The New York Jets are picking second overall in the 2026 NFL Draft, with the Las Vegas Raiders earning the No. 1 overall pick this year.
Both teams need a quarterback, and there’s only one worthy of a high first-round pick. Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza is slated to go first overall, and the Jets are going to miss out on a top quarterback this offseason.
Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic revealed that Jets general manager Darren Mougey reached out to Raiders GM John Spytek. But, as Mougey revealed with a smile, those trade talks didn’t go well.
Jets get bad news on trade talks for No. 1 overall pick
“Darren Mougey said he has talked to John Spytek,” Rosenblatt reports, “but as for the idea of trading with the Raiders for No. 1, he smiled and said: ‘I don’t think that’s happening.'”
The Jets would surely want to trade up to the first overall pick to take Mendoza and land their quarterback of the future.
It won’t be cheap, as it might cost multiple first-round picks, but the Jets likely considered making such a huge trade-up to land the best QB of this draft class.
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However, based on Mougey’s comment on the trade talks with Spytek about a possible trade-up, the odds of such a trade are slim to none.
The Jets need a quarterback, and while they might’ve wanted to trade up to first overall, Spytek has seemingly shut down the trade odds.
This isn’t a surprise at all, hence why Mougey announced this bad news with a smile, with a slightly joking tone. A trade-up to No. 1 overall isn’t going to happen, and Mougey’s answer makes that very clear.
