After a brutal 3-14 season, the New York Jets are selecting second overall in the 2026 NFL Draft. Coming so close to the top pick, the Jets are poised to miss out on the best player, Fernando Mendoza, to the Las Vegas Raiders.
But second overall, the Jets might not have the best options. A quarterback might not declare who's worth a first-round pick, and the non-quarterback options, while solid, aren't the transformational player the Jets are looking for.
However, even if a player does become available, the Jets' history with the second overall pick is not great. As Rich Cimini of ESPN shares, the history of the Jets picking 2nd in the NFL Draft is not great.
Jets' NFL Draft history at 2nd overall is not ideal
"The Jets have made three selections at No. 2 overall in the common-draft era." Cimini writes. "They didn't work out too well: 2021: QB Zach Wilson. 1990: RB Blair Thomas. 1980: WR Lam Jones (trade up)."
Zach Wilson is the most recent, and arguably the biggest bust of this list. Drafted with the hope of being the franchise quarterback, Wilson struggled immensely for the Jets.
The BYU quarterback played three seasons with the Jets, going 12-21 with a 57% completion percentage, 23 total passing touchdowns, and 25 total interceptions in 34 games for the Jets from 2021 through 2023.
Thomas played four seasons with the Jets, rushing for 728 yards and three touchdowns in his best season with the team. He never had more than 1,000 yards from scrimmage, and over the four years, he totaled 2,482 scrimmage yards, a hair above 600 yards per season.
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Jones played the longest, lasting five seasons with the Jets, but his NFL career didn't continue after his Jets tenure. He played in 61 games over these fives season, hauling in 138 catches for 2,322 yards and 13 touchdowns in that span.
While he wasn't the worst player, his production for a player taken second overall was far from ideal. He didn't last long with the Jets, never having more than 750 yards in any season of his career.
If the Jets stick and pick at second overall, their history doesn't bode well for their odds of landing a player worth that selection. This could easily be broken with a great pick in this draft, but it's a worrying undercurrent of the upcoming draft for the Jets.
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