Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey hit the road together for a week this offseason, crisscrossing the country while scouting potential building blocks for the New York Jets.

There were flights, car rides and plenty of conversations along the way as an embattled coach and an ambitious general manager further bonded by putting last year’s disappointing first season together in the rearview mirror with their eyes set on a successful future.

“We’re still a long ways away,” Glenn said at the NFL meetings in Phoenix last month. “I mean, obviously, when you finish a season 3-14 and you go into this year and you feel good about some of the things that you’ve done, you want to see how all those things come together.

“We still have a long way to go, but I do like the direction that we’re going right now.”

And in many ways, it can only be up from here.

Glenn found himself on the coaching hot seat in his first season as all the losses landed New York with the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL draft.

Busy offseason

Glenn responded by replacing half his assistants, hiring Frank Reich as his offensive coordinator, Brian Duker as his defensive coordinator and deciding he’ll pull double duty as the head coach and calling the defense this season.

Meanwhile, Mougey acquired quarterback Geno Smith from Las Vegas, traded fellow QB Justin Fields to Kansas City, got three-time All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick from Miami and dealt edge rusher Jermaine Johnson to Tennessee for D-lineman T’Vondre Sweat.

The GM further helped rebuild a defense that was among the NFL’s worst by signing linebacker Demario Davis, cornerback Nahshon Wright and defensive linemen David Onyemata, Joseph Ossai and Kingsley Enagbare.

Mougey also stockpiled draft picks to give the Jets — who have nine this year — plenty of potential capital to move up and/or down this year and next. In addition to the second pick, New York has No. 16 and two second-rounders, including No. 33 overall. The Jets also have three first-rounders in the 2027 draft.

“We’re always open,” Mougey said of potential calls from teams looking to trade. “We’ll always pick up the phone.”

Need

If the Jets stay at No. 2, adding an edge rusher seems like a no-brainer. The question is which one? With Las Vegas poised to take quarterback Fernando Mendoza first overall, New York will have its choice of the top pass rushers available, including Ohio State’s Arvell Reese, Texas Tech’s David Bailey and Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr.

Wide receiver could be the focus at No. 16. Garrett Wilson, coming off a knee injury, is one of the NFL’s top receivers. But there’s questions after him with Adonai Mitchell and Isaiah Williams the only other sure things to make the roster. Indiana’s Omar Cooper Jr., USC’s Makai Lemon or Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson would add immediate help.

The addition of Smith makes it less urgent to draft a quarterback. But Alabama’s Ty Simpson, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, Miami’s Carson Beck and Penn State’s Drew Allar could be second-day targets.

Don’t need

The Jets think they have their long-term O-line bookends after taking left tackle Olu Fashanu with their first pick in 2024 and right tackle Armand Membou seventh overall last year.

Tight end is a strength with Jeremy Ruckert, who signed a two-year extension in December, and Mason Taylor coming off a promising but injury-shortened rookie season.

The Jets hope to sign running back Breece Hall to an extension after using the non-exclusive franchise tag. He should anchor a solid backfield with Braelon Allen, who was limited to four games because of a knee injury, and Isaiah Davis.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Source