If Not A QB, Who?

Edition #974: If the Jets decide to sign a bridge QB and wait for the 2027 class which is expected to be loaded, what do they do?

Good Morning ☕

Tomorrow we’re going to focus on the game against Baltimore, but first I wanted to complete my thought pattern on what we’ve been discussing this week.

Understandably a lot of people have an eye on the off-season, that’s what happens when you’re 2-8. I’ve received a lot of emails this week and I would say that 75%+ are around the 2026 NFL off-season, most notably the draft.

Yesterday we spoke about the Jets getting their guy, today we’re going to talk about the possibility that they wait for the 2027 draft class to take their QB.

I know for a lot of people that’s a very uncomfortable thought. We’ve waited a long time to win, and the thought of waiting another year before selecting the QB of the future is not one that many want to entertain.

But is there a logic to making the QB the final piece of the puzzle? Nobody can predict the future. QBs who were supposed to be first round-locks this year have fallen, other players have come from nowhere, it happens every year. But most analysts agree that the 2027 draft class is likely to be loaded at QB.

The 2026 draft class on the other hand has a lot of unknowns.

It’s now widely believed that Dante Moore will be back at Oregon next season. McShay went as far as to say that everyone is in lockstep with that decision, the player, the coaches, the agents, the parents. Dante Moore likely won’t be in this draft. He also stated that there is a chance that Ty Simpson returns to Alabama for another year, which would leave the 2026 draft class looking thin to say the least. It’ll be Fernando Mendoza (who apparently is the most likely to declare but is by no means a lock), and not a lot else.

If I’m the Jets I’m taking a QB no matter what in 2026, but if I’m not sold on Fernando Mendoza, the QB I’m taking is likely one of the project high-upside guys in the middle rounds. The Jets have 6 picks within the first 150 of the 2026 draft, and so if they’re not sold on Mendoza or Simpson (if they both declare) then they can still take a Jayden Maiava or a Cade Klubnik, or whoever it is that your scouts suggest has developmental potential.

That allows them to continue to build the team in 2026 so the incoming saviour in 2027 walks into a better situation. The Jets then have two first round picks, a 2nd and a 3rd in 2027 to make any move they want to get the QB they need.

That class is projected to include Dante Moore, Arch Manning, Julian Sayin and a number of prospects who may not declare this year but who were highly thought of, guys like Simpson, Mateer and Sellers.

Julian Sayin is looking like a cant-miss prospect at the moment and while so many have given up on Arch Manning, personally I think he’ll eventually prove why so many were so high on him. Don’t forget his disappointing season is him completing 63% of his passes for 2,374 yards, 19 touchdowns to 7 interceptions while contributing 6 rushing touchdowns in his first year as a full starter.

The issue with the Manning evaluation was that everyone was looking at him for 2026, whereas most people around that Texas program knew that there was no way he was coming out in 2026 and he may not even come out in 2027. Peyton stayed at Tennessee for 4 years, Eli stayed at Ole Miss for 4 years and neither of those guys were getting paid like Arch Manning, who’s due to be the highest earning college football player this season thanks to NIL.

So while this isn’t an exact science and there are no guarantees, the likelihood is that the 2027 draft class will be significantly better than the 2026 draft class.

I’m not sitting here stating this is what the Jets should do, I’m jut proposing that this is one of many options to consider.

So with that all being said, if the Jets don’t take a QB with one of their two picks in 2026, sign someone like Mac Jones to bridge and draft a 3rd round QB…who do they pick with their first rounders?

This is an interesting question because 99% of online mock drafts have the Jets selecting a QB with that top overall pick, and most have them selecting a WR with the late first round picks received in the Sauce Gardner trade.

So if we remove QB as an option at the top of the 2026 draft, what happens?

Well the Jets have no shortage of holes they need to fill and you could argue that with Breece being a free agent, we need to look at RB and with Quincy being a free-agent we need to look at LB. I’ve not properly looked at the prospects yet, but I’m going to mention a couple of names, it’s by no means meant to be an exhaustive list, more than option at the top and an option at the bottom.