Star Oregon quarterback Dante Moore announced that he will be returning to Oregon for another season. That means the New York Jets will need to address their quarterback problem elsewhere, either in free agency or the NFL Draft.
This is a look at what the Jets will do with the No. 2 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft with Dante Moore off the board. You can bet on the NFL Draft at DraftKings Sportsbook here.
Dante Moore Returns to Oregon
Dante Moore had the potential to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft prior to this season. Moore performed well, taking Oregon to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. However, Fernando Mendoza was a sensation, winning the Heisman Trophy and making it clear that he was on another level when the two faced off in the College Football Playoff. Despite Mendoza being the likely No. 1 overall pick, Dante Moore was the frontrunner to be drafted second overall by the Jets, and would have likely been a top ten pick no matter what. However, Moore decided to return for one more season with the Oregon Ducks.
Another reason that this was a shocking decision is that Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola transferred to Oregon just a couple of days ago. It was assumed that Raiola had knowledge that Moore would be leaving, which is why he chose the Ducks. However, it now appears that Raiola will spend a season backing up Moore, who might have realized that he needed more development to be ready for the NFL, or he heard from scouts that he would not be drafted as highly as the public thought.
One only needs to look back as recently as last year’s draft to see that someone once highly-touted can dramatically drop. Shedeur Sanders was expected to be a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and ended up dropping to the fifth round. While it seems impossible that Moore would drop like that, even dropping out of the top ten could cost him a lot of money if he thinks he could go that far in the future.
Who Will the Jets Draft at No. 2?
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Fernando Mendoza is now the overwhelming favorite to go No. 1 overall. He was around -1200 before Moore announced his return to Oregon, and now sits at -8000. The Raiders will be taking Mendoza, leaving the Jets in a conundrum with the second pick. New York obviously needs a quarterback, but no quarterback talent outside of Mendoza seems worthy of a top-two pick. Trinidad Chambliss, Ty Simpson and Carson Beck are the next-best QBs on the board. In addition to the second pick, the Jets also have the No. 16 pick in the draft. It seems likely that the Jets could wait until the 16th pick and get one of those quarterbacks on the second tier.
The Jets have Justin Fields under contract for another season, as well. While Fields did not play well for the Jets this season, he could start a couple of games for New York while a rookie has time to learn, as the Giants did with Russell Wilson and Jaxson Dart this season. The Giants could be the right model for the Jets to follow with this draft. The Giants took Abdul Carter with the No. 3 pick and Jaxson Dart at No. 25. The Jets could take superstar EDGE Rueben Bain Jr. from Miami with the second pick, then pick one of the remaining quarterbacks with the No. 16 pick. For a team that is likely not contending for the postseason next year, that seems like the best approach.
