Jets Among Teams Which Could Trade Into Top 10
Much of the top-10 order of next week’s draft is unsettled. The possibility of movement near the top of the board has been increasingly discussed in recent days, and a number of teams appear willing to trade down.
The 2026 class is not held in high regard given its relative lack of ‘can’t-miss’ prospects. That factor could lead to a tepid trade-up market, but the Cowboys have been mentioned as a candidate to swing a deal in that regard. Dallas owns a pair of first-round picks, including No. 12.
Moving up the board is something to watch for in that case, but other suitors could be eyeing a top-10 pick. The Jets already have one, but the No. 2 selection may not be the only premium one at general manager Darren Mougey‘s disposal. ESPN’s Matt Miller predicts the opening round will be filled with trades, including up to two swaps in the top-10 order. In addition to the Cowboys, Miller names the Jets as a team to watch in that regard.
Most of the pre-draft chatter in New York’s case has naturally centered on what the team will do with the second overall pick. Taking a defensive prospect remains the expectation at this point, something which would leave Mougey and Co. with options at the receiver position and others with their next Day 1 selection (No. 16). Alternatively, a move toward the latter stages of the top 10 could allow the Jets to pick up multiple top-tier players depending on how the rest of board shakes out.
Coming off a 3-14 campaign, New York could stand to add at several spots. Bringing in immediate contributors would help given the questions surrounding head coach Aaron Glenn‘s job security entering his second season at the helm. The chances of that taking place in 2026 may of course increase with a trade up the board, although sacrificing capital in a draft such as this one would no doubt lead to scrutiny.
It may not be challenging for Mougey to find a trade partner over the coming days given the nature of the first-round order. As such, the Jets will join the Cowboys as a team to monitor closely early on Day 1.
Jets Expected To Draft David Bailey Second Overall; Latest On WR Possibilities
The Jets canceled a scheduled “30” visit with David Bailey, but that is hardly an indication they will pass on the Texas Tech edge defender at No. 2 overall in the draft. On the contrary, “most of the league” expects the Jets to use their first pick on Bailey, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports hears.
The possibility of the Jets taking Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles in the second slot exists, but the popular belief is they will settle on Bailey or Buckeyes LB/edge Arvell Reese. Not even two weeks ago, Reese was reportedly the favorite to end up in New York. The draft is still a week away, leaving enough time for this to swing in a different direction by next Thursday.
Will McDonald and free agent additions Joseph Ossai and Kingsley Enagbare are the Jets’ top edge options heading into the draft. They make for a decent trio, but the Jets are in need of a game-wrecking pass rusher. They may get one in the 22-year-old Bailey, whose production exploded last season. Spending his first three college seasons at Stanford, Bailey combined for 14.5 sacks over 32 games. He matched that sack total in 14 games with the Red Raiders.
After leading his conference in sacks and tackles for loss (19.5) in 2025, Bailey earned a unanimous All-America selection and Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year honors. The 6-foot-3, 250-pounder further demonstrated his athletic prowess at the Combine, where he paced his position in the 40-yard dash (4.50) and ranked third in the broad jump, seventh in the 10-yard split and tied for 10th in the vertical jump.
Even if Bailey does not end up as their choice, the Jets are likely to take a defender with their initial pick. The Jets also have another first-rounder, No. 16, and may use that selection to bring in a potential impact player on offense. Receiver is a glaring weakness for the Jets, who need a high-end complement to the excellent Garrett Wilson. A recent report indicated the Jets are “extremely high on” Indiana wideout Omar Cooper Jr., but they like him much better as a potential option at No. 33 than at 16, according to Tony Pauline of Essentially Sports.
New York spending a first-rounder on Cooper is not on the table, per Pauline, who reports the team has only given Round 1 grades to three receivers: Carnell Tate (Ohio State), Jordyn Tyson (Arizona State) and Denzel Boston (Washington). Tate should be long gone when the Jets are on the clock again at the midpoint of the first round, but coming away with either Tyson or Boston looks like a realistic outcome.
Malachi Lawrence Drawing Major Interest
APRIL 16: The Patriots used a “30” visit on Lawrence, Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald relays. In addition to the Pats and the previously reported Colts, 49ers, Seahawks and Texans, Lawrence met with the Cardinals, Chiefs, Falcons, Saints, Chargers, Ravens, Eagles, Dolphins, Buccaneers, Commanders, Raiders, Titans and Jets, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2.
APRIL 9: As a potential first- or second-round pick, UCF edge defender Malachi Lawrence is generating significant interest in the lead-up to the NFL draft. Sixteen teams have set up visits with Lawrence, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports. The Colts, 49ers and Seahawks will all meet with him this week.
The 6-foot-4, 253-pound Lawrence’s college career took off as a redshirt sophomore in 2023. He registered 10.5 tackles for loss and a personal-best 7.5 sacks in 13 games that year. Lawrence’s production dropped a bit during an 11-game 2024 (six TFL, five sacks), but he earned a first-team All-Big 12 selection last season. Over 12 games, Lawrence picked up 11 TFL and seven sacks.
Lawrence further boosted his stock with an off-the-charts performance at the Combine, where he ran a 4.52-second 40-yard dash. He finished second among edge defenders at the Combine in 40 time, 10-yard split, vertical jump and broad jump (via PFF College). Dane Brugler of The Athletic (No. 36) and Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com (No. 46) consider Lawrence a top-50 prospect.
The Colts were a passable 15th in sacks last season, but they ranked an alarming 30th in pass rush win rate. The team made a run at Trey Hendrickson early in free agency, but the Ravens won that sweepstakes. The Colts have settled for modest additions (Arden Key and Micheal Clemons) to replace the departed Kwity Paye and Samson Ebukam. They continue to lack needle-moving pass rushers to complement Laiatu Latu. Indianapolis is without a first-round pick, but Lawrence could be on the board when it selects 47th overall in the second round.
The 49ers will pick 27th and 58th in the first two rounds. They totaled the fewest sacks in the league last season, though losing Nick Bosa to a Week 3 ACL tear heavily contributed to their struggles. They should get Bosa and Mykel Williams, who tore his ACL in November, back next season. The rest of their edge rushers – Sam Okuayinonu, Keion White, William Bradley-King, Andrew Farmer and the just-signed Cameron Sample – combined for just five sacks last year. With that in mind, bolstering the pass rush via the draft should be a high priority for the 49ers.
The reigning Super Bowl champion Seahawks aren’t exactly teeming with weaknesses, but taking an edge defender early may be on their to-do list. Owners of just four picks, including Nos. 32 and 64 in the first two rounds, the Seahawks lost Boye Mafe in free agency. They have not brought in a replacement for Maye, and the clock is ticking on Demarcus Lawrence‘s career. The soon-to-be 34-year-old pondered retirement after the season, which could add to the Seahawks’ urgency to make a notable investment along the edge.
Jets Cancel Top-30 Visit With David Bailey
Draft rumors move quickly in the final weeks leading up to Day 1 of the big event. Just five days ago, Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey became the betting favorite to land with the Jets at the No. 2 overall pick. Just this evening, Connor Hughes of SportsNet New York reported that the team had canceled a top-30 visit that Bailey was supposed to attend.
There’s a lot of unspoken context here that’s worth mentioning. Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk commented that “it is unclear when Bailey was scheduled to visit,” confirming that, if a top-30 visit with the Jets had been announced for Bailey, it hadn’t been widely reported. Considering, as well, that today was the final possible day teams could host prospects for top-30 visits, just after 5pm on the final day seems an odd time for this information to break. It just as easily could’ve been reported that they ran out of time to get in a visit with Bailey, or it could’ve gone unreported and unnoticed altogether.
As Ryan Dunleavy of New York Post Sports suggests, the meaning of this report could taken in very different ways. The most obvious meaning would be that the Jets don’t intend to draft Bailey and chose not to waste his time with a visit. It could also mean the exact opposite: that the Jets know all they need to know about the Red Raider pass rusher, and they don’t need an additional visit to feel secure in drafting him. Dunleavy points out that, because the Jets have the No. 2 overall pick and the top overall pick is all but written in stone, there isn’t much potential benefit to throwing up this smokescreen.
One thing such a smokescreen could instigate to potentially benefit the Jets is trade interest. There may be teams interested in trading up for a top pass rusher, and they may not want to settle for whoever isn’t taken between Bailey and Ohio State’s Arvell Reese. We’ve seen rumors that the Cardinals, Giants, and other teams in the top 10 have shown interest in trading down, and perhaps the Jets wanted to get their phones ringing, too, to see what might be available to them.
The headline caused a bit of a stir this evening, but it remains to be seen if it will affect the current betting lines associated with each pick and player. Regardless, the intent should become much more clear eight days from now, when a selection is announced for the No. 2 overall pick.
Chiefs, Jets, Raiders, Seahawks, Texans Meet With CB Colton Hood
Today represents the final opportunity for teams to conduct “30” visits with players, and several updates on this front have emerged. A couple involve Tennessee cornerback Colton Hood.
Expected to go off the board in Round 1, Hood’s visit itinerary became clear this afternoon. The Chiefs brought in Hood for a meeting this week, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero notes. Hood had met with the Cowboys previously, and Pelissero adds the Jets, Raiders, Seahawks and Texans conducted “30” visits with the Tennessee corner.
Hood transferred to Tennessee last year but did not team with Jermod McCoy in what would have been a standout CB duo, with McCoy missing all of the 2025 season due to an ACL tear. The 6-foot cover man played at three schools in three years, transferring from Auburn to Colorado to Tennessee. Hood checks in 25th on Daniel Jeremiah’s NFL.com big board — behind Mansoor Delane (No. 8) and McCoy (No. 15) among corners.
The 2025 SEC second-teamer forwent his final two seasons of eligibility to declare for the draft, and he should hear his name called on Day 1 (Hood certainly expects this, as he is attending the draft). The Chiefs hold the Nos. 9, 29 and 40 overall picks and should be expected to take a corner at one of those spots. Kansas City has developed a tried-and-true method of developing quality corners but not paying them, with Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson the latest one-contract cogs at this position. The team needs help after losing its top two options last month.
Trading Sauce Gardner last year, the Jets have a need here too. They signed Nahshon Wright to a low-cost deal following a 2025 breakthrough but have needs here ahead of a draft that sees them holding three picks in the top 33. The Raiders used a third-round pick on Darien Porter last year and re-signed Eric Stokes last month, but the rebuilding team could use more aid here as well. Las Vegas, however, has been tied to the wide receiver and right tackle positions with its No. 36 overall pick. The Texans are set at corner, identifying Kamari Lassiter as a solid No. 2 option alongside Derek Stingley Jr., but the Seahawks lost Riq Woolen in free agency. Seattle, however, rosters All-Pro Devon Witherspoon and re-signed Josh Jobe last month.
‘All Signs’ Point To Jets Waiting Until 2027 Draft On QB
Our latest Trade Rumors Front Office piece covered teams’ patterns with regard to taking quarterbacks high in consecutive drafts. For the most part, there is next to no history of this happening in the modern era. The few examples that do exist of teams taking either a first- or second-round QB one year and then doing so again in the following draft involved the No. 1 overall pick falling to a team.
That raises the stakes for teams on Ty Simpson, a polarizing prospect whose draft landing spot has been perhaps the most intriguing component of this year’s draft (since Fernando Mendoza is all but certain to be chosen first overall). If there were a team positioned to both draft Simpson and then consider doubling up at QB early in the 2027 draft, it would be the Jets. The team holds four first- and second-round picks this year and is set to carry three firsts in 2027, creating a few windows for a quarterback investment.
[RELATED: Analyzing Simpson’s Prospect Profile]
While the Jets have been linked to Simpson during this year’s pre-draft process — to the point a recent report indicated the team was likely to exit Round 2 with a passer — they appear set to take their chances with what is expected to be a much richer QB crop in 2027. As it stands, “all signs” point to Gang Green making next year its window to make its draft move at QB, NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah said Tuesday (via ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini).
It is worth noting future draft classes have a tendency to not deliver promised goods. The 2026 class serves as a reminder. Our Ely Allen noted how long the wait could be before this year’s QB3 is chosen; at this time last year, the ’26 draft was expected to be much more fruitful at the position than it ended up being. One of the reasons the ’26 class underwhelmed: Oregon QB Dante Moore‘s decision to return to school. The Jets may well have loomed as a landing spot for Moore at No. 2 overall. Now, they will have a chance to evaluate more film on the Big Ten passer (among others) this coming fall.
A report earlier this month indicated the Jets were likely to pass on Simpson. The Jets indeed passing on the one-year Alabama starter at No. 16 (and perhaps again at No. 33) would invite risk, and after changing both offensive and defensive coordinators in his second year, Aaron Glenn is far from a lock to be back in 2027. No starter-level passer being chosen in this draft will run the risk of Glenn being fired before the franchise makes a true investment in the position.
Waiting a year also places plenty of pressure on Geno Smith, who joins a team that did not have a 400-yard receiver (thanks largely to Garrett Wilson‘s seven-game season) in 2025. Glenn has spoken highly of Smith, but the second-stint Jet will have plenty to say about whether Glenn makes it to the ’27 draft as head coach.
The organization gave its past two GMs — Joe Douglas, Mike Maccagnan — five drafts apiece. This points to Darren Mougey being given more time, and this offseason’s run of HC firings and GM retentions showed more staying power among the executive ranks. With Moore, Arch Manning and other intriguing arms expected to be part of the 2027 draft, Mougey may be more inclined to wait. The Jets do not carry high expectations into this season, which opens the door to their own pick checking in high in 2027. New York also owns Dallas and Indianapolis’ 2027 firsts, providing possible trade ammo.
Manning is not a lock to enter the 2027 draft. Neither of his high-profile uncles — Peyton and Eli — came out after junior seasons. Peyton famously passed on being the Jets’ No. 1 pick in 1997 to return to Tennessee, landing with the Colts a year later. Considering the patient approach the Manning family has taken with Arch, it would certainly not shock to see him stay at Texas for two more seasons. That would weaken the 2027 QB class, but the Jets are well positioned to be patient here due to the capital the Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams trades provided.
We could soon see a redux of the Jets’ late-2010s strategy, when they positioned Josh McCown as a bridge in 2017 — passing on the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson to take Jamal Adams — before trading up for Sam Darnold in 2018. If Simpson is not Big Apple-bound next week, a waiting game looks likely to commence once again.
Jets Remain High On WR Omar Cooper Jr.
APRIL 13: To little surprise, Reid reports Cooper will take part in a top-30 visit with the Jets today. Depending on the outcome, New York could become even more likely to take him at the No. 16 spot.
APRIL 12: Earlier this month, the Jets were mentioned as one of the teams which holds Omar Cooper Jr. in high regard. New York owns the 33rd overall pick in the upcoming draft but also a pair of first-rounders.
No. 2 is widely expected to result in the Jets adding on defense, although which prospect will hear his name called at that slot remains to be seen. New York is also slated to pick 16th overall. That could present general manager Darren Mougey with the opportunity to add at the receiver position. Cooper was previously named as a potential target at No. 33, but the Indiana product may not still be available by that point.
Cooper is a prospect the Jets are “extremely high on,” ESPN’s Jordan Reid writes. As a result, taking him 16th overall will be something Mougey, head coach Aaron Glenn and Co. consider. Cooper could immediately carve out a key role in the slot while adding to a WR depth chart topped by Garrett Wilson and Adonai Mitchell. Making a notable move at that position has long been seen as a priority for the Jets, although a best player available approach will be the team’s draft goal, as Glenn recently noted.
“If you love the player, go get the player,” the second-year HC said (via Reid’s colleague Rich Cimini). “I truly believe in that. If you love the player, go get him, regardless of what everybody thinks, regardless of positional value.”
Carnell Tate and Makai Lemon are widely viewed as the top receiver prospects in this year’s class, with Jordyn Tyson a strong candidate to be selected in the first round as well. Cooper’s stock has risen during the pre-draft process, and he is among the wideouts in contention to be drafted during the middle or latter stages of Day 1. A number of visits have taken place with interested teams in his case.
The Jets will be a team to watch closely with respect to Cooper. How the board shakes out in the build-up to their second selection will of course go a long way in determining which positions wind up being targeted in general and whether Cooper in particular could end up in New York.
WR Denzel Boston Visits Ravens, Jets
The list of teams with interest in Washington wide receiver Denzel Boston continues to grow. Boston is visiting the Ravens and Jets on Saturday, per reports from Ian Rapoport of NFL.com and veteran insider Jordan Schultz.
As PFR’s archives show, Boston has set up meetings with at least eight teams in the lead-up to the draft. The 6-foot-4, 212-pounder has long been considered a potential first-rounder. Some teams are bullish enough on Boston to rank him the second- or third-best receiver in a class that also includes the likes of Carnell Tate, Makai Lemon, KC Concepcion, Jordyn Tyson and Omar Cooper Jr.
Boston began his four-year run at Washington on a squad loaded with quality receivers. Future NFLers Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan and Ja’lynn Polk were among the Huskies’ go-to wideouts from 2022-23, which limited Boston to seven catches in his first two years. Odunze, McMillan and Polk left for the pros in 2024, setting the stage for a Boston breakout. Over his last two years in school, Boston averaged 63 catches, 858 yards and 10 touchdowns per season. Known as a sure-handed red zone weapon, Boston registered a paltry 3.1% drop rate at Washington.
The Ravens, who own the 14th pick in the first round, have a star No. 1 receiver in Zay Flowers. But none of their other returning wideouts even reached 20 catches or 225 yards in 2025. While Rashod Bateman was a starter in Baltimore for most of the past three seasons, he has come up in trade rumors after a down year. Even if Bateman sticks around, there is room for the Ravens to make a significant addition at receiver in the draft.
Like the Ravens, the Jets have a bona fide top receiver (Garrett Wilson) and not much else. While Adonai Mitchell showed flashes after coming over in the Sauce Gardner trade with the Colts in November, the 2024 second-rounder remains unproven. The Jets have six other receivers under contract, but the group of Isaiah Williams, Arian Smith, Quentin Skinner, Jamaal Pritchett, Mac Dalena and Irvin Charles combined for a mere 34 catches last season.
There is a clear need at receiver in New York, though the team will not go in that direction with its first pick (No. 2 overall). Expectations are the Jets will use their top choice on a blue-chip defender such as David Bailey, Arvell Reese or Sonny Styles, but they could turn their attention to receiver at 16th or 33rd overall.
Giants Eyeing Trade-Down Move From No. 5; Other Teams Interested In Trading Back
Closely connected to Jeremiyah Love and Caleb Downs at No. 5 overall, the Giants are launching a new regime centered around John Harbaugh. Coming off a 3-14 season and not entering free agency as one of the most cap-rich teams, the Giants still have holes to fill.
New York also does not hold a third-round pick, trading it to the Texans in the deal that gave New York Jaxson Dart access last year. The Giants are (again) in prime position to snare one of the top talents in a draft class. This is certainly not atypical, as the Giants have walked out of recent drafts with Abdul Carter, Malik Nabers, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Andrew Thomas and Saquon Barkley. They also made two more top-10 picks in this span, selecting Daniel Jones and Evan Neal. This brigade of high-level prospects has not mattered much for Big Blue in the grand scheme.
Harbaugh represents the latest organizational pivot, as the team hopes an experienced leader can help put pieces together in a way the recent run of less seasoned coaches could not. The Giants could land yet another upper-crust prospect, but ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan notes a belief exists the team would prefer to trade down a few spots to accumulate more draft capital.
The Giants hold Nos. 5 and 37 but do not pick again until No. 105. While they have been tied to Love, Downs, Sonny Styles and Carnell Tate, Raanan adds cornerback is a position where the team is doing homework. LSU’s Mansoor Delane visited the Giants on Thursday, and they are digging into Tennessee’s Jermod McCoy as well. McCoy missed all of last season with an ACL tear but has rehabbed to the point he will be ready to go as a rookie. McCoy clocked a 4.38-second 40-yard dash time at the Volunteers’ pro day and is expected to be drafted by the middle of Round 1 at the latest.
Neither player profiles as one requiring an investment at No. 5, however, and the Giants could be angling to find teams interested in climbing up for a prospect in an effort to recoup a Day 2 pick or two. We are, of course, in prime smokescreen season. The Giants are obviously far from certain to move down and pass on one of this draft’s top prospects, and the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy adds Love and Downs (in that order) may be the top players in the team’s draft queue. We heard Giants-Love connections earlier, with Downs and Styles also drawing extensive attention from the team — as Harbaugh’s former club valued the safety position highly.
New York gave Paulson Adebo a three-year, $54MM deal in free agency last year and signed Greg Newsome to a one-year, $8MM pact last month. Newsome profiles as more of a stopgap than a Cordale Flott successor, and the Giants look to have missed on 2023 first-rounder Deonte Banks. Adebo being brought in before Harbaugh’s staff arrived also probably affects the team’s CB interest in this draft.
The Giants also might not find too many teams with appetites to surrender assets and move up. With no quarterback beyond Fernando Mendoza compelling teams to consider big-ticket trade-up offers and the likes of Love, Styles and Downs at non-premium positions, there might be a shortage of trade action early. The teams that follow the Raiders in the top five — the Jets, Cardinals, Titans and Giants — are believed to be interested in moving down to add assets, SI.com’s Albert Breer said in an interview with The Ringer’s Todd McShay, but trade partners are not plentiful right now.
Drafting Love, Styles or Downs this high do not bring the type of contractual advantage identifying a top-shelf pass rusher, wide receiver or tackle — positions usually populating this draft space — would provide. And trading assets to acquire one of these players compounds this issue, potentially creating a scenario in which we do not see much trade action early. Breer adds the trade movement in this year’s draft may begin around No. 10.
It is obviously not a lock the draft will play out this way, and veteran insider Jordan Schultz has been told this could be a trade-heavy draft. Schultz points to a potential “flurry” of activity in the first half of Round 1, citing sources informing him of modest depth in the later rounds. While it is true the present college landscape keeping players in school longer has depleted draft classes — with mid-20-somethings populating the later rounds and UDFA classes — others have spoken of this class’ depth at certain positions.
It will be interesting to hear if more trade chatter picks up over the next two weeks. That is generally the case, and even without a quarterback driving action (as Drake Maye did with the Giants and Vikings in 2024), trade buzz promises to pick up in the coming days.
Sonny Styles In Play For Jets; Latest On Team’s Plans At No. 2 Overall
It may not be a two-man race for the Jets at No. 2 overall. Although New York has long been tied to bringing in an edge rusher with that choice, one of this class’ impact talents at a non-premium position may be in play still.
The Jets are viewed as “incredibly high” on Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles, SportsBoom.com’s Jason La Canfora notes. Styles’ transition from safety to linebacker and his eye-catching Combine performance rocketed him up draft boards. Even though off-ball linebacker is not traditionally in play for teams this high, the 6-foot-5 defender may be an exception.
Styles joins Jeremiyah Love and ex-Buckeyes teammate Caleb Downs as high-floor prospects in this class who play positions devalued — to a degree, at least — on the marketplace. Styles and Love are firmly in the mix to be top-five picks, with Downs being closely connected to the Giants at No. 5 as well. No pure linebacker has gone in the top five since the Buccaneers chose Devin White fifth overall in 2019; to find an off-ball ‘backer who went second overall, going back much farther is required.
Technically, the Broncos placed Von Miller as a 4-3 outside ‘backer to start his career — but the future Hall of Famer was/is a pass rusher. The 2000 draft featured Washington selecting LaVar Arrington second overall. Though Arrington became a Pro Bowler and was technically a 4-3 OLB as well, he showcased pass-rushing chops (17 sacks from 2002-03). If the Jets are to seriously consider Styles at 2, he would presumably need to be used regularly as a rusher.
Drawing Fred Warner comparisons, Styles transitioned from safety to linebacker in 2024 and did post six sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss that season. He finished with one sack and 6.5 TFLs in 2025 but earned rave reviews as a pure non-rush ‘backer. Styles going ahead of teammate Arvell Reese — his linebacker teammate in Columbus who flashed brightly as a part-time pass rusher — or Texas Tech’s David Bailey would surprise, considering the Jets’ frequent connections to taking an EDGE here. But Styles’ combination of athleticism and production may have him in contention for a contract north of Travis Hunter‘s ($46.65MM) at No. 2 overall soon.
That said, Styles still looks like an underdog to be chosen this early. A Reese-or-Bailey decision that reminds of Jacksonville’s Travon Walker–Aidan Hutchinson debate from 2022 remains the more relevant topic here, as ESPN’s Field Yates notes an “overwhelming majority” of evaluators view the answer to this question as the one that will decide who goes second overall.
Furthering this debate, Yates ESPN colleague Matt Miller notes Bailey is believed to have more fans in the Jets’ building while fellow ESPN draft expert Jordan Reid predicts Reese — the Walker in this scenario — will be the pick. While this debate is believed to be ongoing, a previous report pointed to Reese being the Jets’ preference.
A Reese choice would be a bet on upside, having logged fewer than 100 pass-rushing snaps last season. Bailey led Division I-FBS with 14.5 sacks last season and combined for 12 while at Stanford from 2023-24. Hutchinson has proven to be the more impactful player, and that probably has come up in Jets meetings as the team with the first non-Fernando Mendoza pick deliberates.
Carnell Tate is not viewed as a frontrunner in this discussion, though Miller adds the Jets “really like” the former Buckeyes wide receiver. The lack of a long-term quarterback plan may be impacting the organization with regards to Tate at No. 2. Tate is viewed as a potential top-five pick and appears a lock to be chosen in the top 10, but the Jets have long been tied to a pass rusher to pair with Will McDonald. Styles would be a slight upset given his position, though it would be interesting to see the Jets make that move over Bailey or Reese. The Cardinals and Titans, who both could use EDGE help, will see their fortunes impacted by the Jets’ call here.