After loading up on draft assets galore with not one, not two, but four big deals in the hours before the 2025 NFL trade deadline, New York Jets fans the world over have their eyes on the future, specifically on April 23-25, when the 2026 NFL Draft will land in Pittsburgh for three days of new acquisitions.
Sure, they still have to suffer through a few more months of lopsided losses, which will only grow more so without Sauce Gardner and Quennin Williams on defense, but the eventual spoils will be worth it, especially if New York can finally find the franchise quarterback they’ve been looking for since, what, Mark Sanchez?
But who should the Jets target? Well, ESPN’s Field Yates broke it down on NFL Live and identified three players fans should keep an eye on.
“Yeah, let’s start with who’s been perhaps the best quarterback in all of college football this season. That’s Fernando Mendoza for Indiana. He’s completing north of 72 percent of his passes. He’s got this powerful arm, has accuracy to all levels of the field. 25 touchdown passes this season. He played at Cal the prior two years, Laura, and around better infrastructure in Indiana, he has cleaned up some of the areas which he was not brilliant at last season. Seeing some real growth from him. I do expect him to declare for this upcoming draft,” Yates explained.
“Ty Simpson is just like a runaway train right now. He has 20 touchdowns, one interception. First-year starter for Alabama who waited and waited and waited some more to become the starting quarterback. Few people thought he would be on the NFL draft radar, and he may go back to Bama for one more season, but he is showing out with major accuracy each and every week and doing an incredible job protecting the football.
“Another guy who has really burst onto the scene this year, Oregon quarterback Dante Moore, has already thrown for 19 touchdown passes this season. Now he arrived as a true freshman at UCLA is one of the best prospects in all of college football. He started five games, and he has since basically been a backup. He backed up Dylan Gabriel last season, has very good downfield accuracy, has some good but not elite mobility, but can do some stuff with his legs as well. I would say right now, evaluators do think there’s a chance to go back for one more season in Eugene. If he does declare, though, you can bet he’ll go very early in the draft.”
Now granted, as Yates noted, Moore, Simpson, and some of the other arms fans like such as LaNorris Sellers could artificially limit the QB supply in next year’s class if they decide to return to college but after adding three first round picks, a future second, and even more assets to their coffers, the Jets have the ability to take the guy they like even if he’s the only elite arm in this year’s class, so in this case, they can afford to be choosey.
What QB prospect should the Jets target? @FieldYates talks about what Ty Simpson, Dante Moore and Fernando Mendoza bring to the table pic.twitter.com/h0ZxumgIQF
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) November 5, 2025
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