During the dull period of the draft season that comes after the end of the regular season and before the Senior Bowl, popular draft narratives take shape and solidify. With not much happening to change prospects’ and teams’ outlooks, the draft community ends up saying the same things over and over, until the Senior Bowl, combine, and pro days start shifting the narratives.

The Senior Bowl practices are underway, although most of the biggest takeaways from those are centered around post-first-round prospects. So far, they have done little to shift the first-round outlook.

For about a month now, the majority of NFL mock drafts have continued pushing out a similar prediction for the New York Jets: edge rusher at No. 2, wide receiver at No. 16.

While there is debate around exactly which prospect the Jets should take at each slot, a high percentage of mock drafts agree that New York will target an elite pass-rusher with their early first-round pick before grabbing an offensive playmaker with their second first-round pick.

The consensus mock draft has the Jets selecting Ohio State linebacker/edge rusher Arvell Reese at No. 2, and USC wide receiver Makai Lemon at No. 16. This duo has become the status quo for New York; NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks recently projected them to make these exact selections.

But what if the Jets throw a curveball?

Today, we’re going to focus on the Jets’ alternative options to Lemon with the 16th overall pick.

What if the Jets prefer another prospect over Lemon? What if the NFL is so high on Lemon that he does not even make it to No. 16, after all?

In either event, here are three prospects the Jets could target at No. 16 outside of Lemon.

Penn State G Olaivavega Ioane

The offensive line is far down the Jets’ list of needs. Between offense and defense, it was arguably their best position group in 2025.

That does not mean the entire offensive line is in perfect shape.

The Jets have three above-average starters solidified for the future: left tackle Olu Fashanu, right tackle Armand Membou, and guard/center Joe Tippmann. This leaves two spots that can use an upgrade.

Left guard John Simpson struggled in 2025 and is set for free agency. Center Josh Myers was supposed to be a backup until Alijah Vera-Tucker’s season-ending injury forced him into action, and Myers played every bit like a backup throughout the season, finishing 31st out of 32 qualified centers in Pro Football Focus’ overall grade.

Many fans and prognosticators are ignoring the offensive line as a potential first-round target for the Jets because of the unit’s strength compared to the rest of New York’s decrepit roster. The fact of the matter is that there are two holes on the interior that need filling if the Jets want to push their line from “good” to “great”.

Ranked 19th overall on the consensus big board, Penn State’s Olaivavega Ioane is a top-notch guard prospect who should be taken in the top 20 of this year’s draft.

In 2025, Ioana had a dominant season as the Nittany Lions’ starting left guard, especially in pass protection, where he allowed no sacks, no hits, and four hurries across 12 starts (311 pass-blocking snaps). The senior also committed just one penalty.

Ioane’s run-blocking can use improvement, but he is a stud pass-blocker, and that is what teams want most out of a potential first-round lineman. Protecting the quarterback is the utmost priority in today’s league.

A Jets offensive line with Fashanu, Membou, Tippmann, and Ioane could anchor yearly dominance for years to come. Fill in the final spot with a solid veteran in free agency, and the Jets could compete for the league’s best offensive line in 2026.

Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee

Doubling up on defense in the first round isn’t the sexiest idea in today’s NFL. It’s why few fans and mock drafters have the Jets taking a defensive player at No. 16. The Jets are widely expected to go defense at No. 2, so the next pick has to be dedicated to the offense, right?

Not necessarily.

It must be understood that, as currently constructed, the Jets boast one of the least talented defenses in the history of professional football.

In 2025, the Jets finished with a pass defense DVOA of 45.3%, per FTN Fantasy. Forget ranking 32nd in the league; this is the second-worst mark in NFL history as far back as the metric can be tracked (since 1978). The only team that was less efficient at defending the pass was the 1981 Baltimore Colts.

For a Jets team that just finished a season with zero interceptions and 36 passing touchdowns allowed, allocating two first-rounders to the pass defense might be necessary to get their talent level back up to par for an NFL organization. It cannot be overstated how far away the Jets’ defensive depth chart is from competency.

Thus, it would not be shocking at all if the Jets complemented an edge rusher at No. 2 with another defender at No. 16.

Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy, currently ranked 15th on the consensus big board, is an enticing option. McCoy has displayed a nose for the football, racking up six interceptions in just 25 college games for Oregon State and Tennessee over his first two college seasons. He had four picks in 13 games for the Volunteers in 2024, and he hadn’t even turned 20 years old yet.

Unfortunately, a torn ACL robbed McCoy of his third college season, but that could allow the Jets to steal a premier talent in the mid-first round.

A ball hawk like McCoy could be extremely intriguing to the Jets, who are desperate for one in their secondary. Their primary starting corner in 2025, Brandon Stephens, allowed an 8-to-0 touchdown-to-interception ratio on throws into his coverage.

It is impossible for a team to get any more desperate for defensive playmaking. Thus, a corner like McCoy could easily be the pick at No. 16.

Peter Woods, DT, Clemson

As much as the Jets need speedy rushers on the edge and rangy playmakers in the back end, they also need beef on the inside. Outside of breakout star Jowon Briggs, the Jets’ interior defensive line was a liability of epic proportions in 2025.

Over the Jets’ final nine games after trading Quinnen Williams, Briggs had over twice as many total pressures on his own (29, ninth among DTs) as the rest of the DTs on the Jets’ roster combined (12). That’s barely more than one pressure per game from a group of five players who combined for over 800 defensive snaps.

From Week 9 onward, the Jets’ highest-ranked DT in total pressures outside of Briggs was Harrison Phillips, who tied for 89th at the position with seven. Khalen Saunders picked up the lone sack from a non-Briggs DT over the final nine games, and it hardly counts, as Drake Maye scrambled back to the line of scrimmage in a 35-3 game.

The Jets are lucky that Briggs had the year that he did, because if not, this would have been one of the worst interior pass-rushing units in NFL history.

This is another spot on the field where the Jets are too weak to write off the position at No. 16 just for the sake of balancing offense and defense. If the Jets love a DT at No. 16 more than any other prospect, they must take him.

Clemson’s Peter Woods could fit the bill.

Woods, 20, carved out a role at Clemson as a true freshman and logged 1,258 defensive snaps over three seasons. Ranked 14th overall on the consensus big board, Woods racked up 84 tackles (14.5 for loss) in his career with the Tigers. He can work on finishing sacks (just 5.0 in his career), but Woods was a frequent visitor in opposing backfields, collecting 54 career pressures.

On top of that, Woods is known as a stout run defender.

Whether it’s a cornerback like McCoy or a defensive tackle like Woods, do not sleep on the idea of New York taking a second consecutive defender in the first round. Looking at the on-paper talent of the Jets’ roster, the offense is arguably much better than the defense.

Due to major deficiencies at the game’s most important position, the offense’s results looked similar to the defense in 2025. In terms of cumulative talent, though, there is clearly a lot more for the Jets to work with on offense. A higher quantity of holes exists on defense, and that is where the draft comes in for a Jets team with four top-45 picks.