ESPN draft expert believes Jets dominated the 2026 NFL Draft

The NFL draft has come and gone, and per annual tradition, local New York Jets media have taken to overanalyzing everything. And with a franchise so bereft of playoff success, how can you blame us? This is the most crucial time of year... every year.

Walking away with eight brand-new employees, Darren Mougey certainly had his hands full during all three days of the draft. And while local media obsesses over each pick, national media has also shone a spotlight on New York's work. But, against all odds, it appears that it's for a positive reason. It appears the Jets may have had an outstanding draft. If you ask ESPN's Matt Miller, he might even tell you that Mougey was "in his bag."

Of the 257 picks, Miller ranked the top 100. He did so, factoring in not only talent, but value, scheme-fit, needs addressed, and capital used to obtain said pick. And if you comb through the first eight on his list, you might see a recurring name pop up... not once, not twice, but three times. This is more than any other team.

Spoiler alert: that team is the New York Jets. Let's evaluate each of those picks that cracked the upper echelon of Miller's rankings.

Omar Cooper Jr.- WR, Indiana

Rank by Miller: 5th

I think I can speak for most Jets fans when I say that we were pleased to hear Cooper's name announced at the tail-end of night one on Thursday. And for good reason.

During his four years in Bloomington, he improved every single season, culminating in a breakout 2025/26 that included 69 receptions for 937 yards with a staggering 13 touchdowns. The 6-foot speedster is a menace in space, which shouldn't be surprising considering his 4.42 40-yard dash time. He uses every single ounce of his 200-pound frame to break tackles and evade secondary threats from there.

He's sure-handed with a 4.2% drop rate and an 82.9 Pro Football Focus HandsDrop grade. He's a natural in the slot, where he lined up 324 times last season to just 61 out wide. But NFL.com's draft expert, Lance Zierlein, notes that Cooper Jr. has the talent to play all over the field in his official scouting report, citing versatility as one of his strengths.

Miller had Cooper Jr. at 15 on his final big board. So the Jets snagging him at pick 30 is a notch on Darren Mougey's draft belt.

David Bailey- Edge, Texas Tech

Rank by Miller: 6th

After weeks upon weeks upon months upon months of debate about who the Jets should, and will, select with the second overall pick, we finally got our answer when Roger Goodell announced David Bailey's name early on Thursday evening. We knew they were going to take an edge rusher, but now we know exactly who.

David Bailey was absolutely dominant this past season for the Red Raiders. After flying through his time at Stanford, Bailey broke out upon his transfer to the Big 12. In 14 games at Texas Tech, the 6-foot-3, 251-pound freight-train compiled 19.5 tackles-for-loss, which led the conference, and 14.5 sacks, which led the entire country.

He also tacked on 23 QB-hits and 43 hurries, and was awarded an outstanding 93.8 PFF pass-rush grade. But his impact doesn't end entirely with outside rushing. He finished 2025/26 with an 88.2 PFF coverage grade, an 83.7 tackle grade, an 81.5 run-defense grade, and 40 defensive stops. This is a machine that can impact winning on day one.

Miller placed Bailey's pick this high mostly due to team fit rather than value. He had Bailey ranked sixth overall, below the obvious alternative, Arvel Reese out of Ohio State. But he notes that Bailey is more pro-ready, something Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey need like oxygen. They don't have time to wait. And we Jets fans have long since exhausted all our patience.

D'Angelo Ponds- CB, Indiana

Rank by Miller: Eighth

Following the swipe of Omar Cooper Jr. at the end of round one, the Jets attempted to top that by grabbing D'Angelo Ponds, again from the Hoosiers, with the 50th overall pick, despite Miller rating Ponds as the 36th best player on the board.

After a solid freshman season at James Madison University, Ponds followed head coach Curt Cignetti to Bloomington, where he would ultimately also excel. In two seasons, he combined for 118 tackles, five interceptions, including one pick-six in the semi-finals, and 20 passes deflected, which led the Big 10 last season.

He's not a big guy, standing at 5-foot-9 and weighing just 182 pounds. But what he lacks in size, he makes up for in tenacity. He finishes tackles. He fights through bigger receivers. He even blocked two punts in 2025. He plays hard and fast. And he knows how to win. He's what Aaron Glenn needs on this defense.

Hopefully, the trend of drafting Hoosiers brings their recent wave of success with them. If that's the strategy, I can't knock it. Nothing else has seemed to work. And ultimately, it helped Darren Mougey earn an A grade from one of the industry's top experts.

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