Moving from Justin Fields to Geno Smith changes everything about
how the Jets offense looks heading into 2026. Fields was a fantasy
cheat code with his legs, but he killed the timing and the potential
of the passing game. Smith is almost the exact opposite. At this
point in his career, Smith is a QB who's going to drop back, look
through his reads, and deliver the ball from the pocket. Don't
expect him to escape pass rushers and pick up anything noteworthy
on a broken play. If you end up with him, you are banking entirely
on his arm and this upgraded supporting cast.
The Jets offense, while still lacking in proven talent, is an
interesting and potentially fantasy-friendly environment. Garrett
Wilson is a top-tier route runner who should be back to full health
to start the season after an injury-riddled 2025, and Adonai Mitchell
has the speed to fly down the sideline to open things up underneath.
The front office further looked to boost the passing game weapons
by drafting Omar Cooper Jr. and Kenyon Sadiq as well. Perhaps
most importantly, the Jets' defense still looks like it's on track
to be one of the worst in the league, which should mean plenty
of opportunity for the passing game to come through with some
late-game garbage heroics.
Smith will go undrafted in most leagues for 2026, but he belongs
in the potential weekly streamer category. He can certainly toss
multiple touchdowns, but his bad weeks will hurt if you're relying
on him as anything other than a spot-starter.
If you drafted Breece Hall in 2025, you probably spent the first
half of the season wondering if your “stud” running back was ever
going to touch an end zone again. He looked slow early on and
the Jets weren't giving him the ball enough near the end zone.
Then Hall suddenly exploded with a huge game in Week 8 before
delivering a string of solid performances. Unfortunately, just
as managers started to trust him again, he fell off (alongside
the rest of the Jets' offense) down the stretch.
To be fair, one of the main roadblocks to unlocking Hall's ceiling
was Justin Fields stealing high-value rushes inside the five-yard
line as he stole three rushing touchdowns in the first three weeks
of the season alone. That headache now vanishes with Geno Smith
-- a much less-mobile QB -- running the offense. Hall has a decent
path touchdown volume and he's nearly a lock to significantly
outperform his 2025 self in that category as long as he remains
healthy.
Don't trick yourself into expecting a full snap share though.
Braelon Allen is too good of a short-yardage hammer to keep on
the sidelines, and he will definitely steal some short scores.
Where Hall separates himself, though, is through the air. Unlike
Fields who preferred to take off and run, Smith relies heavily
on his checkdowns when downfield options are covered, giving Hall
a strong floor in PPR leagues. He has the elite vision and agility
to convert a simple dump-off into a massive explosive play, making
him a high-end RB2 and one that you could feel decent about being
your RB1 if you go WR-heavy early on. Hall's targets alone nearly
guarantee he won't bust, and the lack of a running quarterback
makes his touchdown upside interesting.
At 235 lbs, Braelon Allen is built like an edge rusher and he
runs like he's looking for a victim to steamroll. Unfortunately,
his usage on special teams this past season led to an MCL sprain
that cost him most of his second pro year.
Looking forward to 2026, Allen sits firmly entrenched as the
Jets' RB2, but he's stuck behind a do-it-all back who's been among
the league's top performers since entering the league. Breece
Hall will get the majority of the team's valuable passing-down
work -- and we should expect there to be plenty of it given their
defensive woes -- but Allen will still see the field plenty as
the Jets will almost certainly be looking to control the clock
in games by running the ball down people's throats.
Allen may very well end up being the team's primary between-the-tackles
back by the end of the season, which will make him a pain for
Hall managers as he could also vulture goal-line plunges. Still,
Allen himself is going to be tough to trust as long as Hall remains
healthy. The Jets are just too poor of a team to predict the games
where they'll be able to run the ball 30 or more times in a game
which would allow Allen to have the requisite volume to be a fantasy
starter.
With that in mind, starting Allen, even in a flex spot, is a
massive gamble. He barely catches passes, so his fantasy output
lives and dies at the goal line. If he doesn't score, he's practically
a lock for single-digits in a PPR format, making him completely
unstartable.
However, even with that dismal floor, Allen is a deep bench stash.
He's a high-end handcuff as an injury to Hall would instantly
turn Allen into a high-volume RB2 running behind a solid decent
offensive line. Especially if you go with a zero running back
draft strategy or want to protect your Hall investment, Allen
is a late-rounder who has serious upside despite likely being
worthless most weeks.
Last season was a total wash for Garrett Wilson as he was bit
by the injury bug, ultimately suffering multiple knee injuries
and being shut down early by a Jets team that was out of contention
and just looking to protect their investment. Even when he played,
the quarterback play with Justin Fields was way too chaotic to
produce any big spike performances, although Wilson managed to
get into the end zone in four of the five full games he played.
While he's far from an elite QB, Geno Smith joining the Jets
this offseason is a huge boost to Wilson's fantasy outlook. Smith
is a rhythm passer who delivers the ball on the money when the
receiver breaks, which nicely matches Wilson's elite footwork
on intermediate routes.
Fantasy managers might look at the multiple additions to the
passing game and worry about a split target share, but do not
fall into that trap. Wilson is practically a lock for an elite
target share in an offense that is probably going to fall behind
in a lot of games. Not to mention, adding some other players who
defensive coordinators have to account for should mean less bracket
coverage on Wilson.
He's not being drafted as a WR1 because the Jets are reasonably
expected to be a bad offense overall, but there's real potential
for Wilson to return to WR1 numbers this season. His true ceiling
is a top five overall finish because Smith can actually hit him
in stride. All it takes is a small uptick in end zone targets
and we could be looking at a double-digit touchdown season to
go along with 100 catches. Buy the dip and take Wilson as a WR2
if your leaguemates are looking for shiny new toys in this draft
range.
Adonai Mitchell has one job and one job only in this offense
-- pull opposing safeties away from Garrett Wilson (and potentially
Kenyon Sadiq) underneath.
The Jets desperately needed a vertical threat and Mitchell can
absolutely fly, making him a fun schematic fit to go along with
Geno Smith's quietly accurate deep ball. While he certainly fills
a missing piece in this offense, the challenge for fantasy managers
is going to be predicting where and when his production will come.
We know that Wilson is going to eat first, meaning Mitchell will
need to convert the deep shots on low volume. This setup turns
him into a volatile asset and one who is probably going to sit
on most waiver wires until he explodes with a two-touchdown performance
on something like five total targets. Then he'll completely disappear
for a month.
Mitchell is a classic “better in best ball” type of player who
should probably be avoided as a weekly starter in traditional
season-long leagues. There is some potential for additional volume,
however, if Wilson's knee injury from 2025 resurfaces and costs
him games.
Omar Cooper Jr. enters his rookie year facing an uphill battle
for targets in an offense that isn't expected to be very good.
He brings a physical style of play to the field, winning with
tremendous aggression after the catch, making him a great third
option alongside Garrett Wilson and Adonai Mitchell, and one who
could see playing time very early on in the year as a late-first-round
draft pick in April's NFL Draft.
The tough reality is that Cooper is going to have a tough time
seeing enough volume to be valuable for fantasy purposes here
in 2026. Wilson is a target hog and Mitchell will see most of
the high-potential deep pass attempts, leaving Cooper to fight
for scraps, potentially behind fellow first-round pick, tight
end Kenyon Sadiq.
He has the tools to become a reliable red zone threat down the
road, but trying to guess the weeks when he gets enough volume
to be trustworthy in fantasy is going to be a huge challenge.
He's a player to target late in the first round of rookie drafts,
but he should be left undrafted in normal seasonal leagues. Once
the offense sorts out its pecking order, though, Cooper is a player
who could pay off later in the season.
Spending the 16th overall pick on a tight end the season after
taking Mason Taylor with an early-second-round pick should tell
you everything you need to know about how this team views Kenyon
Sadiq.
The pre-draft buzz comparing him to Vernon Davis brings back
memories for us old heads who remember the days of Davis running
past defenders like a wide receiver in a tight end's body. With
a sub-4.4-second 40-yard dash, linebackers simply cannot run with
him down the seam and at 6'3”, 241 lbs, safeties are helpless
against him on jump balls.
If it weren't for Mason Taylor already being on the roster, Sadiq
might be one of those late-round tight ends who fantasy managers
have dreams of becoming the next George Kittle or Brock Bowers
as rookies. While Taylor's rookie year was a disappointment, he
did catch 44 passes for 369 yards and will likely still see plenty
of playing time, especially early on this season. Sadiq's draft
capital ensures he'll get on the field at some point, but Taylor
will probably stick around long enough to create headaches for
fantasy managers early on this season.
Draft Sadiq as a high-upside, low-end TE2 in deep leagues, but
understand that he likely won't give you anything you can trust
for the first half of the season. He's a premier stash who could
easily turn into a top-eight option down the stretch, however.
