ESPN has finished unveiling its top-10 NFL positional rankings for the 2026 season, compiled through a survey of more than 70 current NFL coaches, executives, and scouts.
The New York Jets were not well-represented. Many players received votes, but the lone Jet to be ranked in his position’s top 10 was running back Breece Hall, who placed 10th.
Two Jets stars dropped out of their position’s top 10 after being ranked there in 2025: wide receiver Garrett Wilson and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Wilson ranked ninth among wide receivers in 2025, while Fitzpatrick placed 10th among safeties. This year, neither player even made their position’s “honorable mentions” section, although both received votes.
Wilson’s drop-out is particularly peculiar. His numbers declined due to a knee injury that cost him 10 games, but he was playing some of his best football before he was sidelined.
Through six games before his injury, Wilson was averaging career-highs in receiving yards per game (65.8) and receiving touchdowns per game (0.67). That was in a run-heavy offense led by one of the league’s worst starting quarterbacks, Justin Fields. The Jets’ second-leading wideout was Josh Reynolds with 72 receiving yards, less than one-fifth of Wilson’s 395, making it easy for opponents to fixate on him.
It’s understandable that voters would lean toward players who logged more reps last year, but it’s also unfair that Wilson’s perception should suffer due to an injury that likely won’t hamper him in the future. Performance-wise, Wilson has only looked better since last year’s vote.
As for Fitzpatrick, there was also little about his performance in 2025 that justified a drop. The eighth-year veteran recorded 82 total tackles, six passes defended, a career-high four tackles for loss, one sack, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble, one interception, and one pick-two (interception on a two-point conversion returned for two points) in a strong all-around season.
Fitzpatrick’s 81.8 overall grade from Pro Football Focus ranked sixth-best among 67 qualified safeties, reflecting his well-rounded impact. While he isn’t the interception machine that he was at his peak, Fitzpatrick remains an elite coverage defender. His 38.5% forced incompletion rate in man coverage ranked second-best at the position in 2025 among safeties to face at least 10 man-to-man targets.
Similar to Wilson, Fitzpatrick’s drop is likely due to the fact that he simply didn’t catch voters’ attention with flashy, surface-level cumulative production. Wilson didn’t play enough games to stand out, and while Fitzpatrick logged 14 games, he didn’t rack up interceptions the way that top-10 newcomer Calen Bullock did.
If the Jets are looking for bulletin-board material to motivate them in 2026, this offseason has given them plenty of it. Every player on the roster has something to prove.
