The early bird gets the worm, in this case, the talented wide receiver.
In Jordan Reid’s latest mock draft for ESPN, he proposed a trade that would deliver a star pass catcher to the green and white.
New York Jets receive: a 2026 first-round pick (No. 12 overall)
Dallas Cowboys receive: a 2026 first-round pick (No. 16 overall, a 2026 fourth-round pick (No. 103 overall), and a 2026 seventh-round pick (No. 218 overall)
With that selection, he projected that the Jets would be moving up to select USC wide receiver Makai Lemon.
“The Jets have four selections in the top 44, which gives them the ability to move up to add to a wide receiver room that consists of Garrett Wilson, Adonai Mitchell, and not much else,” Reid bluntly wrote.
“Lemon is a versatile player who can win from the outside or in the slot. His physical traits won’t wow many, but he’s capable of winning against all types of coverage. His 96.3 receiving yards per game was the third most of any player in the FBS last season. Lemon is also competitive after the catch; his 21 forced missed tackles ranked 14th among FBS receivers in 2025,” Reid added.
NFL Draft Value Chart Breakdown
According to the NFL draft value chart, the Cowboys’ first-round pick, No. 12 overall, is worth 1,200 points.
The Jets’ combination of picks is worth 1,091.8 total points, per the value chart.
In other words, the Jets would be getting a slight discount in this deal. It should be noted that the NFL draft value chart is merely a possible guideline versus a hard-and-fast rule in potential draft trade negotiations.
The Race for the Big 3
There appears to be a top three tier of wide receivers in the 2026 NFL draft. In no particular order, that group includes Ohio State’s Carnell Tate, USC’s Makai Lemon, and Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson.
In a lot of the mock drafts this offseason, all three of those pass catchers have been off the board by the time the Jets are back on the clock in round one at pick 16.
This proposed trade by Reid would ensure that the Jets walk away with one of those top-flight options.
Jets Land a Big Fish on Defense
Reid projected that the Jets would select Ohio State’s Arvell Reese with the No. 2 overall pick in the first round.
“With five first-round picks over the next two years, it’s essential for the Jets to find a bunch of building blocks. Reese’s explosiveness makes him an option at edge rusher or off-ball linebacker. A high-upside prospect, few blockers are able to match his levels of explosion, and he also has the block deconstruction ability to wreak havoc at the first level of the defense. With New York trading edge rusher Jermaine Johnson last week, Reese would kick-start the Jets’ rebuild as a key foundational player to their defense,” Reid explained.
The Jets were likely going to take a pass rusher with the No. 2 overall pick before they traded away Johnson. Now that he has been shipped off, it is all but assured that they will dip their toes into those waters.
Reese had a stellar performance at the NFL Combine and has only increased his draft stock since the end of the college football season.
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