General managers can't stop raving about the Jets' 2026 draft class

Darren Mougey crushed it.

Charlie Baduini

New York Jets general manager Darren Mougey / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The New York Jets' 2026 NFL Draft class has been earning rave reviews from fans and analysts alike, considering the players they selected and where they selected them.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that the Jets were able to land three players in the first round. It's incredibly reminiscent of the 2022 draft class, which saw New York land two top players with their first two picks and then trade up into the back end of the first round for another top prospect.

Hopefully, Texas Tech's David Bailey, Oregon's Kenyon Sadiq, and Indiana's Omar Cooper Jr. pan out as well as Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson, and Jermaine Johnson did, despite how Gardner and Johnson's Jets tenures ended.

It's not fans and analysts who are bullish on the Jets draft class, though, and according to FanSided's Jason La Canfora, opposing general managers are impressed as well.

Anonymous GMs incredibly impressed with Jets' 2026 draft class

According to FanSided's own La Canfora, general managers around the league have expressed to him just how impressed they are with New York's draft class.

Heck, La Canfora even comes out and says "the New York Jets may have won the damn draft," which is certainly something you don't hear every year.

"They got a lot better. They came out with five starters. I keep looking at their board, and it’s a really strong group of players."
Anonymous GM via Jason La Canfora

Another general manager noted that he felt the Jets reached on Cooper at the end of the first round, but overall felt the class was "great."

"I thought they did a great job, like I really like their draft. I wasn’t as high on Cooper for the first round, but he is definitely going to help them. Sadiq was a really nice pick up, too."
Separate anonymous GM

La Canfora notes that the Jets did a really good job of setting up their roster for a future young quarterback, which was probably their intent coming into this year's draft.

Armed with three first-round picks in 2027, the Jets will certainly grab a young signal caller, and he'll immediately have plenty to work with.

A good young offensive line, and multiple quality weapons to work with in running back Breece Hall, wide receivers Garrett Wilson, Adonai Mitchell, and Cooper, and two young tight ends in Sadiq and Mason Taylor.

Charlie Baduini

Charlie Baduini covers the New York Jets as a site expert for The Jet Press and FanSided. He is a sports journalist based in Northern New Jersey with a wide variety of sports reporting experience in print and broadcast journalism. Baduini’s byline can also be seen on Heavy and The Sporting News, where he covers several teams across the NFL and NBA. His work has been featured in Heavy, Athlon Sports, The Sporting News, Yahoo Sports, MSN, and Yardbarker. He also serves as a seasonal intern for ESPN, working as a production assistant for the Heisman Trophy Ceremony every year since 2022. Baduini has been a Jets fan for as long as he can remember, with his family's fandom dating back to the 1960s when his grandfather, Louis, became a season ticket holder. His family has since held on to the tickets to this day. He is an avid fan of the New York Knicks and New York Mets.