Did Dante Moore Avoid Jets? Fans Sound Off After Oregon QB Forgoes 2026 NFL Draft

Oregon quarterback Dante Moore's decision to forgo the 2026 NFL draft and return to school creates a conundrum for the league's most downtrodden franchise.

The New York Jets own the No. 2 pick in the draft and presumably would've targeted Moore to hopefully end their quest for a franchise quarterback. Unfortunately, the Jets are left searching for answers at the NFL's most important position once again.

Following Moore's announcement of his decision to stay in school, fans on social media couldn't help but wonder if he did so to specifically avoid being selected by the Jets in this year's draft:

Moore would've been considered the No. 2 quarterback in this year's draft class behind 2025 Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, who is universally expected to be selected by the Las Vegas Raiders with the No. 1 pick. Instead, Moore will continue his development at Oregon with an eye toward the 2027 draft, which will include a star-studded list of quarterback prospects such as Texas' Arch Manning and Ohio State's Julian Sayin.

The Jets also own the No. 16 pick that originally belonged to the Indianapolis Colts, and they will have two second-round picks as well, so perhaps they could use those selections to target a second-tier quarterback like Alabama's Ty Simpson or Ole Miss' Trinidad Chambliss. Other prospects like Penn State's Drew Allar and LSU's Garrett Nussmeier entered the 2025 season as projected early-round picks, but they should be among the signal-callers available on Day 3 of the draft.

The Jets are coming off a disastrous first year under head coach Aaron Glenn that saw them finish with a 3-14 record after losing their first seven games. New York was plagued by a lack of consistency at the quarterback position, as journeyman Justin Fields failed to meet expectations, veteran backup Tyrod Taylor couldn't stay healthy, and undrafted rookie Brady Cook played like an undrafted rookie.

It would make sense for the Jets to both bring in a veteran quarterback and draft a young signal-caller for what's expected to be another transition year in 2026. Even if the quarterback they draft in 2026 doesn't work out, they will have three first-round picks in the 2027 draft to target another one.

For now, the Jets will have to bear the continued ridicule from the rest of the NFL after losing out on the chance to draft Moore this year.