long, Bell is a tank among four-wheelers — a truly uncommon athletic specimen at the WR position.
His high-end compact mass translates to dominating play strength at the catch point, and iron-clad contact balance through arm tackles, but there’s no speed subtraction on account of his weight. He has jets in his soles, and is a verifiable home-run threat in space with his long-strider burst and range. That speed also helps on the vertical plane, where Bell’s catch-point positioning and hand strength can take over, eliciting parallels to AJ Brown.
It comes as no surprise that the Cardinals use Bell an exorbitant amount as a RAC threat. They take pains to scheme him the ball in space on slants, drag routes, and screens.
Big-bodied size-speed WRs with contested catch proclivities don’t always translate at the next level. There’s reason to believe Bell will be different, however. Bell flashes exceptional stop-and-start, throttle control, and deceleration for his size, as well as the zone IQ to sear into coverage voids and make himself available. He’d be a stellar WR2 with Garrett Wilson.
KC Concepcion, WR, Texas A&M
KC Concepcion combines explosive, twitched-up, fleet-footed athleticism and hip fluidity with sharp angle IQ, spatial awareness, and manipulative instinct. He can be schemed targets in countless ways, and in 2025, his body control and hand-eye coordination — once viewed as question marks — have been undeniable strengths relative to his size.
He’s beefed up to 190 pounds and has the play strength to scrape through arm tackles, he has the speed to stretch seams and generate big plays, and he has the quickness to contend outside against press.
Against LSU, Concepcion caught three passes for 45 yards and a touchdown, and ran back a punt return for a TD, and still, that doesn’t adequately convey how dominant he was. Concepcion won against press coverage, worked back to the ball in cluttered catch situations, and overall proved his mettle as a complete early-round WR prospect.
In New York, Concepcion would be a dynamic presence at WR2 with RAC chops, innate separation ability, and size-defying play strength and reliability.
David Bailey, EDGE, Texas Tech
David Bailey has the top PFSN CFB EDGE Impact grade in the entire nation, with a glistening score of 93.1. He’s a relentless, near-unstoppable pass-rush presence who’s terrorized almost every blocker he’s faced.
At 6’3″, 247 pounds, with excellent proportional length, he’s built to win the leverage battle and simultaneously outreach blockers, but he can also create instant angle advantages with his wicked explosion, arc-running speed, and lightning-quick lateral agility. He’s shown he can generate speed-to-power with his frame, but he excels in particular with rips, inside counters, and brisk swim moves.
Bailey’s run defense remains inconsistent at times, but even there, he’s flashed the ability to stack-and-shed blocks while limiting displacement. In late Round 1, he’d be an excellent pass-rush catalyst for the Jets.