Jets' Draft Dilemma: Edge or Receivers?

On April 20th, the New York Jets hold the No. 2 and No. 16 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft

and Mott Drafts from Top Analysts are buzzing with ideas to fix their roster holes.

Most see them grabbing an ed rusher like Ohio State's Arville Reese or Texas Tech's David

Bailey and No. 2 to boost that weak pass rush.

Ranked 31st and sacks last year with just 26.

Others push wide receivers like Ohio State's Carnell Tate to pair with Garrett Wilson and

give whoever's a quarterback more weapons.

Diving deeper, Dane Brugler from the Athletic Pairs.

Reese at No. 2 with USC's Mackay Lemon at 16, calling Lemon Tuff and Rout Savvy for

A, receiver room that had nobody top 400 yards last season.

Mel Kyber Jr. ESPN agrees on edge but picks Bailey for his league leading pressure rate,

in Washington's Omar Cooper Jr. later to build out, the passing game.

Fans and experts alike are fired up because the Jets defense needs edge heat and offensively

it slim pickings beyond Wilson who dealt with, injury and low scores, trading Quinn and

Williams and losing Germaine Johnson in free agency amps up the pressure while quarterback

questions linger with Gino Smith or others.

In the mix playmakers could make them contenders or at least fund a watch.

Some mocks mix it up, like NFL dot com floating Ohio State's safety Caleb Downs at No. 2 despite

the reach or Fox Sports doubling down on Tate.

Then Clemson's TJ Parker at 16 for defensive line depth, CBS even has a trade down scenario

with the Texans to snag recent Clemson's corner, Avion Terrell at 28 plus extra picks.

As the draft nears, these projections highlight the Jets crossroads, prioritize rush or receivers

to spark real change and we'll see how it shakes out when the real board drops.