Jets 2026 Position Breakdown: Does New York Have An Adequate Backup Plan At Quarterback In Place?

Heading into the 2026 season, the Jets have made a series of moves to improve the state of their roster and overall depth, but are they ready to compete for a playoff spot?

In this series, we’ll break down the depth chart for every position group. This time, we’ll go in depth at the quarterback position…

Projected depth chart

Starter: Geno Smith

Backups: Bailey Zappe, Cade Klubnik, Brady Cook

Key additions/losses: Smith was acquired via trade from the Las Vegas Raiders, while previous starter Justin Fields headed to Kansas City in another trade and Tyrod Taylor departed in free agency. Klubnik was drafted in the fourth round, and Zappe was acquired on a futures deal at the end of last season.

Top Performers in 2025: Fields made nine starts, winning two. He completed 63 percent of his passes for 1,259 yards and seven touchdowns with just one interception. He also rushed for 383 yards and four touchdowns.

2025 ranking per PFF: Smith was 37th out of 45 qualifiers last year, five places below Fields. Cook was dead last.

What Jets’ quarterbacks have going for them

Smith’s improbable return to the Jets sees him viewed very differently than he was when he left the Jets at the end of his rookie deal 10 years ago. He has matured a lot since then, leading the Seattle Seahawks to the postseason and earning two Pro Bowl invitations, the most recent of which was just three years ago.

The Jets remain confident that the 35-year-old still has plenty left in the tank. They will be hoping to see the best version of him as he spearheads offensive coordinator Frank Reich’s offense, which boasts stability on the offensive line and a retooled group of pass catchers. 

Head coach Aaron Glenn was probably being over-optimistic when he said that he believes Smith “can take the Jets to the promised land”. However, he refused to rule out Smith returning in 2027 if he plays well in 2026, despite the fact the Jets are widely expected to use a high draft pick on their quarterback of the future next April with Smith on a one-year deal.

Key concern for 2026: Lack of experienced reserves

Behind Smith, the backup options are lacking in experience, and it would be a concern if New York entered the year being one Smith injury away from one of the current reserves being forced into significant playing time.

Zappe is the most experienced option, with nine career starts, four of which his team won. However, he failed to crack a weak Cleveland Browns rotation last season and was without a team at the end of the year so he’s not exactly a sought-after talent.

Klubnik is a former five-star high school recruit who many expected to play better in college and end up as a possible first-round pick. However, when the Jets took him in the fourth round, this was considerably earlier than most analysts expected based on his inconsistent collegiate career at Clemson. The Jets seem to like him a lot and obviously hope they can unlock some of his unrealized potential, but it would be a major gamble to assume he could be ready to play at the NFL level as a rookie.

The other quarterback on the roster is Cook, who started the last four games in 2025 as an undrafted rookie. He looked out of his depth in those games and already seems to have already fallen behind Zappe and Klubnik in the pecking order.

Player who must step up in 2026: Smith

Ultimately, how Smith performs could make or break the Jets’ season. If he can play with the same level of efficiency as he did during his best years in Seattle, the Jets’ offense will be significantly improved, and the team should be competitive.

Can we rely on that, though? Smith was poor with the Raiders last season as he led the league in interceptions and struggled to elevate a poor supporting cast. He was also the most-sacked quarterback in the league last year, which shouldn’t repeat with the Jets projected to have a solid offensive line. Perhaps with better protection, Smith can rediscover the fountain of youth.

Biggest Camp Battle: Klubnik vs. Zappe

It would probably be smart for the Jets to figure out some way to get someone more established on the team as a more viable number two option. If they don’t, it looks like Klubnik and Zappe will duke it out for the backup role. Even if New York does add a more viable option, there will be a competition between these two to be the number three quarterback.

This could be something that gets decided in preseason, where each of these players should get the majority of the key reps. How much Cook factors in and whether he can insert himself into the conversation remains to be seen.

Overall 2026 outlook

As alluded to above, it falls on Smith to complete his redemption arc this season, and if he can steer the Jets in the right direction, we could finally see a competitive Jets team and some optimism for the future from the fanbase.

Unless the Jets have reason to be a lot higher than anyone outside the organization realizes on either Klubnik or Zappe (or both of them) it would be extremely risky, if not reckless, to head into the regular season without adding another more established backup option.  At this stage, unless someone unexpected shakes loose, even the available upgrades are far from ideal.

It will therefore be as important as ever to keep the starting quarterback upright this season, because the Jets could be ill-equipped to adapt if they were to lose Smith for any period of time.