Former Scout Daniel Jeremiah believes the QB-hungry Jets should steer clear of the position in the 2026 NFL Draft.
The quarterback desperate New York Jets happen to have Nos. 2 and 16 in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. That's typically going to be enough ammunition to go get a top-tier signal caller in most years.
The problem this April is that only presumptive No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza has a consensus first-round grade and he's earmarked for Las Vegas. Instead of pushing lesser prospects like Alabama's Ty Simpson or LSU's Garrett Nussmeier up the board out of desperation, lead NFL Draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah believes the long-suffering Jets should be thinking about building a bridge instead of betting on a longshot. One of the former Eagles scout's ideas during his annual pre-scouting combine video conference call with reporters was the NYJ dealing for Eagles' backup quarterback Tanner McKee. “To me, I was looking at a couple of names, like I would kick the tires on, I don’t know if they’d be available, but for Frank Reich, there I was thinking about McKee with the Eagles," Jeremiah said. "Like, what would that cost? I was thinking about Davis Mills. Those are a couple of guys that I’d be curious about taking a flier on for a year if you could trade a mid-round pick." The case for dealing McKee, who turns 26 in April, is spinning him off for an asset, rather than letting him play out the final year of his rookie deal and lose him for nothing on the open market next spring.The complication with that is if Philadelphia GM Howie Roseman deals McKee, the Eagles' don't have a backup in-house with 2025 QB3 Sam Howell set to hit free agency. Furthermore, Roseman's idea in drafting and developing QBs like McKee is about getting multiple cost-effective years at QB2 rather than having to pay a premium for a veteran backup. Despite any of hurdles, though, Jeremiah believes the Jets should steer clear of the QBs at the top of the draft. “I’m not taking a quarterback at 2 or 16 in my opinion," said Jeremiah. "If you want to take a flier at 33 or 44? I don’t even love that, to be honest."“I don’t think I’d lean in the direction of the draft for their quarterback this year. I think they will be all in for that next year,” Jeremiah explained.“I wouldn’t be surprised if 33, which is always a pick that has some value as teams go to sleep and come back and look at who is still on the board, could trade down and pick up another asset in next year’s draft. I think that would make some sense,” Jeremiah said. If that's the case the Jets could be ready to strike in 2027 at QB with a better roster around the new on-field leader. “If you go into next year with a bunch of picks, if your offensive line is in good shape, if your defensive line is in good shape, and you can find your quarterback of the future at that point in time, I think that is the right way to go," Jeremiah said. "Who knows, maybe you hit the lottery on one of these younger veterans that you can try and get. That makes more sense to me than trying to force it on a quarterback in the draft."JOHN MCMULLEN John McMullen is a veteran reporter who has covered the NFL for over two decades. The current NFL insider for JAKIB Media, John is the former NFL Editor for The Sports Network where his syndicated column was featured in over 200 outlets including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Miami Herald. He was also the national NFL columnist for Today's Pigskin as well as FanRag Sports. McMullen has covered the Eagles on a daily basis since 2016, first for ESPN South Jersey and now for Eagles Today on SI.com's FanNation. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube.com. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey and part of 6ABC.com's live postgame show after every Eagles game. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
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