Welcome back to another year of the SB Nation Community Mock Draft!
NFL mock draft 2026: New York Jets select Makai Lemon, WR, USC
The Jets grab USC WR Makai Lemon to give Geno Smith another weapon with the 16th pick in the SB Nation Community Mock
As we do every draft season, all 32 NFL sites at SB Nation come together to fill out an entire first-round mock draft leading up to the actual event that takes place from April 23-25. One by one, our site managers will make their picks and provide their reasoning behind the selection. From there, I will provide further analysis on top of giving a final opinion on the pick!
Without further ado, let’s keep things rolling!
With the 16th overall pick in the 2026 SB Nation Community Mock Draft, Gang Green Nation’s John Butchko and the New York Jets select Makai Lemon, wide receiver, USC!
Butchko’s analysis:
NFL
SB Nation NFL Mock Draft: With the 16th pick the New York Jets select... Makai Lemon, WR, USC
To call wide receiver a need for the Jets would be an understatement. In 2025 the Jets became the first team since the league expanded the schedule to 16 games to have no receivers with at least 400 yards. Getting Garrett Wilson back from injury obviously will help with that, but there is nothing behind Wilson. Adding Lemon changes that. Stick him in the slot, and he can take some of the pressure off Wilson. In fact, the Jets' wide receiver group now starts to look like something resembling a viable NFL crew.
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My analysis: If the Jets hope they’re going to get the Seahawks version of Geno Smith as their quarterback in 2026, they better give him all the offensive firepower they can muster to make sure he does not repeat his Raiders performance from his latest campaign.
Lemon is the closest thing to a quarterback’s best friend in this wide receiver class, and being able to pair him with young stud Garrett Wilson is a very strong foundation for their wideout room. Add in Breece Hall at running back and 2025 second-rounder Mason Taylor at tight end and there’s a really good young nucleus here.
With the Jets using the second overall pick to grab edge rusher Arvell Reese out of Ohio State, it was only right that they utilize their second first-rounder on an offensive piece who will help bridge the gap from Smith into their eventual quarterback of the future.
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