The Jets’ 2027 draft picture got a lot prettier in Week 5, and it happened because three different results broke their way.
New York beat the Browns, while Pittsburgh knocked off Indianapolis and Tampa Bay stunned Dallas on Thursday night. Those two losses by the Colts and Cowboys matter just as much for the Jets as their own win, because they pushed New York into a position where it currently holds three projected top-12 picks in the 2027 NFL draft. Even better for the Jets: their own pick is the lowest of the three.
After Week 5 of the 2026 season, the draft board is shaking out like this: Tennessee at No. 1, followed by the Chargers, Dolphins, Texans, Buccaneers, Cardinals, Saints and Commanders. Then come the Jets’ projected haul - their pick via Dallas at No.
9, Philadelphia at No. 10, their pick via Indianapolis at No. 11, and finally their own selection at No. 12.
Dallas’ tumble to ninth came after that 24-16 home loss to the previously winless Buccaneers. Indianapolis, which had been riding a two-game win streak, fell 34-22 in Pittsburgh. Those are the kinds of swings that can change a franchise’s offseason outlook in a hurry.
There’s still another layer of intrigue for Jets fans this weekend. Green Bay just blasted Chicago 31-7, and because of the Quinnen Williams trade, the Cowboys owe New York the better first-round pick between Dallas’ own selection and Green Bay’s. Dallas owns the Packers’ pick through the Micah Parsons trade.
That puts the Jets in a strange spot ahead of Sunday night’s Packers-Cowboys matchup in Wisconsin. A Packers win would drop Dallas to 2-4 and improve the value of New York’s haul in the present. A Cowboys win would leave both teams at 3-3.
But it’s not quite that simple. Dallas is still widely seen as the stronger team, and it plays in what’s described as a weaker division.
Green Bay, on the other hand, is dealing with long-term injuries and was only viewed two weeks ago as one of the league’s weakest teams. That gives the Packers more room for a season-long collapse, which is why some Jets fans may prefer to see them keep losing.
However you want to play it out, the Jets have put themselves in a strong spot thanks to their 2025 trade deadline moves. With neither star moved in those deals having meaningfully lifted the teams that acquired them, New York looks like the early winner on both trades.
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The Jets finally answered a pressure-packed spot in Week 5, beating the Browns to move to 2-3 and keep a shaky season from slipping further off course. For a team that had already stared down an early must-win type of game, the result offered at least a temporary lift, and it came with a defensive effort that looked far more like the standard this group has been searching for.
Braelon Allens touchdown helped swing the game back in New Yorks favor after Cleveland responded late, and the Jets did enough to bank a needed win. Even so, the larger conversation has not gone away, because Aaron Glenns overall record is still 5-17 and the questions around his long-term outlook continue to hover over a team trying to prove it can stabilize before the season gets away from it. [Read more 🡒]
Geno Smith Faces A Jets Debate That Is Only Getting Louder
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Week 5 did little to quiet the debate. Some fans are already wondering whether rookie Cade Klubnik should get a look, and the scrutiny around Smith only grows when the offense looks merely ordinary instead of clearly efficient. For now, Smith remains the starter, but the longer the Jets stay in that middle ground, the louder the questions are likely to become. [Read more 🡒]
Garrett Wilsons Message Said A Lot About These Jets
After the Jets win over the Browns, Garrett Wilson used social media to make a point about the kind of locker room this team is trying to build. Wilson had already done his part on the field, catching seven of 11 targets for 104 yards and a touchdown, but his message afterward turned attention to the work being done by teammates away from the spotlight.
The post was a public defense of David Bailey, whose performance in the game gave Wilson plenty of reason to speak up. Bailey was disruptive all afternoon in the win, and Wilsons reaction fit with the broader tone around the Jets after a much-needed victory. It was the kind of small, revealing moment that can say plenty about how players view one another when the results start to come together. [Read more 🡒]
