Even with the New York Jets stumbling through a 2-5 start, their 2027 draft haul just keeps getting stronger.
Right now, the Jets are projected to hold three picks inside the top 12 of the 2027 NFL draft after seven weeks: No. 7 from Indianapolis, No. 10 of their own, and No. 12 from Dallas. And that total still has room to rise as the season unfolds.
The latest boost came Tuesday, when ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Indianapolis Colts had traded six-time All-Pro left guard Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks for a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick. The deal matters directly to the Jets because they own the Colts’ 2027 first-round selection.
For Indianapolis, the trade is another sign of a team shifting toward the future. The Colts are 2-5, have dropped three straight, and rank 26th in the NFL in DVOA, according to FTN Fantasy. A week ago, they fired general manager Chris Ballard, and now they’re trying to stockpile picks after Ballard’s failed trade for Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner left the franchise without first-rounders in 2026 and 2027 and no immediate payoff to show for it.
Nelson is still playing at a high level despite being 30 and in his ninth season. Through seven weeks, Pro Football Focus has him as the league’s top left guard with an 85.7 overall grade. His departure gives Seattle a major reinforcement as it pursues a second straight Super Bowl title, while the Colts lose their best blocker.
It also leaves Indianapolis with a rough road ahead. The offense already sits 24th in offensive DVOA behind a post-Achilles Daniel Jones, and now Jones has lost the protection of football’s best left guard.
There is at least one small break for the Colts: their remaining schedule is soft, with opponents combining for a .462 win percentage, which makes it the league’s fifth-easiest slate. But they already dropped a home game to the winless Titans two weeks ago, a result that helped trigger Ballard’s firing, so nothing on the schedule looks especially safe.
And for the Jets, the bigger picture remains obvious. Their 2026 season may be going nowhere, but the 2027 cupboard is filling up fast. Whether the current leadership gets to be the one using those assets is still up in the air, but whoever is running the team will have plenty of ammunition to shape the Jets however they want.
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Glenn is still in place, but the optics around him have gotten tougher to ignore. His postgame message was meant to take responsibility, yet it only seemed to deepen the sense that the Jets are still looking for the right tone, the right answers and maybe even the right direction from one of their key voices. [Read more 🡒]