Jets land near-perfect 2026 draft order outcome thanks to Week 18 chaos

The New York Jets officially put to bed a miserable 2025 season with a 35–8 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 18, finishing the year with a dismal 3–14 record.

It was an ugly end to an ugly season, one that saw head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey endure a brutal first year on the job behind one of the weakest on-field products the franchise has rolled out in recent memory.

The roster the Jets put on the field down the stretch was patched together, and, in many cases, barely NFL-caliber. Of course, that was partially by design, as the Jets hoped to improve their draft position over the final few games of the season.

Their efforts did not prove to be in vain. And thanks to a perfect storm of Week 18 chaos around the league, the day couldn’t have gone much better for the Jets when it came to draft positioning.

A handful of unlikely results combined to produce what is close to a best-case scenario for the Jets, giving the organization a golden opportunity to accelerate its rebuild.

Where will the Jets pick in the 2026 NFL Draft order?

The biggest win of the day for the Jets came via the New York Giants’ stunning upset of the Dallas Cowboys. Entering Week 18, the Jets were slotted to pick third overall, with the Giants sitting at No. 2. But that result changed everything.

The Giants’ win dropped them all the way to the No. 5 pick, while the Jets leapfrogged into the No. 2 overall selection without having to lift a finger. As a result, the Jets will officially pick second in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Picking No. 2 should give the Jets a clear path to one of the top quarterback prospects in this class without having to trade up or sacrifice future assets. The Las Vegas Raiders hold the No. 1 pick and are widely expected to target a quarterback, but the Jets will now be sitting comfortably behind them.

Assuming Oregon’s Dante Moore declares, the Jets should have a realistic shot at either Moore or Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, which is a luxury they wouldn’t have had from No. 3.

But it gets even better. The Jets also own the Indianapolis Colts’ first-round pick, and that selection received a significant boost on Sunday. The Colts, who once started the season 7–1, finished 8–9 after another Week 18 loss.

Combined with wins by the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings, that result pushed the Colts’ pick down to No. 16 overall. Considering that pick was once projected near the bottom of the round when the trade was made, landing at No. 16 is an enormous win for the Jets.

Second-round chaos also broke New York’s way. The Giants’ win over the Cowboys dropped Dallas’ second-round pick, which the Jets own, to No. 44 overall. Meanwhile, the Raiders’ upset of the Kansas City Chiefs created a same-record tiebreaker scenario that quietly benefits the Jets.

Due to the NFL’s alternating draft-order rules, the Jets will pick first in the second round at No. 33, while the Raiders slide to No. 36. The Jets will pick second in Round 1, first in Round 2, fourth in Round 3, and third in Round 4, while the Raiders, Cardinals, and Titans alternate with them.

That rotation disproportionately favors the Jets, though, because they don’t even own their third-round pick, meaning they get the Round 2 benefit without the Round 3 penalty.

The only result that didn’t break perfectly was Sunday night’s Steelers–Ravens game, where Pittsburgh’s win on a missed Tyler Loop field goal prevented the Colts’ pick from climbing to No. 15. Still, considering that selection was once projected as low as 32nd, it’s hard to imagine Jets fans complaining.

Sunday officially ended a brutal Jets season, but from a draft-capital standpoint, it was close to a perfect day. Glenn and Mougey now enter the offseason armed with the No. 2 and No. 16 picks in the first round, the No. 33 pick at the top of Round 2, and another premium selection at No. 44.

That should be ample ammunition to reshape the roster and put forth a much-improved product in 2026. That's all Jets fans can hope for at this stage.