Everyone expects the Raiders to take Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft. The No. 2 pick is where the draft gets interesting.
Ohio State edge rusher Arvell Reese is currently the favorite to go with the No. 2 pick, which is owned by the Jets. Reese’s odds to go second overall are -140.
The next-best odds are for Texas Tech outside linebacker David Bailey, at +160, followed by Miami defensive end Rueben Bain at +800, Ohio State safety Caleb Downs at +1400 and Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles at +1500.
An interesting long shot is Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson at +4000. Most draft analysts don’t view Simpson as the kind of talent worthy of the second overall pick, but the Jets desperately need a quarterback, and if they think Simpson is going to be an NFL starter, he might make sense as the pick at No. 2.
The Jets didn’t have much to say about their plans at the quarterback position at the Scouting Combine last week, but things should come into clearer view in the near future.
They opened the 2025 season with Justin Fields in the job, cycled through Tyrod Taylor and lost their final four games with undrafted rookie Brady Cook getting his first taste of NFL action. Fields signed a two-year deal, but General Manager Darren Mougey said only that he’s under contract while saying the team would evaluate the position “through every landscape” as they head toward the 2026 campaign.
Free agency and the trade market are the first landscapes up on the calendar and Rich Cimini of ESPN.com had a report about the team’s potential path through those phases over the weekend. Cimini reported that there’s a feeling that the team could look to add a pair of veteran options to the roster as they try to improve on last year’s 3-14 record.
Cimini adds that the options they are not expected to focus on options at the top end of the market and mentions names like Tyson Bagent, Tanner McKee, Spencer Rattler, and Jarrett Stidham as the kind of players that the team could work to acquire.
There’s also the draft, but the Raiders aren’t expected to trade them the No. 1 pick so they can take Fernando Mendoza and there’s no quarterback that would make sense at No. 2. The Jets have another first-rounder and two second-round picks, but they also have three 2027 first-round picks and going the stop-gap route could signal that they’ll wait to go all in on another young quarterback.
The Jets have the misfortune of needing a quarterback, and having the No. 2 overall pick, in a year when there’s only one elite quarterback prospect in the draft. Jets General Manager Darren Mougey would love to trade up and draft Fernando Mendoza, but he doesn’t expect the Raiders to be interested.
Mougey said he would talk to his friend Raiders GM John Spytek about the No. 1 overall pick, but he thinks Spytek will tell him there’s no chance.
“Absolutely, we’ll talk about all those things, but I don’t think that’s happening,” Mougey said, via Rich Cimini of ESPN.
If they wanted to, the Jets could put together a massive package of picks to get Mendoza. In addition to their own picks, the Jets have the Colts’ first-round picks in 2026 and 2027, plus the higher of the Cowboys’ or Packers’ first-round pick in 2027. Teams can trade first-round picks up to three years in advance, so the Jets could call the Raiders right now and offer them a total of six first-round picks for the No. 1 pick.
That would be one of the biggest trades in NFL history, and a trade Mougey doesn’t think is realistic.
Jets owner Woody Johnson may feel differently this year about the NFL Players Association report cards.
In 2025, Johnson called the effort “totally bogus” after receiving an F. This year, Johnson got a B.
Johnson’s attack from a year ago was unequivocal, and unlimited.
“The whole thing,” Johnson said of the report cards. “How they collected the information, who they collected it from, it’s supposed to be a process where we have representatives and they have representatives so we know it’s an honest survey. And that was violated in my opinion. So I’ll leave it at that. But there’s a lot of owners that looked at this survey and said this is not fair, not balanced, it’s not every player, it’s not even representative of the players.”
His reference to the process comes from Article 39 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which contemplates that the league and the union will conduct a joint survey once every three years. An arbitrator recently rejected the league’s claim that the NFLPA’s unilateral effort to conduct a survey violates the CBA.
The NFL won as to the contention that, under Article 51 of the CBA, the two parties can’t publicly criticize each other. Although the 2026 report cards weren’t published, they were promptly leaked to the media.
Johnson may no longer have a problem with that, given the grade he received this year. Overall, the Jets landed in the A and B range, with the exception of their F- home field.
Teams making decisions about picking up the fifth-year options on the contracts of their 2023 first-round picks now know how much that will cost.
The NFL revealed the values on Friday afternoon. There are four levels of compensation at each position. Players who have made multiple Pro Bowls as an original selection are at the top followed by players with one Pro Bowl selection and players who have hit playing time milestones before reaching the lowest level.
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young and Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud were the first two picks of that draft and both of them reached the playing time level of compensation. That will leave them with fully guaranteed salaries of $25.904 million if the teams decide to exercise the options, but longer-term extensions are also a possibility now that they have finished their third seasons.
The full list of 2023 first-rounders — there were 31 that year because the Dolphins were stripped of their pick — and their fifth-year option salaries appears below:
1. Panthers QB Bryce Young — $25.904 million (playing time).
2. Texans QB C.J. Stroud — $25.904 million (playing time).
3. Texans DE Will Anderson — $21.512 (Pro Bowl).
4. Colts QB Anthony Richardson — $22.483 million (base).
5. Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon — $21.161 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
6. Cardinals OT Paris Johnson — $19.072 million (playing time).
7. Raiders DE Tyree Wilson — $14.475 million (base).
8. Falcons RB Bijan Robinson — $11.323 million (Pro Bowl).
9. Eagles DT Jalen Carter — $27.127 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
10. Bears OT Darnell Wright — $19.072 million (playing time).
11. Titans OG Peter Skoronski — $19.072 million (playing time).
12. Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs — $14.293 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
13. Packers DE Lukas Van Ness — $14.475 million (base).
14. Steelers OT Broderick Jones — $19.072 million (playing time).
15. Jets DE Will McDonald — $14.475 million (base).
16. Rams CB Emmanuel Forbes — $12.633 million (base).
17. Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez — $18.119 million (Pro Bowl).
18. Lions LB Jack Campbell — $21.925 million (Pro Bowl).
19. Buccaneers DT Calijah Kancey — $15.451 (playing time).
20. Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba — $23.852 million (Pro Bowl).
21. Chargers WR Quentin Johnston — $18 million (playing time).
22. Ravens WR Zay Flowers — $27.298 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
23. Vikings WR Jordan Addison — $18 million (playing time).
24. Giants CB Deonte Banks — $12.633 million (base).
25. Bills TE Dalton Kincaid — $8.162 million (base).
26. Jets DT Mazi Smith — $13.391 million (base) Smith was traded to the Jets by the Cowboys.
27. Jaguars OT Anton Harrison — $19.072 million (playing time).
28. Bengals DE Myles Murphy — $14.475 million (base).
29. Saints DT Bryan Bresee — $13.391 million (base).
30. Eagles LB Nolan Smith — $13.752 million (base).
31. Chiefs Felix Anudike-Uzomah — $14.475 million (base).
