COMMENTARY: Delivering Rodgers, Joe Doulgas has Won the Offseason for Gang Green
The New York Jets have won the National Football League Offseason.
They won't receive a Vince Lombardi Trophy for their victory in April, but Joe Douglas and Co. have set the Jets up to make a run at a Lombardi later this year.
Amidst the hundreds of transactions across the NFL this spring, only Gang Green acquired a four-time Most Valuable Player.
In Robert Saleh's second season as head coach, the Jets featured the NFL's fourth-ranked defense (311.1). With decent quarterback play, they jumped out to a 7-4 start before the roof caved.
The AFC East division is a gauntlet and the Jets' defense could only do so much to constrain the high-powered passing offenses deployed by Buffalo and Miami.
Gang Green needed a capable quarterback of its own if it wanted to be a legitimate contender starting at the division level.
Now, with Rodgers running the show, the Jets will likely earn plenty of love from the Super Bowl oddsmakers.
With the key pieces from that vaunted defense still in place, Gang Green is expecting another productive season on that side of the ball. The unit will likely feel less pressure to constantly perform at an elite level, knowing that Rodgers is calling the shots on offense.
While hoping the defense can maintain its effectiveness, the Jets can rightfully expect the offense to make a huge leap forward.
Even during a "down year" statistically speaking, Rodgers accounted for a 64.6 completion percentage while throwing 26 touchdowns to 12 interceptions.
By comparison, Zach Wilson owns a 55.2 completion percentage to go with 15 touchdown passes and 18 interceptions in 22 career games.
Sweetening the outlook, Rodgers enjoyed some of his best seasons with Nathaniel Hackett as the Packers’ offensive coordinator and the two will be re-united in New York. In the three years (2019-2021) that the two men worked together, Rodgers won two NFL MVP awards (2020, 2021) and the Packers averaged 13 regular season wins per year.
In 2020, Rodgers set single-season career highs in completion percentage (70.7) and touchdown passes (48).
Even if the 39-year old Rodgers only plays one year, he gives the Jets a legitimate chance to contend for that one season. That chance to chase a title is something that Mike White and the majority of NFL quarterbacks cannot provide.
QB Aaron Rodgers hoists the Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl XLV
Robert Hanashiro / USA TODAY NETWORK
So, yell all you want about how great the Packers’ haul is and how the Jets traded away too much value.
The fact is the Jets surrendered premium draft capital for a future Hall-of-Famer at the highest valued position on the field. No crime committed.
With inflation affecting everything from the price of eggs to trade compensation, it needed to be done.
Further solidifying his huge off-season victory, Douglas set the table nicely for Rodgers' arrival. Adding firepower alongside emerging star receiver Garrett Wilson, the Jets acquired accomplished pass-catchers Allen Lazard and Mecole Hardman through free agency.
For those still obsessed over the level of compensation the Packers received, keep in mind, draft choices are only valuable if the team hits on the pick. Jets' fans have certainly lived that life over the past six years.
The Jets missed when they drafted supposed gems Sam Darnold at No. 3 and Wilson at No. 2 overall.
Despite spending two top picks in four years with the hope of securing "the guy," Gang Green headed into the 2023 off-season needing a productive quarterback in the worst way.
Veteran free agent Derek Carr signed with New Orleans in early March and a feeling of uneasiness set in amongst the fan base.
Fortunately, the Jets responded by shifting their recruiting efforts squarely onto Rodgers, and they finally landed the prized possession following weeks of speculation and negotiations.
With his back against the wall, Joe Douglas delivered and, for whatever it’s worth, the Jets won the off-season.
READ MORE:
Twitter Comes Alive in Aaron Rodgers Trade Aftermath
Jets' 2023 NFL Draft Selections Updated Post-Trade
Gang Green GM Joe Douglas Scores Three Key Free Agency Dubs
Three Things We Learned from Twitter as Jets Opened Off-season Program
