Everyone knew the New York Jets needed a pass catcher with the 16th overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft.

Yes, everyone—it’s not hyperbole. Ask your neighbor. I guarantee you that they knew. They may have been a Makai Lemon guy or gal, or they may have been on Team Tyson, but either way, they had a take on which weapon the Jets should have taken at No. 16.

Lo and behold, the Jets drafted a pass catcher with the 16th overall pick… it just wasn’t the one that anybody expected.

It wasn’t even the position that anybody expected.

The Jets sent semi-shock waves through Pittsburgh when they chose Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq with the 16th overall pick. Consensus top-three wide receiver Makai Lemon had made it to the Jets, which was unexpected, but the Jets passed on him in favor of Sadiq, despite tight end being viewed as less of a need for the team.

With all of that said, the pick is still a tantalizing one for the future of the Jets’ offense.

In fact, it made history—in the right ways.

While the Sadiq pick was shocking to many Jets fans, New York made sure not to exit the first round without a wide receiver. They traded up three spots to acquire the 30th overall pick and select Indiana wideout Omar Cooper Jr.

In doing so, the Jets became the first team in 57 years to select a tight end and a wide receiver in the first round. The last team to do it was the 1969 Los Angeles Rams, who chose wide receiver Jim Seymour with the 10th pick and tight end Bob Klein with the 21st pick.

That’s not all. Considering that the Jets selected LSU tight end Mason Taylor in the second round of the 2025 draft, the Sadiq selection made New York just the third team in the last 24 years to pick a tight end in the first two rounds of back-to-back drafts.

This should be music to the ears of Jets fans.

Why have the Jets missed the playoffs 15 years in a row? Simple: Offense.

New York has generally been a solid defensive franchise over the course of this drought. They’ve ranked top-8 in total defense in eight of the past 15 seasons, and top-11 in 10 of 15.

Even after a horrid 2025 season, this franchise will be fine defensively. It always has been. After loading up on quality players in free agency and adding David Bailey with the second overall pick, the Jets’ defense is on track to be respectable once again.

The Jets are who they are because they cannot put points on the board. They have gone 10 straight seasons without ranking higher than 23rd in points per game. Their last top-half finish was in 2015, when they placed 11th. They have not ranked top-10 in points per game since 2008.

If the Jets are ever going to squash the stigma that shrouds the organization, they have to start scoring points. And with their selections over the last two drafts, they have invested in their offense in a way that previous regimes never did.

Across just two drafts, general manager Darren Mougey has used four top-45 picks on offensive players:

  • 2025, Round 1, Pick 7: OT Armand Membou
  • 2025, Round 2, Pick 42: TE Mason Taylor
  • 2026, Round 1, Pick 16: TE Kenyon Sadiq
  • 2026, Round 1, Pick 30: WR Omar Cooper Jr.

The first-round TE/WR combo of Sadiq and Cooper is unique to a historic degree. The back-to-back premium tight end picks are also a rare move—one that is very forward-thinking in a modern NFL where multi-TE sets are all the rage.

New York has gone all-in on offensive weaponry. At last, the Jets are doubling down on strengthening the part of the roster responsible for their reputation as a losing franchise.

Eventually, the Jets need a franchise quarterback for it to truly matter. In the meantime, though, solidifying the supporting cast around the quarterback position will only improve the Jets’ odds of eventually developing the signal-caller that can lead them to annual contention for years to come.

The better the Jets’ offense is when they draft a rookie quarterback in 2027, the better his chances of enjoying a smooth development curve into a quality NFL starter. After multiple failed attempts of asking a quarterback to save them, the Jets are wisely taking the approach of building up the infrastructure first.

Defense matters, but the Jets have already seen many times that a strong defense with a weak offense is not a formula that can get them even remotely close to title contention. With their offensive overload in the first two rounds of the last two drafts, the Jets have finally recognized that scoring points is all they should truly be focused on in the quest to flip their fortunes.