NFL power rankings: Jets are buried despite 2026 draft praise

The New York Jets received plenty of praise for their work at the 2026 NFL Draft. The team ended up with three selections in Round 1 which turned into edge David Bailey, receiver Omar Cooper Jr. and right end Kenyon Sidiq.

Even The Ringer praises that hauled… but the outlet still buried the Jets on their latest 2026 NFL offseason power rankings.

In lining up each team head-to-head, the Jets were placed in dead last in the league, No. 32 overall.

How did The Ringer get there? While there is praise for the Jets’ draft, there are questions raised, too.

The breakdown can be found below:

If we were ranking based only on the results of the 2026 NFL draft, New York wouldn’t be at the bottom. The Jets made a couple of surprising moves, taking edge rusher David Bailey second (instead of edge-linebacker hybrid Arvell Reese); drafting tight end Kenyon Sadiq with the no. 16 pick, a year after selecting Mason Taylor in the top 100; and then trading back up into the first round to get receiver Omar Cooper Jr. at no. 30. Each of these players should be an immediate starter and can contribute to this rebuild, setting up a better landing spot for the next rookie (or veteran) quarterback the Jets add in 2027.

But we’re not giving New York points for what might happen in the future. Geno Smith might be an upgrade over Justin Fields at quarterback, but Smith was still one of the five worst starters in the league in 2025, when he was with the Raiders. Aaron Glenn’s defense also added a bunch of aging or underwhelming veterans to an already bad unit, which is an early candidate to be the worst in football. Success for this team would be getting the no. 1 pick in 2027, which makes it deserving of the 32nd spot in these rankings.

This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: NFL power rankings: New York Jets are buried despite 2026 draft praise