Camp Preview: Offensive

Edition #437

Good morning! ☕

I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who filled the survey out yesterday. We got a number of great responses with very helpful suggestions. The good news is that most believe the newsletter is on the right path and I’ll certainly take on some of the content ideas for the season.

If you didn’t have time yesterday, you can still fill in the survey today.

Today we’re going to start getting ready for camp with our offensive depth chart review. Taking stock of where players stand right now and then we’ll look again at the end of training camp to see the sisters and fallers.

First, as we always do, let’s head to the Quick Throws!

💰 Quinnen’s salary cap number was released yesterday and my opinion of the deal remains. Good deal for Quinnen and a good deal for the Jets. It’s basically a 4-year contract with a good out or period of negotiation for an extension before 2027.

✍️ Here are the contract notes from OTC: Quinnen Williams signed a four year, $96 million contract extension with the Jets on July 15, 2023. Per PFT the contract has $66 million in guarantees of which $47.835 million is guaranteed at signing. The full guarantee consists of a $24.5 million signing bonus and Williams' salaries and per game bonuses in 2023 and 2024 as well as $6.241 million of his 2025 salary. If on the roster on the fifth day of the 2025 league year the remainder of his 2025 salary and per game bonus will be fully guaranteed. On that day he will also earn a $5 million guarantee on his 2026 salary. If on the roster on the fifth day of the 2026 league year another $2.656 million is guaranteed. The extension reduced Williams' 2023 salary cap number by $3.1 million.

📹 The NFL officially announced that the Jets will be featured on Hard Knocks, but according to Adam Schefter, the Jets won’t grant the same kind of access as we’re used to seeing. Speaking on Get Up, Schefter said: “Hard Knocks will not be the same. They’re not going to be given the same access. The Jets don’t believe it’s humane to show players being released.”

😏 Add former Packers defensive lineman Gilbert Brown to the list of people who doubt the Jets: “Guess what, Earl. [The Jets’ opponents] are all p***ed off because all they heard all offseason is Aaron Rodgers and the Jets. Here’s the killer part, Earl. It don’t matter if you had Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. Let’s say you even had Davante Adams at wide receiver. Let’s Emmitt Smith at running back. It won’t matter if they don’t got that offensive line right. He better hope the offensive line is right, because last year they were not.”

🎫 The Jets released the tickets for public training camp sessions yesterday, and they all sold out in 3 minutes. That’s right, 180 seconds. That’s quicker than a Taylor Swift concert, the only way you’re getting into any of those practices is if you know Aaron Rodgers.

📈 ESPN recently ranked NFL QBs and polled front office and scouting personnel around the league, and one anonymous scout had this to say about Aaron Rodgers: “I think everyone is afraid to say he’s declined a little. He’s still a great thrower and sees it really well, but he’s more like [ranked] eight to 12 for me.” I’d be willing to bet that the anonymous scout calls New England, Buffalo or Miami home.

🤕 Pittsburgh Steelers QB Kenny Pickett was asked who hit him the hardest during his rookie campaign, and here’s his answer: “Quinnen Williams. Easy answer,” Pickett explained. “Against the Jets, I came in, and I think they ran a stunt or something, and he came in and got me right under the chin. And I got up laughing. I’ve never been hit that hard in my life.”

🙌 There are a lot of questions about Michael Carter this year after a disappointing sophomore campaign, and the 3rd year man is determined to prove his worth on the field: “A lot. I don’t want to speak on it right now, just want to show it. Sometimes you have to say less and do more,” Carter said in the interview. “Just locking in on what you want to get done. I feel like you can work hard but if you have no approach for your work, it’s kinda all for not. I think the plan that I’ve been on is going pretty well. I’m getting better. I feel like I’m going to have a good year three.”

4️⃣6️⃣ PFF release the start of their top 50 list for the best NFL players in 2023. It will slowly be released through the week, but the Jets already have an entry. Aaron Rodgers came in at number 45: “Rodgers is just a year removed from back-to-back MVP seasons, but at his age, any downtick in performance immediately gets people predicting a decline, even if the demise of his receiving corps was a very valid excuse for it. This season with the Jets has the potential to bring out the very best of Rodgers once again.”

👋 Le’Veon Bell admitted that leaving the Steelers for the Jets was a big mistake that he never apologised for. To be fair to Bell, I think the Jets would consider it a pretty big mistake as well: “I never apologized to the fans for really sitting out, or leaving the Steelers,” Bell said in a video posted to social media. “I never apologized. So I want to say I apologize for leaving the best damn fans there is in this damn world. I shouldn’t have left. I apologize. I should never have left. I apologize. That’s my fault. That’s on me.”

🍫 Rex Ryan has been talking about Hard Knocks, and this is what he had to say after confirming that no coach wants to do the show. “I think Aaron Rodgers is going to be freaking great,” Ryan said. “Aaron Rodgers is extremely confident in himself. Yeah, he’s different, but so what? He embraces it. He ain’t a guy that is going to run from anything. He could care less. He’s going to be him and I think that’s great. I think people will enjoy it.”

Offensive Training Camp Preview

Players report to camp tomorrow, so we need to get to our camp preview posts. Yesterday I posted up 16 thoughts on storylines that could dominate camp.

Now we need to take a look at the roster. Today I’m focusing on the offensive side of the ball. We’re going to project the depth chart at the start of camp and then we’re going to come back to this at the end of camp to see how things changed.

Wayne Chrebet inspired today’s post. The former Hofstra man started his rookie training camp 11th on the depth chart and ended up appearing in 152 games, catching 580 passes for 7,365 yards and 41 touchdowns. He also happened to retire a legend.

I’m using the off-season depth chart as a reference point. The wide receivers are hard to place as there are three different receiver positions on the depth chart, two outside and then the slot. But this is largely an accurate reference for how we’ll be starting camp.