In the heart of the summer, a fall-like day emerged to remind fans that regular season football nears.
The New York Jets welcomed the Washington Commanders to Florham Park on Thursday for their joint practice, and it was unlike most days so far this summer. It was cooler and filled with plenty of rain, giving off more of an atmosphere that felt September or October-ish.
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Despite the unsavory conditions, it was an intense practice for both sides. And for most of it, the Jets proved they are the much better team. Why was that the case? That is what today’s edition of the camp report will set out to show.
The Jets have a real QB2
Due to the poor weather at practice, head coach Robert Saleh held star quarterback Aaron Rodgers out of practice. Saleh said it felt “unnecessary” to play the veteran in a heightened environment. As a result, Tyrod Taylor was set to revive the starting reps for the Jets against the Commanders.
Based on most of today’s results, no Aaron Rodgers was no problem for the New York Jets.
Taylor was in command of the offense, throwing the ball all over the field with high success rates. He worked in the middle of the field, hitting Tyler Conklin on a few throws in that area. He worked toward the sidelines, notably having perfect placement on a throw to Allen Lazard. Most impressively, he was extremely consistent on his deep throws, hitting Garrett Wilson on multiple passes of over 30 yards.
Forbes is in Wilson’s torture chamber. Long pass from Tyrod to G5, who has plenty of separation and would’ve gotten in the end zone. That connection is thriving today. #Jets
— Brandyn Pokrass (@BPok24) August 8, 2024
Last year, the Jets mistakingly ignored the backup quarterback position. They overlooked the importance of having a steadying veteran presence behind a starter, and their entire season collapsed as a result.
Joe Douglas realized his mistake in 2024 and made signing Taylor a priority. Based on his performance today and throughout camp, the Jets have a player who can get the team multiple wins in the event that Aaron Rodgers gets hurt.
The Garrett Wilson show
If you have not found a seat on the G5 Wagon up to this point, good luck finding one now.
Even without Aaron Rodgers in the fold, Garrett Wilson dominated almost every rep against the Washington Commanders’ secondary. He won vertically down the field, beating Emmanuael Forbes Jr. multiple times on plays that would have gone for touchdowns.
He won laterally, breaking off routes and making toe-touch grabs on the sideline. He won in the red zone and in the slot. He even won with juke moves in the middle of the field, making at least three defensive backs miss on one of the best plays of the day.
Wilson continues to roll today. Just an awesome performance. #Jets https://t.co/osbeB4QWLK
— Brandyn Pokrass (@BPok24) August 8, 2024
There is not much more to say about Wilson. He is winning even more consistently than last year and, just like during intrasquad practices, dominated the majority of reps against the Commanders. The Ohio State product is ready to stake his claim to the upper echelon of wideouts, and if you do not believe me, just watch this highlight tape below.
.@GarrettWilson_V put on a SHOW today 🔥 pic.twitter.com/K7X7tu8KLm
— New York Jets (@nyjets) August 8, 2024
Running is a strength
As strong as the passing game looked today, the running game was imposing, too.
The starting unit, which included Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses, was not in for the majority of practice. But they had extremely dominant reps against a talented Commanders’ defensive line.
Breece Hall had a big touchdown run in the red zone, gliding through a hole created by Smith, aka Highway 77, and Joe Tippmann. He ripped off another big run on a different drive with the first-team offense, but Olu Fashanu led the blocking on that play.
Team drills starting now. Breece Hall goes for a short gain on first down. He gets it on second, reads the blocks well, and rips off a touchdown. Loud Breeeeeece chants come after the run #Jets
— Brandyn Pokrass (@BPok24) August 8, 2024
Tyrod back in. First play is a big run for Breece, opened up by the left side of the line. Bit of a dust up afterwards, with Olu running further down field to back up his teammates. #Jets
— Brandyn Pokrass (@BPok24) August 8, 2024
The other half of the Killer Bs, Braelon Allen, also had a big run in the same red zone period when Hall scored the touchdown. Isaiah Davis ripped off multiple runs of 20+ yards and looked explosive getting outside and downhill.
The Killer Bs are at it again. Allen gets it right and goes all the way down toward the goal line. Another great play from the rookie. #Jets
— Brandyn Pokrass (@BPok24) August 8, 2024
Davis looking really good again. Just ripped a long run down the side line for a big gain. Most importantly, finished the run strong by trying to run over a defender. Good player. #Jets
— Brandyn Pokrass (@BPok24) August 8, 2024
Even with Aaron Rodgers, the Jets will likely rely heavily on the running game. They have talented personnel who can execute their scheme and talented running backs who can be explosive while making consistent plays.
If the execution looks similar to how it did on Thursday, the Jets could be a successful and balanced offense in 2024.
Stifling Defense
Not to be outshined by Garrett Wilson and the offense, the New York Jets defense had a good day today as well.
Will McDonald had arguably one of his best practices of 2024. From all accounts, he looked extremely bendy and explosive coming off the edge for the Jets’ defense. More significantly, it seemed that the second-year player earned more reps on the starting unit.
Will McDonald with a nice rush and sack on Dainels
— Leger Douzable (@LegerDouzable) August 8, 2024
In addition to McDonald, Jermaine Johnson had some great reps as a pass-rusher. During the move-the-ball period, Johnson showed some great power barreling toward the quarterback and likely would have had a sack on Jayden Daniels.
Defense on the close field now. Mosley levels the TE to force an incompletion. Daniels then throws it away on second. JJ with a dominant pass pro rep to like get a sack in game.
— Brandyn Pokrass (@BPok24) August 8, 2024
Sauce Gardner had a leaping deflection to force a turnover on downs, which was a perfect blend of being in the right position and Gardner using his insane length. C.J. Mosley and Quincy Williams looked fast and decisive in coverage and making tackles downhill. Jamien Sherwood continued to impress, making two big tackles and flying around the field to make plays.
Second drive for Jets defense. Sherwood blows up a run on first and then decleats the WR after he picks up a first down on second down.
— Brandyn Pokrass (@BPok24) August 8, 2024
The Commanders have a very young offense that is improving but is still in its early stages of development. It is good to see that the Jets simply took care of business and did not play around with the opponent. More importantly, it is good to see players like McDonald and Sherwood take advantage of their opportunity and continue to improve.
Other Notes
- Israel Abanikanda looked much better today than in previous practices, showing some juice in the passing game. That could be his main avenue to sticking on the roster.
- I love the development Fashanu is showing. He is not perfect, but he will be more than ready if called upon this season.
- Allen continues to show great route running—a very underrated part of his game.
- Tyler Harrell had a nice sliding grab today.
- Adrian Martinez has some wheels. I want to see him challenge for the QB3 role with Travis sidelined.
- Malachi Corley’s route running is improving. He had a great corner route with the second team that helped get the team in FG range.
- Carter Warren is better than Max Mitchell. He stonewalled multiple players during team drills.
- Zaire Barnes is a missile on special teams and defense. Could be the next developmental gem for the Jets,
- Eric Watts and Micheal Clemons look frightening on special teams. This could be another opportunity for both players to solidify their standing on the roster.
Saleh Speaks
Outside of addressing Rodgers not practicing, Saleh said he “has not talked about Week 3” of the preseason with Rodgers and that “nothing” is decided on that yet. He also spoke about Mike Williams returning to practice.
“The good news is, obviously, he’s a lot further ahead than we anticipated. If I’m not mistaken, he was out at individual and some route running stuff early, so that’s going to kind of be his progression. He’ll be involved in all the walkthroughs, individual, routes on air, so for the next week or two. That’s about the extent of what we’ll see unless he starts feeling good, but we’ll anticipate him getting back into team work, maybe a couple weeks from now.”
Quote of the Day
“He going to be nice… I just told him, “Man, you are going to be real good, man.” – Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner on Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels
