Clock is ticking fast on freefalling Jets draft pick as fan belief plunges

The New York Jets' biggest weakness this offseason is obviously the wide receiver position. They've yet to make an addition to the room, and have only two proven players on the roster in Garrett Wilson and Adonai Mitchell.

General manager Darren Mougey can't make the same mistake he made last season, entering the season with Wilson and a bunch of veterans on one-year deals. After the star went down, Justin Fields was relying on Allen Lazard, Josh Reynolds, and Tyler Johnson.

They were likely hoping that 2025 fourth-round pick Arian Smith would help out a little bit more in his rookie season, but he ended up being a zero when the regular season rolled around.

Maybe wide receiver wouldn't be as bad of a need as it is right now had Smith shown some promise throughout his rocky rookie season.

Arian Smith is running out of time with the Jets

Smith ended up playing only 38% of offensive snaps last season in New York, catching seven passes on only 16 targets for 52 yards. He also had 13 rushing yards on four attempts.

Despite his blazing speed, the former Georgia Bulldog was tabbed as a reach during the 2025 NFL Draft by draft expert Connor Rogers, and he was proven right throughout his rocky rookie year.

"He was a track guy, but he is still a track guy. That’s the problem for me. 10 drops in 2024. I mean that is a 16.7% drop rate on catchable targets. That is one of the worst rates in college football...I thought this was a sixth-round player...I don’t understand that pick."

Connor Rogers

There's still a chance Smith could develop into something for New York. It's hard to judge any of the Jets' weapons last season due to the abysmal quarterback play they were working with, but the 110th overall pick could hardly get on the field after the team acquired Mitchell and John Metchie.

It didn't help that Smith was also a healthy scratch for the Jets' Week 13 game against the Atlanta Falcons for disciplinary reasons. That's just unacceptable for any NFL player, let alone a rookie.

With a new offensive coordinator and (hopefully) better quarterback play from Geno Smith, the Georgia product has the opportunity to turn things around in 2026.

But Smith faces a long road ahead of him thanks to the hole he dug himself throughout 2025, and the Jets are expected to add several new faces to the wide receiver room in the draft and veteran market that will surely push him even further down the depth chart.