Here’s a reality that has become crystal clear over the last week: The Jets landed the No. 2 pick in a draft with one surefire franchise quarterback.
That did not change Wednesday when Dante Moore went on ESPN and announced he was returning to school for the 2026 season. It just provided clarity on the Jets situation, which is this: The Jets are stuck in quarterback purgatory.
That’s not supposed to happen when you go 3-14 and get a top three pick. The payoff for a terrible season is supposed to be getting the pick that gets you off the quarterback merry-go-round. The Bears, Patriots, Texans and Panthers all made the playoffs this year thanks to quarterbacks they drafted in the top three in the last few years and the Commanders made it all the way to the NFC Championship game last year with rookie Jayden Daniels.
But here the Jets are looking at a draft where all the gurus say Fernando Mendoza is the No. 1 pick and then there is a drop-off to the next quarterback, which we thought would be Moore but is now Alabama’s Ty Simpson.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
