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The New York Jets are such a miserable franchise that, despite the fact that he’s now 39 years old, Aaron Rodgers is surely the best quarterback they’ve ever employed.
Granted, while Rodgers is also one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever live, it still speaks to how desperately the Jets have whiffed at the position over the course of their history.
Given Rodgers’ nearly unprecedented talents, Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett — who was Rodgers’ OC with the Green Bay Packers before taking on the Denver Broncos head coaching job last year (only to get fired before the season concluded) — sounds prepared to give the four-time MVP full dominion over the offense.
“I think there’s going to be some freedom with Aaron, and as we moved forward in the Green Bay system, there was definitely more freedom as we went,” Hackett told Peter Schrager on The Season podcast.
“We’re just going to continue that because you’ve got to take advantage of a guy like Aaron that is so smart and understands it. So, [we’re] trying to build this thing for him and build it so that when he sees certain things, he can do all kinds of stuff and put us in the best position possible.”
While things might not have worked out for Hackett in Denver — or for Rodgers once he left, as a matter of fact — he did oversee Rodgers’ two most recent MVP seasons, which certainly bodes well for the Jets as they look to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2010 season.
With weapons such as offensive rookie of the year Garrett Wilson, breakout running back Breece Hall, reliable pass catchers such as Allen Lazard and Mecole Hardman Jr, and more at his disposal, Rodgers is not only expected to transform the Jets’ offense but to make them Super Bowl contenders.
At this time, with about two-and-a-half months until the start of the 2023 NFL season, the bookmakers out of Las Vegas currently have them as the likeliest team to win next year’s Super Bowl, with their betting odds only trailing the Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, and Dallas Cowboys.