no major changes are made, the New York Jets will make their first selection in the upcoming National Football League Draft at No. 7.
That’s a good pick and should give the Jets an opportunity to make a high-end move. While this is the case, it likely is too low to land either Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders. The Jets obviously have a need at quarterback and these are the top two guys in this draft class.
The NFL Scouting Combine will kick off on Feb. 27 and we should start to see a lot of chatter about what New York will do. The draft won’t be here until April so nothing set in stone likely will happen yet. Free agency is in between in March and also will play a huge role for New York.
If the Jets can land a quarterback in free agency, maybe they will be content using their pick for a different position. But, what if they don’t sign a veteran?
CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson and Mike Renner shared a hypothetical proposal on “With the First Pick” for the Jets to move up to the No. 1 pick in the draft to select Ward.
“In a recent mock draft conducted by Ryan Wilson and Mike Renner on ‘With the First Pick’ — our year-round NFL Draft podcast — they had the New York Jets being the first club to take a QB, trading up with the Tennessee Titans to the No. 1 overall pick to address their need in the wake of moving on from Aaron Rodgers,” CBS Sports’ Tyler Sullivan shared. “Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Raiders stayed put and ultimately found their franchise cornerstone at the position fall into their laps…
“Mike Renner: “Compared to everyone else, they are in a bad spot to get a quarterback at No. 7 if they don’t make a big play. … This is the class to do it where you’ll have evaluations all over the map. If the Titans aren’t in love and are shopping the pick, I would be the first to call if I’m the New York Jets because if Cam Ward hits, you are a championship-caliber football team very, very quickly.”
Ward is very talented. He was an All-American in 2024 and had 43 total touchdowns — including 39 passing touchdowns — in just 13 games. He’s dynamic and averaged 331.8 passing yards per game in 2024.
It would cost a lot to move up to the No. 1 pick, but maybe a move would be worth it. Everything at this point is hypothetical but we should have a better view at the Jets’ plans once free agency gets here in March.
