3 Favorites for Jets' No. 2 Pick in 2026 NFL Draft

A little over two months since the Seattle Seahawks downed the New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl, the new season of the NFL is officially ready to kick off in full on Thursday night in Pittsburgh for the 2026 NFL Draft.

While the world’s worst-kept secret is that the Las Vegas Raiders will be selecting Heisman Award winner and national champion quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick, the fun begins after the Indiana signal-caller puts on the silver and black for the first time.

As we count down the clock until Thursday, per Kalshi, the prediction website, here are the three favorites to go No. 2 overall to the New York Jets.

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Arvell Reese (52%)

The frontrunner for a majority of the run-up to the big day, the Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker, Reese, has kept a slight lead heading into Thursday.

New York would have more than likely gone with Oregon’s QB Dante Moore if he had declared for the draft, but after announcing one last year in Eugene, the Jets are expected to go defense.

David Bailey (49%)

The Texas Tech Red Raider has seen his odds rise in the race for the No. 2 pick tremendously over the past couple of weeks.

At the start of April, the defensive end Bailey had only about a 12% chance of going to the Jets. But following meetings with the franchise and positive interactions, it seems as if it’s a coin flip between the Buckeye and the Red Raider to make his way to Gotham.

Everyone else (1%)

Ty Simpson? Caleb Downs? Jeremiyah Love?

Anyone else, not Reese or Bailey, is considered near-impossible odds. It’s a two-horse race, and we’ll see on Thursday which of the two defensive standouts the Jets ultimately choose.

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This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 2:54 PM.