Entering night one of the 2026 NFL Draft, the Jets were one of six teams who owned 2 first-round picks. After selecting Texas Tech edge David Bailey (No. 2 overall) and Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq (No. 16 overall), the Green & White moved back into the first round and used the 30th pick to take Indiana WR Omar Cooper Jr.

“When you have targets, you identify guys you like, you love – you go get them,” said HC Aaron Glenn. And that’s exactly what we did today.

“And any time you can bring guys with a winning background on your team, that only helps the morale of your team. So, there’s a lot of things that goes into that, but to get three first-round picks and the caliber guys that we got, the personality, the mentality, the football character, all those things are huge, bringing those guys on our team.”

For months, pundits wondered if the Jets would opt for Bailey or Ohio State edge/LB Arvell Reese with the No. 2 selection. Although they liked both players, Bailey’s pass rushing prowess stood tall and made the decision easy for the Green & White. Last season, Bailey (6-5, 251) tied for the FBS lead with 14.5 sacks and he ranked second with 19 TFL. Reese was taken by the crosstown Giants with the 5th pick in the draft.

“Both of those guys… are really good players,” Glenn said. “Listen, Arvell’s going to have a really good career in this league, but when you just continue to evaluate those guys, we just felt like Bailey fit us better when it comes to he’s a 6’4″, 255 pound man with 34 inch arms that has a ton of production in college. Listen, we looked at all those things, and he fits us.”

Then midway through the second round, the Jets got an athletic freak in Sadiq with the 16th overall pick. Sadiq (6-3, 241) set an Oregon record for tight ends with 51 receptions and led all FBS TEs with 8 receiving TDs. He posted a 4.39-time in the 40-yard dash and recorded a 43.5-inch vertical jump at the NFL Combine in February.

“Sadiq was a player that, obviously we studied, spent a lot of time on and valued as an offensive weapon,” said GM Darren Mougey. “And when he was there it was really a no-brainer for us, just to add another weapon to the offense. And Frank’s (Reich) got a great vision for the player and how we can use him in multiple ways and get in 12-personnel and do different things and just use him as another weapon and make it tough on the defense.”