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Who Can the New York Jets Build Around for 2026?
Who on the New York Jets is worthy of building around for 2026? How about the Giants? Both teams are quite awful, making for tough decisions.
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As another ugly season winds down for the New York Giants and New York Jets, we must look to the future. Who can these terrible teams build around for 2026? This is our New York football hour for NFL week 17 and both teams are looking to the future, no matter how grey or gloomy it may be.
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We are faced with the truth that none of us want to accept. The only way through is through, so let’s feel everything and bite the proverbial bullets. Literally everyone is asking, outsiders are laughing or averting their eyes, but someone must step up to the podium and fire back. Tough questions require hard answers.
New York Jets and Giants: NFL Week 17
1. Who can the New York Jets Build Around For 2026?
Todd Salem: For a couple weeks after the trade deadline, it seemed like the Jets were making strides toward developing a defensive identity. Then, things turned sour again, the coordinator was fired, and this team is one who gives up nearly 30 to the Saints. There is not much left on the positive side of the ledger.
On offense, things are equally low. With a third-string, undrafted quarterback, a running back set to hit the open market, their best pass catcher on IR, and a tight end out for multiple weeks, things feel grim.
However, every team has pieces worth keeping. The question is, does New York have any pieces worth building around. In other words, are any position groups in a good enough position to be building blocks for 2026 and beyond?
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Despite the injuries, I actually think pass catchers are close. We addressed this last week in terms of receivers specifically, but I’m still a believer in Mason Taylor as well.
The offensive line is much improved from recent seasons too. According to Sharp Football, the unit is fifth in the NFL in time to throw and eighth in yards before contact rushing. Whether the likes of Fashanu, Membou, and Tippman are true building blocks is up for debate, but I consider it a strength of the roster rather than a weakness.
On defense, I can really only back Will McDonald as a building block. He is approaching back-to-back double-digit sack seasons as a third-year player. Jowon Briggs has put up a nice season as well in his first full year in the NFL. It may be too soon to declare a former seventh-rounder as a building block, though, after one positive season. Meanwhile, Jermaine Johnson and Quincy Williams have been disappointing of the big-name defenders. And obviously, the other big names were traded away last month.
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That isn’t a ton to go off of, particularly on defense, but what else would you expect from a team vying for the first overall pick in the NFL Draft? It’s rare for a bottom-feeder team to have a bunch of blue-chip players. In other words, the Giants roster is rare.
Dan Salem: The New York Jets feel like a team with pretty solid depth, but not a reliable starting lineup. That bodes well for the team, because they have a ton of first and second round picks to build that starting lineup with. As for who to build around, it must finally be Garrett Wilson.
The Jets have taken Wilson for granted his entire career, building around Sauce Gardner and Breece Hall and Aaron Rodgers instead. While Rodgers was supposed to be a boon for Wilson, he turned out to be a liability because the Jets never got a solid line in front of him. Now that they have a solid offensive line, I’m expecting New York to build around Wilson.
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Rookie quarterbacks need reliable and dominant receivers to lean upon, or an offense that plans to their strengths perfectly. Wilson can fill both options and with the other receiving weapons now around him, I see way too much for a defense to defend. Get him a slot receiver of note and a quarterback with a big arm and bigger pocket presence, and now we’re talking!
There are too many holes on defense to build around any single piece, so this will be an area of focus in the draft. But defense is coach Glenn’s forte, so building around Wilson and the offense makes the most sense. His defense should come together nicely, even if the names are lesser known.
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2. Who can the New York Giants Build Around For 2026?
Todd Salem: The Giants are the very worst team in the NFL by record. In terms of projecting a team for ’26 and beyond, though, I feel much better about them than the Jets.
It’s not just the quarterback position, though we might as well start there. Jaxson Dart is good enough to give him the franchise reins and see where he can take them. I see some speculation in the clickbait circles of the Giants trading Dart this offseason and drafting Fernando Mendoza first overall. I don’t buy that for a second.
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Outside of Dart, the offense has Malik Nabers (out for the year), Cam Skattebo (out for the year), and Andrew Thomas (routinely injured). This trio feels elite, but is that a fair assessment if they can’t stay on the field? Thomas has this year, and he’s been wonderful. It’s a risky proposition when you include Dart in this group as well.
On defense, things look great on the line and weak everywhere else. Abdul Carter, Dexter Lawrence, and Brian Burns are all legit building blocks. The rest is going to be a work in progress.
So, to recap, the Giants are arguably the worst team in the league. This is a league where the most important positions on the field are QB, left tackle, pass rusher, and wide receiver. The Giants have star players at EVERY ONE OF THOSE POSITIONS. It begs the question, how is this the worst team in the league?? Coaching, injuries, roster construction, execution, luck; they all factor into everything going wrong, but the future outlook feels like it should be bright, ironically.
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Dan Salem: On paper the Giants have “star” players at all of the major positions, but I can’t call any of them star players. Thomas in particular has rarely been on the field for the Giants. Even though he has been all season in 2025 and played great, it has not helped Dart in any significant way. New York’s offense is inconsistent and flawed. I’d actually take the opposite approach to this team.
Since the Giants have too many offensive issues to build around anything in particular, I turn to the defense. New York has attempted to improve their defense every offseason for five years running. They also failed to do so every time, but as you noted, they do have stellar players on the defensive line. This is what the Giants must build around.
Add a defensive lineman who excels at stopping the run. Get some linebackers that can play at both levels, then get an actual secondary. Build around your pass rushers and the Giants defense has the potential to cause havoc.
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New York has not played well from behind this season, but if the defense is actually good, then Dart’s offense will be playing with leads. He’s built leads in six or more games this year, only to stall offensively and watch his defense squander every point advantage until New York has lost. I blame the players for failing to close.
Great players close out games. Good players play well for most of the game, or part of the game. This is why the Giants are the worst in the league. They cannot close, but good players can improve to be great. It feels like the core is in place, but New York must once again build around its best defensive players. Without a defense, nothing else matters.
Meet our Sports Writers:
Dan Salem is Lead Editor and Co-owner of BuzzChomp. He’s an award winning Actor, Director and Producer. Visit M Square Productions for his film work, or get lost in his old-school comedy on Pillow Talk TV. You can follow him on X, TikTok and Instagram. His latest film ‘Alone’ is now on Amazon.
Todd Salem is a Staff Writer and Contributing Editor at BuzzChomp. He’s also a champion of fantasy football and fantasy baseball, dominating leagues for over two decades. Comment below on his unfiltered opinions.
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