5 Jets Earn Honors on The Athletic’s Midseason All-Rookie Team, led by Bailey and Sadiq

The question of which New York Jets stood out among rookies midway through the NFL season has an answer: five members of the franchise’s 2026 draft class earned spots on The Athletic’s Dane Brugler midseason All-Rookie Team. Edge David Bailey and rookie tight end Kenyon Sadiq were named to the first team.

Bailey, the Jets’ first-round pick (No. 2), earned the top-edge spot after accumulating league-leading rookie production in the categories Brugler emphasized. Through the report’s midseason window, Bailey led all rookies with 7.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, 31 pressures, and five forced fumbles, and the piece also notes he returned after missing Week 8 with a groin injury to record two sacks and two forced fumbles against Patrick Mahomes.

Sadiq, drafted first among tight ends in 2026 and selected at No. 16, was recognized for leading rookie tight ends with 21 receptions and 235 receiving yards in the same midseason window. The report attributes his first NFL touchdown to a 105-yard game against the Lions in Week 3, and it highlights a smaller sample in a later matchup against the Chiefs where he caught four passes for 49 yards while also drawing praise for blocking.

On the second team, the Jets’ rookie wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. (No. 30) was included alongside Philadelphia’s Makai Lemon and Pittsburgh’s Germie Bernard. Brugler’s selection is described as a “small, yet impressive sample size” because Cooper had played five games at the time, and the report links his production to 306 rookie receiving yards and a return from an ankle injury that sent him to injured reserve after Week 1.

The other second-team selection was defensive tackle Darrell Jackson Jr., the Jets’ fourth-round pick (No. 103). The report frames his inclusion as tied to increasing playing time, noting that over the prior four games he played at least 35 defensive snaps and totaled 26 tackles and one sack among rookie DTs.

Finally, cornerback D’Angelo Ponds received honorable mention. The piece says Ponds missed the first two games after a calf strain during training camp, made his NFL debut in Week 3, and earned his first career start in Week 9 against the Chiefs.