The New York Jets hold the No. 2 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, their first time drafting in the top five since 2022.
Neither the Zach Wilson selection or the Aaron Rodgers experiment worked at MetLife, so many expect the team to explore drafting a quarterback in 2026. With Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza projected to go at the top of the draft to Las Vegas, draft experts see the Jets potentially picking Oregon’s Dante Moore second.
In his latest mock draft, The Ringer’s Todd McShay projected exactly that. But in a follow-up episode of his podcast, McShay elaborated on the idea, indicating that if he were advising Moore, he wouldn’t necessarily encourage him to declare for the draft if his fate resided in Gang Green’s hands.
If Moore does not believe the Raiders would consider him first overall, McShay said, he should go back to Oregon, where can make just as much money from NIL, likely improve his draft stock, and evade New York.
“We can live with going to 30 of the 32 teams, maybe it’s 31,” McShay said Sunday on The McShay Show, imagining the conversation among Moore’s reps. “We can’t allow him to go to the New York Jets.”
And in McShay’s eyes, Moore is not alone.
“I promise you, not one single player in this entire draft, unless they grew up a Jets fan or have some kind of family tie, wants to be a New York Jet,” McShay said.
Todd McShay says Dante Moore’s agents should call the Raiders to see if he can go No. 1. If not, he advises Moore to return to school rather than risk being drafted by the Jets.
“I promise you no single player in this draft wants to be a New York Jet.” pic.twitter.com/r0V98QuUQd
— Jake Asman (@JakeAsman) January 5, 2026
The Jets have not made the playoffs since 2010 and have had a winning record just once in that time. Geno Smith, Sam Darnold and Wilson have all come to MetLife Stadium with supposedly bright futures and been chewed up quickly by the Jets organization. Both Smith and Darnold were later rejuvenated after finding new homes.
The case against going to New York for Moore or any promising prospect is not hard to make.
Of course, the other teams at the top of the draft are there for a reason as well. Since Tom Brady bought into the Raiders and remade the organization, nearly every decision has backfired, and the team just fired Pete Carroll after one season. The Cardinals at No. 3 will be on a new head coach as well, and haven’t won a playoff game since 2015. Being a highly drafted player is often a blessing and a curse.
Interestingly, McShay was once a candidate to join the Jets’ front office; in 2019, McShay announced publicly that he was a candidate to join the organization under new general manager Joe Douglas, who was his college teammate.
Douglas was fired last year. And McShay is wasting no time laying out the sad history of the franchise once again.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.