The New York Jets will finally get to see Rodgers as their full-time quarterback. How can they help him succeed?
FLORHAM PARK, NJ– In 2023, Aaron Rodgers played a total of four downs for the New York Jets, which included a run play, a throwaway, an incomplete pass, and a sack that tore his Achilles tendon.
Immediately, Rodgers began planning his return. He had an experimental surgery to put in a speed bridge, also known as an internal brace. Then, he worked through an intense rehab schedule and diet, along with many other alternative healing methods such as listening to the noises of mating dolphins. Despite the unconventionality of his methods, Rodgers was able to make a recovery and return to the active roster after 77 days; a precedent of a recovery time for an Achilles tear. There was even a chance he would have returned to the field, if not for the lack of team success and elimination from the playoffs in Week 15.
Now Rodgers has almost fully recovered, admitting that he can do everything except sprint at full speed. The Jets are expecting him to be their starting QB next season and need to do everything in their power to make sure his return is momentous for the franchise. The expectation in New York with Rodgers at QB is their first playoff appearance since 2010, and their first Super Bowl appearance since 1969.
The primary step to turning around the Jets’ franchise is in the trenches. New York’s offensive line has gone through some recent struggles and now they lost both of their starting tackles: Mekhi Becton and Duane Brown, and a solid backup, Billy Turner, in free agency. They also lost their starting guard, Connor McGovern to free agency and cut their other starting guard, Laken Tomlinson.
The leftover starter will be Joe Tippman, soon to be a second-year player who was named to the 2023 PFWA All-Rookie Team. They also still retain guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, the 14th overall pick of the 2021 draft who has made 12 starts over the last two seasons as a reliable backup.
To fill in the leftover spots on their offensive line, the Jets have made some big moves. They picked up 33-year-old tackle Tyron Smith and 26-year-old guard John Simpson. They also traded for 33-year-old Morgan Moses from the Baltimore Ravens. Simpson was a long-time backup before moving into his first impactful starting role this past season with the Ravens. Picking him up was a great decision for the Jets as they can secure one of their interior offensive line positions. However, their pickups of Moses and Smith are not as safe.
As each of the tackles has aged, their playing times have been decimated by injuries. Neither player has played in more than six full games in the last five seasons, and their trajectories are only getting worse.
The 2nd step in turning around the Jets’ franchise is getting more weapons for Rodgers. Currently, the team has two young studs in RB Breece Hall and WR Garrett Wilson.
Head coach Robert Saleh has recognized the need for offensive weapons since the season has ended, expressing that opposing defensive attention needs to be taken away from Wilson. Rodgers and Wilson have also both expressed an urgency to find help. Additionally, when Rodgers was with the Green Bay Packers, he began expressing anger towards the organization for a lack of effort to find help, starting when they drafted QB Jordan Love in 2020 when the team lacked depth at most offensive positions.
To fill in the gaps, the organization started by picking up WR Mike Williams in free agency, signing a one-year contract. They also have a need at RB, where they currently only have one player worth starting in Breece Hall. Most of the league has realized that an effective backfield requires two pieces. Last season, the Jets tried to find that second threat in former Minnesota Vikings RB Dalvin Cook, but after an ugly first season with the new organization, the Jets cut him loose.
JOFFREY’S MOCK DRAFT: 2024 Round One NFL Mock Draft: A QB Frenzy and Offensive Explosion Underline the First
The third way that the team can support Rodgers upon his return would be by giving him more chances with the ball in his hands by playing better defense. The team struggled against the run last season, allowing the eighth most yards on the ground. Because they had so many offensive struggles, their opponents wouldn’t need to score quickly, nor that much at all. Opposing teams ran the ball 517 times against the Jets, which is the third most last season.
Because the Jets weren’t able to stop the run and opposing teams stayed on the ground as much as possible, those opposing teams dominated the time of possession throughout the season. The Jets ended the season with an average of 29:02 minutes of possession each game, which was 25th in the league. To try and address this, DTs Leki Fotu and Javon Kinlaw were signed to one-year deals; although, neither player was extremely successful for their previous teams. Each player has been in the league for four years, and they have combined for a total of 198 tackles, including solo and assisted.
Now that the draft is just a few days away, the Jets are putting together their plan for filling in some of these holes. In the first round, due to talent availability at each position, they will likely be drafting a wide receiver or offensive tackle. If you are interested in who I have the Jets taking, you can check out my mock draft. Whichever they choose to draft first will likely not have much effect on whether or not they get those positions, as there is a lot of depth for both tackles and receivers in this year’s draft.
For RBs and TEs, there isn’t much depth this year, and other than Georgia TE Brock Bowers, there isn’t much early-round talent. However, choosing either of these positions on day two or three of the draft could prove to be a solid choice.
When it comes to defense, the biggest need is safety. They lost Jordan Whitehead, a star player for their defense and leader in interceptions with four, as well as second in total tackles with 97. To address this need, they will likely be drafting a player on day two of the draft, as there isn’t much depth for the position and likely not enough talent to be drafted on day one.
Lastly, they need to address the interior defensive line. With a big dropoff after the top interior defensive linemen in this year’s draft, it is likely that if the Jets choose to address this position, it will be late day two or day three.
With the start of the new league year about a month ago, and the NFL draft and schedule release being so close, it won’t be long until training camp starts and there is hype around the 2024 season. If the Jets can fix some of the issues that I have mentioned, Rodgers may bring the Jets to new heights.
