Did you feel it?
That wasn’t an earthquake. (Unless you live on the west coast, in which it might have been; you might want to check that out.)
It was a shift of much greater magnitude: A change in the New York Jets’ expected draft picks on the consensus mock draft at NFL Mock Draft Database.
For about a month following the conclusion of the 2025 season, mock drafters around the universe were dead set on the Jets selecting a specific duo with the second and 16th overall picks in the 2026 NFL draft: Ohio State edge rusher Arvell Reese and USC wide receiver Makai Lemon.
It felt as if every mock draft on the internet would send Reese and Lemon to the Jets. Things were getting boring. Reading mock drafts became a sour endeavor; even more sour than if you were to have a lemon with a Reese’s cup.
Until now.
The Jets finally have an offensive coordinator, Frank Reich, and his arrival in New York has dramatically shifted the Jets’ expected first-round approach in the eyes of all-knowing mock drafters.
As of Feb. 6, here are the top 16 picks of the consensus mock drafts, comprised of mock drafts created over the past week.
- Las Vegas Raiders: Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana (100% of picks)
- New York Jets: Arvell Reese, LB, Ohio State (70%)
- Arizona Cardinals: Francis Mauigoa, OT, Miami (43%)
- Tennessee Titans: Rueben Bain, EDGE, Miami (33%)
- New York Giants: Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State (33%)
- Cleveland Browns: Spencer Fano, OT, Utah (30%)
- Washington Commanders: David Bailey, EDGE, Texas Tech (30%)
- New Orleans Saints: Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame (37%)
- Kansas City Chiefs: Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State (7%)
- Cincinnati Bengals: Peter Woods, DL, Clemson (13%)
- Miami Dolphins: Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU (40%)
- Dallas Cowboys: Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State (27%)
- Los Angeles Rams: Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee (37%)
- Baltimore Ravens: Olaivavega Ioana, IOL, Penn State (27%)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Cashius Howell, EDGE, Texas A&M (28%)
- New York Jets: Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama (21%)
Boom!
Reese remains the heavy favorite at No. 2, but after the hire of Reich, many in the draft community are buying into the idea that New York will draft Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson at No. 16 instead of a wide receiver.
It’s a fascinating shift. On one hand, it makes sense; Reich is a former quarterback who came up in the NFL coaching ranks as a quarterbacks coach. As both an offensive coordinator and head coach, he’s been known as a pass-happy play-caller who prefers three-receiver sets. Given these tendencies, it would not be surprising if Reich wanted to handpick a young quarterback for his system.
However, Reich is 64 years old, and it does not appear that he plans on being in New York for the long haul. He was out of football until he took Stanford’s head coaching job on a one-year basis, essentially as a favor to Andrew Luck. Now, he is basically doing the same favor for his former Jets teammate, Aaron Glenn, attempting to save Glenn’s sinking ship.
In that case, Reich would be more likely to pursue a veteran quarterback who can deliver immediate results than a rookie.
Either way, it seems clear that Reich’s arrival has shifted expectations in the draft community. We’ll see if that holds up on draft weekend.
