Jets rookie grades after training camp look nothing like the ones this class got on draft night in April. Camp and preseason reporting produced usable evidence for five rookies, while injuries left Kenyon Sadiq, D’Angelo Ponds and VJ Payne without fair practice samples. Revisiting JetCast’s original draft night grade is a useful starting point before separating what camp showed from what April expected, which is exactly why this rookie class carries so much weight for Jets fans heading into September.
How We Graded the Jets 2026 Rookie Class
Every grade below covers camp progress only, not the original scouting decision and not career value. The rubric weighs five factors: availability to practice, movement toward or away from an expected role, traits or growth the camp reporting documented, role value relative to draft slot, and how much evidence exists by August 28, before a regular season snap has been played. Injury cases that erased a fair sample are marked Incomplete rather than forced into a low letter grade.
The Jets’ own rookie writeup sets the draft slots this report card works from: David Bailey at No. 2, Kenyon Sadiq at No. 16, Omar Cooper Jr. at No. 30, D’Angelo Ponds at No. 50, Darrell Jackson Jr. at No. 103, Cade Klubnik at No. 110, Anez Cooper at No. 188 and VJ Payne at No. 228, in the team’s official draft-day breakdown. Those outside draft-night grades are backdrop, not the standard used here.
Rich Cimini’s training camp intel reports the class’s injuries, role battles, position group movement and coaching comments. NFL.com’s roster snapshot lists all eight rookies with the Jets as of August 28, while JetCast’s unofficial rookie depth chart supplies the role context for judging whether each player moved forward or backward. The roster listing establishes current presence, while the grades turn on what each rookie showed in football work.
David Bailey Grade: A
David Bailey’s camp has been the best evidence in this class. Cimini reports exceptional first-step quickness and real power on his bull rush, traits that made him a premium pick at No. 2. Aaron Glenn told Cimini that Bailey is everything the team expected.
Cimini also reports that Bailey needs to sharpen his run defense awareness. He projects Bailey to start in the base defense and contribute in several sub packages, a defined role that fits the first step and power Bailey showed during camp. Those pass rush traits provide the strongest evidence in the class, while the unresolved run defense work keeps the grade at A rather than A plus.
Kenyon Sadiq Grade: Incomplete
Kenyon Sadiq’s camp barely happened. Cimini reports that a setback tied to offseason hernia surgery cost the first-round tight end nearly all of training camp. Frank Reich called Sadiq a high-horsepower guy. The quote shows how Reich views Sadiq’s potential, but the missed practice time left no fair camp performance sample.
Cimini projects Sadiq to be ready for Week 1, but he also reports that the lost time should delay Sadiq’s early impact. JetCast’s earlier look at Sadiq’s projected role still maps the ways Reich could use him, including his alignment versatility. Camp did not provide enough full practice work to show whether Sadiq moved toward that role, so Incomplete is the only grade supported by the sample.
Omar Cooper Jr. Grade: C+
Omar Cooper Jr. is the one rookie in this class who lost ground rather than simply missing time. Cimini reports that the No. 3 receiver job is not locked, that Cooper is battling Isaiah Williams for it and that Cooper lost ground during camp. The same reporting says his route running still needs refinement.
Cooper’s ability to line up outside or move into the slot gives him more than one route onto the field, flexibility JetCast highlighted when projecting his rookie season in July. That versatility preserves a role path, but a first-round pick who entered camp competing for meaningful snaps and lost ground in the No. 3 receiver battle needs a grade that reflects the direction of his summer. C plus fits a talented receiver whose route work and position in the competition both need to improve.
D’Angelo Ponds Grade: Incomplete
D’Angelo Ponds never got a camp sample. Cimini reports that a calf strain wiped out his entire training camp, leaving no meaningful practice work to evaluate against his second-round billing. Cimini also raises uncertainty about whether Ponds will be active for the season opener because of the time he lost.
Ponds entered camp with possible paths to the nickel job or an outside corner role, but the calf strain erased his chance to compete for either one. With no availability, role movement or documented camp traits to weigh, his grade has to remain Incomplete.
Darrell Jackson Jr. Grade: B+
Darrell Jackson Jr. is the clearest good news story among the Day 3 picks. Cimini reports the fourth-round defensive tackle has been a pleasant surprise through camp and has moved into the Jets’ defensive line rotation, a meaningful jump for a player picked in that range.
Moving into the defensive line rotation is meaningful progress for a fourth-round pick, but it does not settle how many game day snaps Jackson will earn once the regular season begins. B plus rewards the role movement Cimini reported while stopping short of treating the rotation as fixed.
Cade Klubnik Grade: B
Cade Klubnik’s camp is a study in trade offs. Cimini reports that the organization loves his intangibles and calls him the favorite for the QB2 job, while also noting that Klubnik does not have the biggest arm. The role trajectory is positive, but the physical limitation remains part of the evaluation.
Favorite remains Cimini’s projection rather than a settled depth chart decision. JetCast’s look at Klubnik’s training camp test framed the same question: whether his intangibles can outweigh the arm strength limitation in the backup competition. Positive movement toward QB2, balanced against that limitation, earns a B.
Anez Cooper Grade: B
Anez Cooper’s camp arc is about movement. Cimini reports that he went from the third team to the second team after the first preseason game, a concrete step forward in the offensive line competition. Cimini also projects Cooper to make the 53-man roster while possibly remaining inactive on some game days.
The roster outcome remains unsettled until the Jets make their transactions, so the grade rests on the reported unit movement rather than the projected 53. JetCast tracked Cooper’s path onto the offensive line in July. B rewards a sixth-round pick who moved up one unit and improved his route toward a useful reserve role.
VJ Payne Grade: Incomplete
VJ Payne’s grade follows the same injury logic as Sadiq’s and Ponds’. Cimini reports an early-camp injury and expects Payne to return soon. He projects Payne near the bottom of the 53-man roster or on the practice squad, but the injury left too little football work to separate those possible outcomes.
A seventh-round pick already fighting for a roster spot loses even more margin for error when an injury eats into his camp. Incomplete here reflects a genuine lack of evidence.
Overall Jets Rookie Grade: B-
Add it up and these Jets rookie grades land the class at a B minus. David Bailey supplied the strongest evidence of the group, with pass rush traits that matched his premium draft slot and drew praise from Aaron Glenn. Darrell Jackson Jr., Cade Klubnik and Anez Cooper, all Day 3 picks, each made reported movement toward a useful role.
The drag on the grade comes from three Incompletes, including two players drafted in the top 50, and from Omar Cooper Jr. losing ground in a receiver competition he was expected to contend for. A class grade that simply averaged eight letter grades would punish Kenyon Sadiq, D’Angelo Ponds and VJ Payne for injuries rather than performance, which is why this report card treats Incomplete as its own category instead of a low grade.
This is a snapshot before regular season evidence arrives. The Jets’ final practice before the Giants preseason finale added one more look at the roster battles before the last exhibition game. The next question is whether Bailey’s camp traits translate and whether Omar Cooper can regain ground in the receiver competition. For now, B minus reflects top end evidence from Bailey, useful Day 3 movement and three injury limited evaluations.