NFL Draft Buzz: Jets Insider Leaves Door Open to Draft Day Trade

The Jets could look to trade down in the 2026 NFL Draft if they receive the right offer.

Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Arvell Reese (8) and cornerback Devin Sanchez (6) celebrate following the NCAA football game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 1, 2025. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The New York Jets have two selections in the first round of the NFL draft this year and three selections in the first round of the NFL draft next year.

They have the No. 2 overall pick and the No. 16 overall pick this year. There's a chance the Jets could use some of their additional draft capital to trade up in the draft. There's also a chance they trade down to acquire more draft capital.

Jets insider Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic recently suggested it was unlikely, but not impossible, that the Jets would trade down in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. This could open the door to a potential blockbuster deal that nets the Jets a good prospect and additional draft capital.

Jets could be open to trading down in the NFL draft

Texas Tech's David Bailey eyes BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier before a snap in a Big 12 Conference football game, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, at Jones AT&T Stadium. | Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"Unlikely, but not impossible. All it takes is one team getting antsy about a prospect it desperately wants. The Jets would like to pick up a third-round pick in this draft since they don’t currently have one, as well as add more 2027 picks," Rosenblatt wrote. "If the Titans (No. 4) want to jump ahead of the Cardinals (No. 3) to get an edge rusher like Arvell Reese or David Bailey, they’d be a potential spot for a trade-down.

"The Giants (No. 5) and Commanders (No. 7) might be duking it for the right to draft Love. It would take a blockbuster deal to go back any further than that, though the Cowboys (No. 12) are always liable to make a splash and they own two first-round picks in this draft."

Trading down could help the Jets decide between Arvell Reese and David Bailey.

They could move down to pick No. 3 or pick No. 4, which could land them a solid amount of draft capital while staying in the top five.

Whichever team trades up to pick No. 2 will likely take one of these two edge rushers. The Jets could drop a few picks and land somebody like Sonny Styles or Caleb Downs if Bailey and Reese come off the board.

The gap between the No. 2 player in the class and the No. 10 player in the class isn't that big. The Jets will likely explore trade options with all their draft picks this offseason.