Hope springs eternal through the NFL Draft. And when each draft is over, every coach every April and May says something similar to what Jets HC Aaron Glenn said after the Jets' 2026 Draft: "I think we did a really good job of identifying the guys that we love and we brought them here to this team to be able to help us continue to move in the direction that we want to move."
Yet how many coaches and teams feel the same way about their draft class in October and November? General manager Darren Mougey, Glenn and the Jets certainly do.
They've gotten 1,316 snaps, 36 games and 17 starts from the top five members of this draft. During the last seven weeks, they've received three 100-yard receiving games and four games with either 2 sacks or 2 forced fumbles or 2 passes rejected in the opponents' backfield. Awards are awards, but the Jets draft class still possesses five awards with almost a half-season to go ─ one for Player of the Week and four for Rookie of the Week.
The members of this Jets draft class have shown, after one half plus one game of their first season with the Green & White, that they appear to have what it takes to help move the Jets in the direction they want to take in the weeks, months and years to come. Here is a quick review of each player in this draft class.
1A─Edge David Bailey
Much has been said of Bailey recently, and Glenn may have captured it best when he said Wednesday of his young man on the edge: "You would not think he's a rookie, the way he goes about his business."
Bailey has been giving opponents the business lately ─ 5.5 of his 7.5 sacks and 9 of his 12 QB hits have come in his last four games. Sunday, he separated Patrick Mahones from the ball twice, making him the first Jets rookie since 1963 to notch 2 strip sacks in a game, and his came in a 3-play span in the second quarter.
Many have been asking Jets trivia questions that have Bailey as the answer for the past couple of weeks. Even Next Gen Stats is getting into the act, noting that he's picking up speed because of, well, his speed. NGS has clocked him at an average maximum play speed of 20.11 mph, third in the NFL among all edge rushers after nine weeks.
1B─TE Kenyon Sadiq
Travis Kelce is the tight end YAC king, leading the league at that position with 9.9 yards after each catch this season. But not far behind was a young competitor of Kelce's at Arrowhead Stadium last week ─ Sadiq more quietly gained 32 of his 49 yards receiving yards after his 4 catches, giving him an 8.0 YAC average for the game and lifting his season rate to 6.6 YAC after each catch, fifth among tight ends, according to TruMedia.
Sadiq has been pacing himself since his first rookie eruption at Detroit (8 targets, 7 catches, 105 yards, TD), which earned him his first Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week Award. He surely knows that he's one of a number of hungry skill players for QB Geno Smith to feed, so he's polishing his blocking skills, which have been noted recently, averaging 1 catch from Games 4-8 before KC, while preparing for his next high-visibility game.
1C─WR Omar Cooper Jr.
Cooper's favorite flower must be the forget-me-not. He gave a taste of what was ahead with his 30-yard catch-and-run in the opener at Tennessee, but after 5 plays he went on the injury shelf for four weeks. Out of sight, out of mind? Not quite. Cooper then hit New England and Miami with his pair of 100-yard receiving games, featuring 52- and 60-yard receptions vs. the Dolphins that marked the first time a Jets rookie had corralled a pair of 50-plus receptions in a home game since Wesley Walker against Oakland in 1977.
Then came Coop's zero-target game vs. Las Vegas. How did he respond? By showing at Kansas City that he can be a go-to receiver for Geno Smith not only downfield but, with someone such as Garrett Wilson sidelined, when needed for the shorter chain-movers. Cooper's career-high 8 catches picked up just 58 yards, but his 4 first downs led the Jets and two of those grabs, both on third-and-4's, provided the Jets with their only third-down conversions of the day.
2─CB D'Angelo Ponds
The metrics and big plays haven't yet flowed as they did for Ponds at Indiana, but he's picking up the play-time pace, getting a career-high 30 defensive snaps against Miami. Then at Kansas City, in a tough spot against Patrick Mahomes and friends, Glenn dropped him in the slot for his first pro start, saying: "I just felt like it was time for him to play." Can some Ponds PDs and picks be far behind?
4A─DL Darrell Jackson Jr.
Jackson has been working on his position in the Jets' interior DL rotation, and with injured veteran T'Vondre Sweat out at least two more weeks, this rookie has notched career game highs in defensive snaps the last two weeks, 42 vs. Las Vegas and 47 at KC. The numbers usually don't soar for the big men in the middle of the line, and that's been true for Jackson, who has 26 tackles, 1 sack, 2.5 other tackles for loss/no gain and 2 pass defenses.
The PDs were of note, coming against Cleveland's Deshaun Watson. Both were rejections behind the line ─ on consecutive plays ─ making Jackson the first Jet in a dozen seasons to play beach volleyball and reject 2 passes behind the LOS in the same game. Jackson's secret: "I've got a seven-foot wingspan."
4B─QB Cade Klubnik, 6─OL Anez Cooper, 7─S VJ Payne
The last three of the Jets' eight picks in April have yet to see regular-season action. Klubnik is always a snap away as Geno Smith's backup but has been a DNP in all nine games. The large Cooper (6-5, 334) and the fleet Payne (4.40-second 40) have spent the season on Injured Reserve, but Payne is in the 21-day practice window toward activation.
All three have shown, in college and in their short stay to date with the Jets, that they belong in this rookie class, which promises to be productive for seasons to come.
