Darren Mougey's masterclasses have Jets sitting pretty in under-25 talent ranking

The New York Jets were a nightmare last season, as the lack of enticing young talent paired with a 3-14 record was rancid enough to turn away even the staunchest and most committed fan. General manager Darren Mougey, in tandem with head coach Aaron Glenn, made it a mission to add core building blocks, and the early returns on those moves are promising.

The Jets came in seventh in ESPN's ranking of talent aged 25 and under, which is a major climb up from being ranked 28th last season. Keep in mind that Breece Hall and Joe Tippmann, both of whom the Jets handed multi-year contracts to, don't factor into these rankings anymore due to their age.

What makes this more impressive is that the Jets landed here without a young quarterback waiting in the wings. This team may not win very many games in the 2026 season, but they have set themselves up quite nicely for whenever they choose to take their next swing under center.

Jets' have seventh-most talent under 25 in NFL, per ESPN

Except for veteran starting quarterback Geno Smith, every member of the projected starting offense is under contract for the 2027 season. This includes a stalwart offensive line highlighted by two young bookend tackles in Olu Fashanu on the left side and Armand Membou on the right.

Further away from the ball, the Jets have gone all-in on trying to give their quarterback as many weapons as possible. Even removing Garrett Wilson from the equation, the 1-2 punch of No. 16 pick Kenyon Sadiq and Mason Taylor at tight end will be fun to watch, as will Adonai Mitchell and Omar Cooper Jr. at wide receiver.

On defense, No. 2 pick David Bailey leads the charge on the team's new-look defensive line. The secondary could feature three young long-term building blocks in safety Malachi Moore and a pair of physically opposite cornerbacks in Azareye'h Thomas and rookie D'Angelo Ponds.

The Jets were dealing with the shrapnel of Joe Douglas' NFL Draft mistakes last season, and when compounded with underperforming veterans on one-year contracts, there was no true path to success. The vets they brought in this season are of much higher quality than the stopgaps from 2025.

New York will not be able to make all the puzzle pieces fit together if they are unable to land the quarterback who can make everything work, but with

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow