PHOENIX — The construction of the 2026 Jets is only partly done, but general manager Darren Mougey expressed optimism Monday about what the team has done so far and in preparation for in the NFL draft.
“I feel really good about where we came out as a team,” Mougey said of free agency, “and last week got a chance to get on the road and get out to some pro days and some workouts, which was great. Now we’re here this week and looking forward to getting back to Jersey at the end of the week and starting the draft process and building the board and jumping full bore into the draft.”
Mougey hit on a number of topics during an eight-minute session with reporters. From players currently on the roster to players who may be soon, Mougey shared some thoughts.
This was the first time Mougey has spoken with reporters since the team placed the franchise tag on running back Breece Hall. He sounded hopeful the team can get a long-term deal done with Hall before the July 15 deadline.
“Things are in a good place and I’m hopeful with Breece,” Mougey said. “Obviously, we’ll get through this draft process. And after the draft kind of shift my focus back there and hopefully get something done with Breece.”
Before he gets to those negotiations, Mougey must navigate the draft. The Jets have two picks in both the first and second rounds and one of the big questions is whether the team will take Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson. The Jets held a private workout with Simpson on Friday and had dinner with him the night before.
“It was a good visit with Ty,” Mougey said. “I really enjoyed the time down there. We went to dinner and had a workout in the morning with him. It was good.”
The big knock on Simpson is his limited experience in college. He started only 15 games for Alabama.
“I mean obviously we want the biggest sample size we can,” Mougey said. “It’s always projections with all these draft players, right? So, the bigger the sample size naturally you might feel a little better about it. But we’ll still evaluate and there’s a lot of good things to see in the games he did play.”
There is a thought that the Jets might pass on a quarterback this year because the 2027 draft is believed to be better for quarterbacks. Mougey was asked how much teams discuss the following year’s draft when planning this year’s approach.
“Those discussions happen a little bit, but really we’re so focused on the work we got to do now and there’s so much work and we’ve got so much opportunity this year in this class,” Mougey said. “So, most of the focus is on [this year]. I mean there are some discussions about it, but those are big projections and we’ve all seen that landscape change. So you never know. So you really need to be in the now and focus on the now.”
As for the quarterback of the moment, Mougey addressed the trade for Geno Smith to be the team’s starter in 2026.
“We had a lot of good discussions about Geno,” Mougey said. “Obviously you guys know Geno well too and his familiarity here in New York. But last year we evaluated Geno as well and had good grades on him and had some guys that are familiar with him and felt like he would be a good fit for what we’re doing moving forward.”
At the moment, the only quarterbacks on the roster are Smith, Bailey Zappe and Brady Cook. The Jets are going to need to add a backup for Smith at some point.
“We feel good about the quarterback room but could potentially add another guy to the room before the draft,” Mougey said. “We’ll see where that goes. But we’ll monitor that quarterback market.”
The other big hole on the roster right now is second wide receiver, but Mougey downplayed that idea.
“I feel good about the wide receiver room,” Mougey said. “Obviously getting Garrett [Wilson] back and healthy will be big for us and seeing A.D. Mitchell and Isaiah [Williams] and Arian [Smith], having those guys take the next step and continue to grow. But, like all positions, we’ll continue to evaluate the markets and see is there an opportunity to add competition and depth?”
