Jets top Next Gen draft ranking

NFL Next Gen Stats put the New York Jets at No. 1 in its post-draft class rankings after the 2026 draft wrapped up this weekend. (jetswire.usatoday.com) The Jets’ class was built around three first-round picks: Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey at No. 2, Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq at No. 16 and Indiana wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. at No. 30. (newyorkjets.com) They followed that with Indiana cornerback D’Angelo Ponds at No. 50, Florida State defensive tackle Darrell Jackson Jr. at No. 103, Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik at No. 110, Miami guard Anez Cooper at No. 188 and Kansas State defensive back VJ Payne at No. 228. (newyorkjets.com) Next Gen Stats’ draft model weighs production and athletic testing to estimate value against draft slot, and the Jets landed several players the broader draft market viewed as strong fits or strong values. (nfl.com 1) (nfl.com 2) That helps explain why New York kept showing up near the top of other early report cards. Sharp Football Analysis gave the Jets an A-, placing them among the league’s best classes. (sharpfootballanalysis.com) The Jets’ own roundup of national grades said the Associated Press gave them an A+, Sports Illustrated an A and ESPN an A-. Mel Kiper Jr. highlighted Bailey, Sadiq and Cooper as Day 1 playmakers. (newyorkjets.com) Bailey arrived with the biggest college production number in the class: 14.5 sacks, according to the Jets’ grade roundup citing national evaluators. Kiper also cited Bailey’s 20.4% pressure rate and 4.5 speed. (newyorkjets.com) Sadiq and Cooper addressed a pass-catching group that evaluators saw as thin beyond Garrett Wilson, while Ponds and Jackson added speed and size to the defense. Cade Klubnik, taken in Round 4, gave the Jets a developmental quarterback behind Geno Smith. (newyorkjets.com) CBS Sports also grouped the Jets with the teams that “crush it” in its class-by-class review, a sign that the club’s draft was not just a one-model outlier. (cbssports.com) For a team coming off a 3-14 season and trying to reset its roster, the early verdict was unusually consistent: the Jets left the 2026 draft with one of the league’s most praised classes. (sports.yahoo.com) (jetswire.usatoday.com)