New York Jets 2026 Profile

Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Aaron Glenn
Offensive Coordinator: Frank Reich
Defensive Coordinator: Brian Duker
Special Teams Coordinator: Chris Banjo

2025 Summary (W-L Record: 3-14)

What can you say about the 2025 Jets? They were a disaster. One of the worst teams in football. The laughingstock of the NFL once again.

Just look at these numbers:

Excuse me one second:

New York couldn’t stop anyone. They couldn’t get interceptions or force turnovers. They couldn’t get to the quarterback.

Offensively, their QB situation was a mess. They were dead last in passing yards per game, net passing yards per attempt, and completions of 20 yards or more. They were 2nd to last in QB rating (Hey, remember when Jets fans and media used to complain about having Aaron Rodgers as their quarterback?!).

As has become Jets tradition, the next year’s draft became the main focus of discussion in October. By midseason, there were talks of making head coach Aaron Glenn one-and-done.

GM Darren Mougey started trading away players like Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams, who were once thought to be the young core of a franchise turnaround.

The Jets were outscored 188-54 across their final 5 games, which looked as close to a tank as anything we’ve seen in recent memory.

It was about as ugly of a season as you can get.

Key Additions

QB Geno Smith
QB Cade Klubnik (4th Rd, 110th Overall)
WR Omar Cooper, Jr. (1st Rd, 30th Overall)
WR Tim Patrick
TE Kenyon Sadiq (1st Rd, 16th Overall)
LG Dylan Parham

DL David Onyemata
DL T’Vondre Sweat
DL Darrell Jackson Jr. (4th Rd, 103rd Overall)
EDGE David Bailey (1st Rd, 2nd Overall)
EDGE Joseph Ossai
EDGE Kingsley Enagbare
LB Demario Davis
CB Nahshon Wright
CB D’Angelo Ponds (2nd Rd, 50th Overall)
S Minkah Fitzpatrick
S Dane Belton

Key Losses

QB Justin Fields
QB Tyrod Taylor
WR John Metchie
WR Tyler Johnson
LG John Simpson

DL Quinnen Williams
DL Jay Tufele
DL Khalen Saunders
EDGE Jermaine Johnson II
EDGE Micheal Clemons
LB Quincy Williams
CB Sauce Gardner
S Tony Adams
S Isaiah Oliver

Biggest Questions Entering 2026

How different will the Jets defense look this year?
The Jets defense was bad last season. I mean really bad. I mean I had as many interceptions sitting on my couch as the entire defense did. A big fat 0. They basically turned every opposing QB into an MVP-caliber player.

This year should be much different, however.

First, Aaron Glenn has said that he will be taking over defensive play-calling duties. That’s what he did in Detroit as the defensive coordinator, and that played a huge role in him landing a head coaching job in the first place. His butt is on the line this year and he isn’t taking any chances. Nor should he be.

And this season, he might actually have the dogs to execute the defense the way he wants to.

It starts with the pass rush.

The Jets took edge rusher David Bailey with the 2nd overall pick in this year’s draft. Bailey is a pass rusher, plain and simple. He is a natural at getting after quarterbacks, and he does so with a combination of quickness and explosive speed off the edge, as well as an assortment of effective moves:

The combo of Bailey and Will McDonald (18.5 sacks over the last two seasons) attacking off the edge with speed has the potential to help steer this defensive ship in the right direction immediately.

Not to mention, they have good pieces at all three levels now. The Jets signed 14-year veteran linebacker Demario Davis. He’s still as good and as smart as any linebacker in the league.

The Jets also traded for 8-year veteran safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Those two are going to lead this defense, and it’s hard to imagine with their experience that we’ll see as many coverage lapses and mental mistakes as we did a year ago. Not to mention, Fitzpatrick is a versatile safety who can help Glenn execute his defense in a variety of ways specific to each opponent.

The Jets also added cornerbacks Nahshon Wright (via free agency) and D’Angelo Ponds (via the draft). On paper, this secondary is much improved.

I feel that first interception coming on real soon!

Can the offense become respectable?
Your response to this might be, who cares? All that matters is 2027 and beyond. This is just a transition year all the way around and the Jets will have a new quarterback next year anyway.

While most of that might be true, the Jets would benefit by having a competent offense in 2026. The reason is not just to prevent another year of embarrassment. The reason is that you need the players around the quarterback position to be getting 17 games’ worth of quality reps.

Rookies Omar Cooper, Jr. and Kenyon Sadiq need to learn how to play their positions the right way at the NFL level. They need the routes that they run well to be rewarded with targets. They need their poorly-run routes to be met with throws out of their reach or non-targets altogether. They need good habits reinforced and bad habits removed.

Quite frankly, the same is true for players like Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall, who still need more development and refinement.

The Jets collectively need 17 more games under their belt to prime the offense for whoever does become the quarterback of the future in 2027 and beyond.

That’s why they traded for a veteran like Geno Smith. That’s why they hired Frank Reich to be the offensive coordinator. They needed professionals on the team who can bring stability and make the offense a functioning operation.

And there’s no reason why, with the talent they’ve added, that offensive line, and players like Hall and Wilson returning, they can’t be respectable.

Will the Jets be in position to get their QB of the future in next year’s draft?
The Jets are a much-improved team on both sides of the ball. But I don’t think anyone is under the illusion that they’re going to be a contender this year. And even if they are, the re-birth of this franchise starts when they get their quarterback in the 2027 NFL Draft.

The question is, will they be in position to get their guy?

It’s almost impossible to predict this type of thing. The NFL is the greatest reality TV show out there, and the unexpected happens weekly.

That said, the Jets front office has done everything they can to put themselves in position to get a quarterback of the future next year. They’ve been gearing up for that 2027 QB draft class since last season, with GM Darren Mougey wheeling and dealing to ultimately get the Jets 3 first-round picks (theirs, the Colts’, and the Cowboys’).

The problem is (strangely) that the Jets had a really good offseason. They added a ton of talent. I don’t think it’s out of the question at all for them to win 6-8 games. And if they do that, they won’t be picking high enough to be able to take one of the top quarterbacks with their own pick.

Perhaps the Colts and Cowboys will have disastrous seasons that get the Jets a higher pick. Will any of those be at the very top of the draft, though? The odds aren’t great.

And at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how many picks they have. If teams like the Cardinals or Browns, who also need QBs of the future, own the top-2 picks, they likely won’t be trading out no matter what they’re offered.

It would be a shame for the Jets to end up with the 3rd or 4th best QB in the 2027 class after all the great trades and positioning they’ve done. Short of tanking or the Colts and/or Cowboys landing at the very top of the draft, their best bet is to have a team that isn’t in need of a quarterback picking near the top. They’d be more than willing to trade out and accumulate picks if they have their QB of the future. Maybe we’ll see something like that with the Raiders, for instance.

In that case, the Jets are better positioned than anyone to trade up.

All that being said, maybe the upcoming class is good enough that getting the 3rd or 4th best QB in it wouldn’t be a bad thing? Again, there are a lot of unknowns as things stand right now.

Unfortunately for the Jets, this isn’t Madden. It’s impossible to orchestrate an entire regular season with the specific goal in mind of getting the #1 overall pick. Players and coaches this year don’t give a damn about next year’s draft positioning. They want to win every week. So you won’t see them tanking just to get their quarterback of the future.

Will Aaron Glenn make it through 2026?
This question is the #1 reason why a tank isn’t happening. Aaron Glenn isn’t surviving another embarrassing season. It does him no good to drive this thing into the ground so the head coach hired after him gets to have his quarterback of the future.

Starting with his decision to call the plays, Glenn is going to do everything that he can to prove that he is the best man for the job moving forward. The best players are going to play. Development will take a back seat.

As I mentioned above, 6-8 wins is realistic for the Jets given their infusion of talent on both sides of the ball. But while that would be an improvement, it’s still a gray area where the Jets would probably feel justified either keeping Glenn or firing him.

I have a hunch that the final decision will ultimately be a feel thing. A smell test. Does he look like he has this team headed in the right direction? If he doesn’t, he won’t be around for 2027.

2026 Outlook

The expectations are low for the Jets, but as I mentioned above, they have too much new talent on the team to be as bad as they were a year ago.

The hope for Aaron Glenn is that his year 2 with the Jets goes like it did when he was the Lions Defensive Coordinator under Dan Campbell. In their first year, Detroit went 3-13-1 and looked like a mess.

Then in year 2, they added some of the players who were better fits for what they wanted to do, including #2 overall pick and edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson (similar to what the Jets just did with their #2 overall pick). They started 1-6 but then won 8 of their final 10 games, narrowly missing the playoffs.

Then they became one of the best teams in the NFL.

The hope for the Jets is that they’re on a similar path.