How have the New York Jets performed in training camp thus far?
Attending the New York Jets’ first training camp practice open to the public was a surreal experience for me. Seeing football live again in any capacity is always a blessing. More importantly, seeing Aaron Rodgers look exactly the same as he did last year was a sight to behold.
I’m going to break down what I’ve heard from camp and what I saw in person on Thursday, as well as some of the biggest storylines heading into August.
Rodgers is still Rodgers
There has been a ton of coverage, mostly negative, surrounding Rodgers in the offseason. Most levelheaded fans know that all that matters when it comes to Rodgers is his availability in training camp, not if he misses two minicamp days in June.
All I care about is how Rodgers looks on the football field, and boy, does he look good. He commands the offense so well; it feels like he never missed a beat. On Thursday, Rodgers went 13-for-16 on his pass attempts.
All Jets fans became accustomed to watching putrid quarterback play over the past few years. Although it was just a training camp practice without pads on, the difference between Rodgers and any other Jets quarterback is night and day. He had a great fourth-down conversion to Tyler Conklin. I really see zero signs of him regressing, as his arm and brain are still the exact same as they’ve been his whole career, and they don’t seem to be going away anytime soon. It’s on the Jets to keep him upright, and if they do, the sky’s the limit.
Kick returning competition
Tarik Cohen, Xavier Gipson, and Malachi Corley all took reps as kick returners in practice on Thursday.
At this point, it is hard to see Cohen not making the roster, as he has value as a kick returner for this team. I actually prefer him and Corley as the Jets’ returners to start the year. I think that they both offer very different attributes as returners. This is not to say that Gipson will not get the first crack at it, but with the new rules, there will likely be two returners back there for the Jets on each kickoff. I think that these three will rotate quite a bit, and I really like the three of them as the team’s options for returners.
Lazard is back?
We need to pump the brakes on Allen Lazard. While I have been an advocate of Lazard improving this year with Rodgers as the quarterback, I still think that he has a long way to go. He continues to have problems catching the football; according to Jets X-Factor’s Robby Sabo, a pass went off his hands to cause an interception on Monday.
Lazard will likely have a big role to start the year, but ideally, he will be a depth piece and will not start in the team’s 11 personnel package when they are fully healthy.
McKinley and Fotu show out
Takk McKinley and Leki Fotu both had huge days on Thursday.
Fotu had a few big tackles for losses and run stops, which was very encouraging to see, as he is going to be a vital piece in the defense of line rotation.
McKinley had multiple sacks on the day; I charted him for three. He will see a good amount of time, as we know the Jets like to rotate their defensive lineman a ton, and if he can provide some juice, it will be huge for the Jets, who already have a star-studded starting defensive line.
Garrett Wilson is unbelievable
Wilson really showed out on Thursday. The Jets started the day with a hard play action play that hit Wilson on the sideline on a double move for a massive gain.
Once Wilson and Rodgers get their chemistry down, there is no limit to Wilson’s ceiling in this offense. I do not see a world where Rodgers and Wilson are both healthy and Wilson does not eclipse at least 1,400 receiving yards. He is so good at all points of the field and is basically unguardable from either the slot or the outside.
It is imperative that Rodgers and Wilson take the time through training camp to gain chemistry and comfortability for each other. Wilson is going to see a massive target volume in the offense this season, and rightfully so. I’m so excited to watch him come September.
Other Notes
It seems like Malachi Corley will have an uphill battle to get reps this year. To start, the Jets will have to incorporate him in a gadget role and try to manufacture touches for him as we know how explosive he is with the ball in his hands. My hope for him is that by mid-season, he could be starting as the Jets’ slot receiver in 11 personnel.
Tyron Smith showed why the Jets gave him a lot of money this off-season, as he was stonewalling guys left and right all throughout practice in pass protection. I cannot put into words how valuable he will be on the field as Aaron Rodgers’ blindside protector. The only thing with him is just staying healthy.
As training camp progresses, I would like to see how Olu Fashanu and Chuck Clark progress, as I believe those two guys are huge X-factors for the Jets this season. Fashanu needs to get reps and become comfortable working with the starting O-Line, which will obviously take time. As for Clark, seeing how he responds to his injury from last year will be important. It’s imperative that he and Tony Adams get as many reps together as possible in training camp to gain chemistry as the safety duo for this defense in 2024.
