If the season ended today, the 2-9 Jets would hold the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 draft. Even if they do not end up with that pick – and it is certainly feasible they lose enough games down the stretch to find themselves even higher on the draft board – they should be in prime position to select one of next year’s top quarterback prospects.
To that end, GM Darren Mougey has scouted Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza and Oregon’s Dante Moore in person, as ESPN’s Rich Cimini writes. Unfortunately for Mougey, the 2026 class of signal-callers, once viewed as a promising one, has seen its stock drop over the course of the 2025 season.
Mendoza has been among the most impressive collegiate QBs and is viewed by many as the top prospect likely to declare for the 2026 draft. Although the game that Mougey attended featured Mendoza leading a dramatic, game-winning drive against Penn State, opinions are split on his ceiling at the NFL level. Moore, meanwhile, is only 20 and could benefit from another year of development in the college ranks.
If players like Moore, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers, and Texas’ Arch Manning decide to stay in school for one more season, that will strengthen a 2027 class that is already set to include Florida’s DJ Lagway and Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola. We had heard one of the reasons Mougey was willing to accept a 2027 first-round pick from the Cowboys in this month’s Quinnen Williams trade was because of his belief that the ‘27 draft class offers more promise than its ‘26 counterpart. So, while the first-year GM is obviously doing his due diligence, he may wait another year to make a high-end draft investment in a QB (though Cimini says in a separate piece that there is “growing buzz” in league circles connecting Mendoza to the Jets).
Whether it is Mendoza or someone else, Cimini thinks the Jets will add a rookie QB in the 2026 draft, and he also believes Mougey will acquire a veteran passer. Despite the fact that Justin Fields’ 2026 salary includes $10MM in guaranteed money, Cimini indicates Mougey will likely release the recently-demoted signal-caller – which jibes with previous reports on the matter – and will not try to re-sign his replacement, Tyrod Taylor.
As per usual, the 2026 crop of free agents offers little by way of starting-caliber quarterbacks, and the one that does qualify as such, Daniel Jones, may not make it to free agency. Mougey could therefore look to the trade market to acquire a bridge passer, and Cimini names Kyler Murray, Mac Jones, and Kirk Cousins as potential targets (Murray and Jones, at least, could also be in the Vikings’ crosshairs).
UDFA rookie Brady Cook has spent most of the year on the Jets’ practice squad, though he has been elevated on several occasions to operate as a backup (he has not, however, seen any regular season game action). In response to a question about whether Cook would get into a game in 2025, head coach Aaron Glenn conceded it was a possibility, but he offered no guarantees.
“Jets GM scouting [prospect] in person”
Is this a fever dream?
What
I like Mendoza. I don’t know how high his upside is, but I think he’s got a very strong chance to be a good starting QB, and he has the skills to keep an offense running on time–something that would be refreshing after Fields. I love Moore’s upside, but I’m not so confident he’s even coming out, and he’s a little green. Simpson scares me as a top ten pick. He’s been good, but he’s already graduated, it’s his first year as a starter, and you can see that in the way he handles pressure.
What I *don’t* want to see is the Jets using serious draft capital to trade up even higher in the top five to secure one of these guys. The regime is new. They have a ton of picks in 2027, which looks like a better draft class. They can afford to wait a year to make their big QB move.
I’d think Mac Jones would be a worthwhile roll the dice for a year or two – he’s shown he can win with a decent supporting cast. If Lagway is considered a top target, I’d be concerned.
Mac Jones would make sense if they want to wait a year to make their big QB move, though it would be funny for the Jets to cycle through so many of the 2021 draft quarterbacks. Lagway has at least one more season to show what kind of prospect he is.
I like Moore, but the Jets would destroy him.