Several holes have been exposed on the New York Jets‘ roster throughout the 2025 season, but none are as glaringly obvious as the quarterback position.
Throughout the year, fans have watched Justin Fields, Tyrod Taylor, and Brady Cook lead the team to varying degrees of failure, with only three wins to show for the brigade of middling quarterbacks.
The Jets will be addressing the position this offseason, that much is clear, but how?
Armed with an abundance of draft capital, New York has options. They could go the bridge route again and find a veteran to spot start in 2026.
Or, they could take another swing at the draft and try to find their franchise signal caller organically, something they haven’t been able to do in almost 20 years.
PFF Mock Draft Has Jets Trading Up With Giants
In the latest mock draft from Pro Football Focus, Max Chadwick has the New York Jets swinging a deal with the New York Giants and trading up to the No. 1 overall pick to land Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
New York Jets receive: 2026 No. 1 overall pick
New York Giants receive: 2026 No. 5 overall pick, 2026 No. 37 overall pick, 2027 first-round pick, 2027 second-round pick
It’s a steep price to pay, but landing a franchise quarterback is arguably the most priceless prospect in American sports.
Mendoza has the opportunity to be that kind of player.
“The Jets package their No. 7 overall pick, one of their three first-round selections in 2027 and a pair of second-round picks to move up and secure a potential franchise quarterback in Mendoza,” wrote Chadwick.
“The reigning Heisman Trophy winner currently ranks fifth among FBS quarterbacks in PFF grade (90.5), while his 33 passing touchdowns lead the nation. He draws comparisons to Jared Goff — a quarterback this Jets coaching staff knows well, with several members having previously worked with Goff in Detroit.”
While Mendoza isn’t a sure-fire lock to be a great NFL quarterback, he provides the highest upside of any incoming trigger man in the 2026 class.
Aside from being a scheme fit, Mendoza’s leadership skills are something the Jets could desperately use, as outside of Garrett Wilson, there aren’t many vocal leaders on offense.
The Case Against Trading Up
Of course, the downside of this mock trade is the New York Jets exhausting a lot of their resources to select one player.
The team has a lot of holes, and New York needs that capital to fully flesh out the roster, which is exactly what NFL draft analyst Connor Rogers pointed out on his Jets podcast, Badlands.
“I almost see people becoming dangerously attached where it’s like, well, he’s the guy and he’s going to go first overall. So give the Titans or the Giants everything. And I’m just mind blown how many times I read that when we’ve watched 9 million quarterbacks here go into situations set up to fail,” Rogers explained.
“And I don’t think the Jets are good enough right now to trade their war chest of picks for any quarterback. And they can come in here and save everything. I think that’s a totally dangerous concept.”
It’s a completely reasonable take, and something Darren Mougey and Aaron Glenn will have to consider when assessing their quarterback options this offseason.
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