Jets: Reach for Simpson or Wait?

A caller named John asked Rich the Jets question nobody in New York wants to hear. With the 2026 draft full of quarterback capital, is this the year the Jets reach for Ty Simpson, or do they punt the can to 2027?

Rich laid out the bind. The Jets signed Geno Smith. Their current backup situation on the depth chart, as Rich read it live, was Brady Cook, Bailey Zappe, Geno Smith. Cook got cups of coffee last year. Nobody on the roster is the quarterback of the future. So the 2026 question becomes, how do the Jets find the future signal-caller they don't have?

Rich didn't think the Jets' mid-first-round pick was the right spot for Simpson. Simpson wants to be a first rounder. Fine. But you don't just pick a quarterback for the current offensive coordinator. You pick one who fits the offense of whoever comes next. When the Patriots drafted Drake Maye, the analysis said he had to fit Alex Van Pelt. Then Josh McDaniels showed up. Same principle applies to the Jets. Frank Reich might be the guy for 10 years. Or he might not. You don't draft a franchise quarterback for a coordinator's tenure.

Rich teed it up as a What's More Likely. Frank Reich is the long-term guy and Simpson is the fit, or the Jets' franchise quarterback isn't currently on the roster. Option B, every time.

The path forward for Aaron Glenn involves winning enough games to earn a Dan Campbell grace period, drawing on systems from Sean Payton and Bill Parcells, the man who drafted Glenn as a player. Enough wins to survive. Not so many that they pick outside the top five next year, because top five is where you actually land your quarterback.

On Simpson specifically, Rich's most likely scenario was a team trading into the back half of round one, similar to what the Giants did with Jaxson Dart. Maybe the Patriots trading down from 31. Maybe the Seahawks at 32. A team with current QB stability paying first-round price for a developmental arm.

Then Rich flipped the question. If you're Ty Simpson, do you want to go to the Jets? Would you want to be picked 16th overall to sit behind Geno, with three first-round picks heading into next year's draft meaning all the capital is going into the draft after you? Would you want an offensive coordinator who could be out by midseason with an owner who has changed coaches midstream recently?

Rich's answer for Simpson was no. He'd rather get drafted by a team that's good right now. Or wait for somebody to trade up for him late.

The Jets don't have a quarterback. They have a placeholder. The draft math isn't on their side this year. The math for their future quarterback is next April.