What Can We Expect From Jets' 2025 Draft Picks In Year 2?

Last season, we kept tabs on the Jets’ rookies, a few of whom played significant roles. This year, let’s look at the outlook for each player heading into year two and assess whether they could play an expanded role.

Offensive Tackle Armand Membou

Membou’s rookie season was absolutely outstanding, as he settled in immediately, started every game and landed on the PFWA’s all-rookie team at the end of the year. The expectation is that he will go from strength to strength in year two.

One area where Membou will look to improve his consistency is in his on-field discipline. He had 11 penalties last season, including four in the loss to the Cowboys. Six of the 11 were false starts, so focus was a minor concern. Membou can perhaps get advice from his linemate Olu Fashanu on how to cut down his penalty count because Fashanu had seven accepted penalties in seven starts as a rookie in 2024, but only three in 17 starts last season.

Tight End Mason Taylor

Taylor settled into NFL life well, comporting himself like a veteran from day one. He started 11 of the first 13 games before sitting out the last four with minor injuries that he perhaps could have played through had the Jets been in contention. Even with those games missed, Taylor had 44 catches, but he averaged just over eight yards per catch as he didn’t have any 30-yard plays and only scored one touchdown.

The Jets selected another tight end, Kenyon Sadiq, in the first round of April’s draft, but this isn’t so much competition for Taylor’s spot as a sign they could be used together in multiple-tight end sets. Hopefully that will free up Taylor to increase his statistical impact and potentially make more big plays.

Cornerback Azareye’h Thomas

The Jets are high on Thomas, who got an opportunity when Sauce Gardner was traded and started five games. New York actually went 3-2 in those games as Thomas showed some promise with one pass breakup in each matchup.

Thomas’ main issue was that he got hurt a few times. He had a shoulder injury in preseason, was knocked out of a November game with a concussion and then missed the end of the season with another shoulder issue. Having had surgery on the shoulder, he’s healthy again now, but he will need to stay that way if he wants to start in 2026, because the Jets brought in Nahshon Wright and drafted D’Angelo Ponds to compete.

Wide Receiver Arian Smith

The speedster Smith had a disappointing first season, which saw him generate just 65 yards on 11 touches despite playing in 16 of 17 games. The concern about Smith was that his hands are unreliable, but that wasn’t an issue during his rookie campaign. Instead, the problem was that he struggled to get open and was rarely involved on offense.

He should have a role in 2026 because he made some positive contributions as a punt gunner on special teams, but if that’s all he ever is, it will be a disappointing outcome from a fourth-round pick. To get into the mix on offense, Smith needs to elevate his game to another level more than anyone else in this class.

Safety Malachi Moore

It was clear that the coaching staff is high on Moore’s potential, and he started 14 games during his rookie year, during which he racked up over 100 tackles. However, there was a bit of a learning curve as he had some costly missed tackles and gave up some big plays in coverage. He was involved in a couple of turnovers down the stretch, though, which was an encouraging sign.

Hopefully Moore will display better consistency in his second season, but he’s not guaranteed a starting role with Andre Cisco back to compete for a role alongside Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Linebacker Kiko Mauigoa

Mauigoa had a bigger role than expected as he ultimately started eight games. He was productive, with 45 tackles in 329 defensive snaps, but didn’t make any impact plays and was beaten for a couple of touchdowns in coverage.

With Demario Davis and Jamien Sherwood each expected to have a full-time role in Brian Duker’s defense, Mauigoa might not see much action because they probably won’t have three off-ball linebackers on the field very often. However, he’s in the mix to be one of the first off the bench if there are any injury issues.

Defensive end Tyler Baron

Baron was a disappointment in his first season, as he had nine tackles in six reserve appearances and didn’t register a sack. His most memorable moment was a key missed tackle against Dallas which saw Javonte Williams escape for a 66-yard gain just before halftime, leading to a Cowboys score when they probably planned to just run out the clock.

He faces a battle to hold onto his roster spot in 2026.

Undrafted Rookie Recap

The Jets had plenty of undrafted rookies that saw significant action in 2026, including defensive backs Dean Clark and Jordan Clark, and quarterback Brady Cook. However, it doesn’t feel like any of these players are firmly in their plans for 2026 and beyond. Defensive tackle Payton Page might have the best shot at earning a rotational role from last year’s group, although the Jets have strengthened their depth on the defensive interior.