The New York Jets and Buffalo Bills were two teams at the 2026 NFL Draft that made plenty of noise because of the moves both made in the first round.
The AFC East rivals did so in opposite directions, though.
The Bills made three trades in Round 1 and eventually moved all the way out of the first round and didn’t make a selection until No. 35 overall in Round 2. In terms of the Jets, they ended up bringing three first-round picks to New York.
The focus here is on wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr.
The Jets entered the draft with two first-round picks and traded back into the first round to select Cooper at No. 30. At that time, the Bills were slated to be on the clock at No. 31.
According to an ESPN report, the Jets had “intel” the Bills might take Cooper at No. 31. That’s why New York jumped ahead of Buffalo for the No. 30 pick to take the wideout:
.@RichCimini explained to @JakeAsman & @BrandonTierney that the #Jets traded up to pick No. 30 for WR Omar Cooper Jr because they had intel that the #Bills were going to take him at pick No. 31: đ
âThey anticipated that. That was their intel. Itâs funny how as soon as they⌠pic.twitter.com/PWvXMUB3sx
â Jets Collective (@NYJetsHMA) April 28, 2026
Hindsight is 20/20 after the draft. The intel could be correct or sightly off. Cases can be made in both direction.
If the Jets are correct, then they are correct and did their homework.
The top factor pointing toward the opposite is that Buffalo could’ve drafted Cooper earlier if they liked him that much…. but they did not. The Bills held multiple picks ahead of No. 30 and did not select Cooper then.
Regardless, it’s a report worth noting.
Jets Wire will continue to provide updates throughout the 2026 offseason.
This article originally appeared on Jets Wire: Report: Did the Jets jump AFC rival to make pick at 2026 NFL Draft?