For most of the past decade, the Jets and Giants have been near the top of the draft year-over-year as a result of finishing near the bottom of the NFL standings. This past April, the Jets and Giants held the No. 2 and No. 5 overall picks, respectively. They both selected on the defensive side of the ball, the Jets taking Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey and the Giants choosing Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese.
Then the Giants strengthened their offensive line by drafting Oregon tackle Francis Mauigoa at No. 10. Six picks later, the Jets snagged Mauigoa’s college teammate, tight end Kenyon Sadiq, at No. 16 and secured their third first-rounder of the 2026 draft, plucking Indiana’s Omari Cooper at No. 30.
The hope is the youngsters will be instrumental in moving the teams’ needles forward. The Jets haven’t made the playoffs in the last 15 seasons and the Giants just twice (the 2016 and 2022 seasons) since winning the Super Bowl to end the 2011 campaign. With both teams playing their first preseason games this weekend — the Jets will play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tomorrow night at MetLife Stadium (7 p.m.) and the Giants will host the Minnesota Vikings at MetLife Saturday (1 p.m.) — first-rounders will have an opportunity to make their cases for prominent responsibilities heading into the regular season, and late round picks impressing to earn spots on the 53-man rosters or practice squads.
One exception is Sadiq, who had hernia surgery in May and suffered what Jets head coach Aaron Glenn described a little over a week ago as “a little setback” while participating in training camp. Yet Glenn is confident Sadiq will be ready for the start of the regular season. The Jets open on September 13 on the road against the Tennessee Titans, facing Robert Saleh, the team’s former head coach who is in his first season as the Titans’ head coach.
Glenn said every rookie, regardless of their draft position, will have to seize placements by performing effectively in practice and games.
“The expectation is for all those guys to have a role, but they have to decide that themselves,” Glenn said a week ago. “We’re out there trying to compete and no one’s given anything. They determine their role.”
Among other rookies, Giants head coach John Harbaugh has noted the play of cornerback Colton Hood, drafted in the second round out of Tennessee, and wide receiver Malachi Fields, a third-round pick from Notre Dame.
“Both guys are pushing,” said Harbaugh last Friday via Giants.com. “I’d say both those guys are pushing for playing time. Both have done well.”
