With the 2026 NFL Draft about three weeks away on Thursday, April 23,JetsGM Darren Mougey spoke with reporters at the NFL Annual League Meeting in Phoenix*, Ariz. on Monday afternoon about the offseason and the team's plans going forward.*
Breece Hall's long-term future in New York
One of the big offseason storylines for Gang Green was its decision to franchise tag star RB Breece Hall after not reaching an agreement on a contract extension.
Although, there has always been hope the two sides would come to an eventual agreement. SNY NFL Insider Connor Hughes said in an episode of Jets Nation on March 12 that the Jets were planning on re-engaging on contract talks following the draft.
When asked about that Monday, Mougey told reporters that plan is still in place and he's "hopeful" they'll be able to work out a long-term deal with the running back.
"Good, things are in a good place and I'm hopeful with Breece," Mougey said. "Obviously, we'll get through this draft process. After the draft I'll kind of shift my focus back there and hopefully get something done with Breece."
Hall will make $14.239 million playing on the non-exclusive franchise tag in 2026 and the team has until July 15 to get the extension finalized.
Over 56 games across four seasons, Hall has rushed for 3,398 yards and 18 touchdowns, plus 188 receptions for 1,642 yards and nine TDs.
"Things are in a good place. I'm hopeful with Breece."
Darren Mougey talks about where things stand with getting a deal with Breece Hall: pic.twitter.com/SDx2hvmMK6
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) March 30, 2026
Planning for NFL Draft
Mougey mentioned how he was able to travel all last week with head coach Aaron Glenn, new OC Frank Reich, and QBs coach Bill Musgrave to scout a handful of different players.
"It was great to get out last week. I think we started in Miami, we were at Notre Dame, we were at Ohio State, Texas Tech, and then finished at Bama," Mougey said. "It was a great week. One, for me to just get exposure to some of these players. There was a lot of players we saw, offense, defense, some quarterbacks.
"And a chance to get around the coaches. Spent the whole week with AG, Frank, Musgrave went with us. So an opportunity for me to get to know them, have a lot of conversations throughout the week. So I thought it was a really productive week, felt good about it."
Holding the No. 2 overall pick in next month's draft, Mougey was asked about his thoughts on two of the top projected players: Ohio State LB Arvell Reese and Texas Tech LB David Bailey. The GM wouldn't let reporters know if he had a preference between the two, saying there is still a lot of conversations to be had before draft day.
"I feel good about where we're at in the process, but there's still a lot of work to be done," Mougey said. "We'll get back to Jersey end of this week. We'll really fire up our meetings next week and a have a lot of good discussions over the next few weeks leading up to the draft."
The GM added that it's hard to only look at stats for college players, as Reese and Bailey put up different numbers, noting that a lot of the scouting has to do with long-term projections.
One of the players who they saw at a private workout was Alabama QB Ty Simpson. Mougey called it a "good visit" and the team even had dinner with the prospect to get to know him better.
"It was good, it was a good visit with Ty," Mougey said. "Really enjoyed the time down there. We went to dinner and had a workout and went with him. It was good."
Simpson spoke highly of the Jets after meeting with them at the NFL Scouting Combine and likes the idea of playing in New York. The 23-year-old threw for 3,567 yards and 28 touchdowns, completing 64 percent of his passes, last season in his lone year starting for the Crimson Tide.
"We want the biggest sample size we can, it's always projections with all these draft players," Mougey said. "So the bigger the sample size, you naturally might feel a little better about it. But we'll still evaluate him and there’s a lot of good things to see in the games he did play.”
Plan to pick up Will McDonald IV's fifth-year option
Mougey clarified that New York is expecting to pick up DE Will McDonald IV's fifth-year option as he's entering his fourth season in 2026.
"We have not, but I would anticipate us picking up the fifth-year option as well," Mougey said.
McDonald was selected by NY with the No. 15 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and signed him to a four-year, $16.3 million deal, including an $8.8 million signing bonus. He has a cap hit of about $5.2 million this year, and if the team picks up his fifth-year option for 2027, then he'll be owed $14.475 million next year.
Over three seasons and 47 career games, McDonald has recorded 21.5 sacks, 72 combined tackles, three forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery. He recorded just three sacks his rookie year and then burst onto the scene with 10.5 sacks in 2024 over 17 games. The pass rusher totaled eight sacks in 2025 before ending the year on injured reserve.
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