The 2026 NFL Draft came to an end on Saturday, April 25th. After an exciting first three rounds, fans were intrigued to see how the Jets would finish out their back half of this year’s draft. They had a strong first half, picking up the likes of defensive star David Bailey, otherworldly tight end Kenyon Sadiq, the speedy Omar Cooper Jr., and a potential cornerback to build around for the future of this team, D’Angelo Ponds.
The Jets had four picks left to be made on Saturday, including two in the fourth round, one in the sixth round, and one pick in the seventh and final round of the 2026 NFL Draft. While these players may tend to be a bit of a long shot, they all still have the potential to do something great in this league, and only time will tell if they can achieve that or not. Nonetheless, here’s how the final four picks of the Jets fit into their current team.
Fourth Round: Pick No. 103, Darrell Jackson Jr., DT
The Jets’ first pick of Day Three of the 2026 NFL Draft came a mere three spots into the day. They chose Darrell Jackson Jr, the defensive tackle from Florida State. Overall, this was a very good addition for New York. This could have been used to get an extra body on its interior defensive line. Jackson joins trade acquisition T’Vondre Sweat, Jowan Briggs, free agent signee David Onyemata, and veteran defensive tackle Harrison Phillips.
This is certainly a fairly deep group at the interior of the defensive line. It’s also a good mix of younger and older guys. However, this pick could spell doom for one of the veterans at the position. With Phillips entering the final year of his contract and being due $7.5 million in 2026, that salary is not guaranteed, and the Jets very well could cut him if they like what they see from Jackson at training camp. However, this is very well fairly unlikely.
Simply put, with this pick, the Jets are getting an enormous human being who has starter upside if he can develop. Not bad for someone picked in the fourth round of the NFL Draft. However, the one glaring issue with Jackson is his pass-rushing. That will need the most work. He graded out with a 58.5 in a pass rush grade, 589th among 887 players. Regardless, it was a proactive draft pick from the Jets. Their interior defensive line needed at least one more new face, considering the in-house options.
Fourth Round: Pick No. 110, Cade Klubnik, QB
This one may go down as one of my personal favorite picks of the 2026 NFL Draft for Gang Green. Cade Klubnik is an absolute dog at quarterback, and Clemson fans saw that first-hand throughout his entire college career. Klubnik had a storied yet up-and-down career as a four-year starter at Clemson. He is a pure pocket passer with impressive overall touch, timing, and accuracy. While Klubnik may not be the answer at quarterback, he certainly gives Jets fans a fun development project outside of Geno Smith.
New York clearly wanted him. They traded up with the Cincinnati Bengals, sending them No. 128 and No. 140 in exchange for No. 110 and No. 199, per NFL insider Aaron Wilson. The Jets were always going to take a quarterback in the draft. It was just a matter of who and when. Day 3 made the most sense. While this one has some fans on edge, we’ve seen a lot of good and bad from Klubnik in his time at Clemson. However, if they could harness his good qualities and develop him there, we could be in business.
In his final season at Clemson, Klubnik completed 65.6% of his passes, threw for 2,943 yards, and tossed 16 touchdowns to six interceptions. It was certainly a down year following his 2024 campaign, where the Tigers QB threw for 3,639 yards and 36 touchdowns to only six interceptions. Klubnik may eventually outperform expectations. Maybe he overachieves and, at a minimum, becomes an affordable backup quarterback on a rookie contract. Count on the Jets to draft their quarterback of the future next year.
Sixth Round: Pick No. 188, Anez Cooper, G
The New York Jets are addressing the offensive line with their sixth-round pick, and they got aggressive to get it done. While the Jets already have a young, solid offensive line, you can never add too many bodies. New York shipped picks No. 199 and No. 242 to the Seattle Seahawks to move up to pick No. 188. With that draft pick, the Jets selected Miami guard Anez Cooper, a massive human being who has a chance of developing into a potential starter sometime down the road.
Cooper stands at 6-foot-6 and weighs in at 334 pounds. A four-year starter at Miami, the 22-year-old senior was always positioned as a right guard. According to Pro Football Focus, he was the 91st-best guard in college football last season among 686 qualified players. After the Jets lost Alijah Vera-Tucker and John Simpson in free agency, they needed to add someone who could wait in the wings and develop as a long-term replacement.
The main issue with Cooper is not whether or not he’s a good blocker. There’s a ton to like about him. However, his athleticism is what comes into question. He ran a 5.52 40-yard dash and struggles to move laterally. He’s going to need some work if he wants to be an NFL starter. This is certainly something that can be fixed with hard work. He has pass protection down pat, but if he can refine his game, he can prove he can be a starter in 2027.
Seventh Round: Pick No. 228, VJ Payne, DB
With their final selection in the 2026 NFL Draft, the New York Jets addressed the safety position, adding Kansas State defensive back VJ Payne with the 228th overall pick. The Jets may have truly saved the best for last with this pick. The value here is out of this world for a seventh-round pick. Payne has good size for the position. He stands at 6-foot-3 and weighs in at 208 pounds. He didn’t grade out well according to Pro Football Focus, finishing the season as their 238th-ranked safety out of 914 players, but there are still positives in his game.
According to ESPN’s Rich Cimini, Payne allowed 2.6 yards per attempt as the primary defender in coverage last season, ninth-best in college football and the best in the Big 12. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler had him as the 143rd-best prospect in the class, so it seems like the Jets got some good value on their new safety. The Jets seemed to have found themselves a versatile defensive back with experience playing multiple roles on defense.
We’ll see how the Jets utilize Payne throughout his rookie season. However, it’s unlikely he receives all that much playing time. There are several players ahead of him with much more experience on the depth chart, including former New York Giant Dane Belton, 2025 fourth-round pick Malachi Moore, Andre Cisco, and, of course, Minkah Fitzpatrick. Payne is a raw prospect and is unlikely to make a large impact early on. But he certainly has a chance to learn from the veterans in front of him and turn into a long-term option for the Jets.