Interesting Articles

Edition #653

Good morning!

I wasn’t going to do a post today, but then I came across a couple of interesting articles and I thought I’d throw them up.

So it’s not going to be a long one by any means, but with it being a Friday it’s good to avoid work and have a chat 😜

The Jets NFL tickets went on sale here in the UK yesterday and there were over 30,000 people in the queue, at least that’s the longest I saw. Fortunately I already had my tickets set, but that shows the appetite for the NFL here. Baseball has yet to reach that height with Mets/Phillies tickets available on the day.

NFL.com posted an article outlining one player on each team that everyone should be rooting for, and you won’t be shocked to hear that Aaron Rodgers didn’t make it. As good of a QB as he is, he isn’t the most likeable man around NFL circles, rightly or wrongly. Instead, they chose Garrett Wilson, who seems to be a great guy as well as a great player - “There are plenty of people in Florham Park with much at stake in 2024, but I'm throwing my rooting energy in the direction of Wilson, who has yet to experience a winning season in New York, even while producing at an exceptional level individually over his first two pro campaigns. If things break bad for the Jets again, and they have to figure out their post-Aaron Rodgers plan at QB (along with, maybe, their post-Robert Saleh and post-Joe Douglas plans at head coach and general manager, respectively), Wilson will be in serious risk of falling into the Terry McLaurin Zone. As much as I appreciate McLaurin and others who have excelled in losing situations, I'd rather have the league's best players enjoying team success and, ideally, showing their stuff in the postseason.”

According to PFF, the Jets have a top-10 unit at RB, which is based nearly entirely on Breece Hall considering we’ve barely seen the other guys play - “The Jets are light on backs with experience beyond Breece Hall, but Hall has already established himself as one of the best in the league. He earned a 77.8 rushing grade with an 88.9 receiving grade in 2023, all while ranking as a top-10 running back in PFF wins above average (0.14). He can do so much for this offense at such a high level. Behind him are two rookies, Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis, as well as the speedster Izzy Abanikanda.” I sometimes think that Breece Hall is undervalued based entirely on how much hype Sauce and Garrett get, but I have a feeling that Breece is about to enter the conversation of best back in the league.

While the Jets have a top-10 unit at RB, PFF don’t rate the receivers quite as highly. According to them, the Jets don’t even have a top-15 unit, with Garrett Wilson and co coming in at #19 - “Garrett Wilson is a star receiver, and a fully healthy season from Aaron Rodgers should only highlight that even more. Breece Hall is a very good receiver out of the backfield, but outside of him, there are a lot of unknowns. Mike Williams, while a solid flier signing, is recovering from a torn ACL. Perhaps better quarterback play will elevate everyone on the team. Time will tell.” Can someone just send this directly of Nathaniel Hackett’s inbox to remind him that Breece Hall is a ‘very good receiver’.

The 33rd team re-drafted the 2022 NFL draft and guess who went #1 overall? Sauce Gardner to the Jacksonville Jaguars - “The consensus at the time was that the Jacksonville Jaguars got a little cute with the top pick, opting for Travon Walker instead of Aidan Hutchinson due to the former's remarkable athleticism and dense frame. It was the wrong call, and no one would bat an eye if Hutchinson went first overall in a do-over. However, Sauce Gardner is even better than Hutchinson. His man coverage splits are historically good through two seasons, proving to be one of the rare young difference-makers at an invaluable position.” Instead of Sauce we took Trent McDuffie with the #4 overall pick “There's a gap between Sauce and Trent McDuffie, but not a big enough one for the New York Jets to have been upset at this result. McDuffie has become an MVP-level contributor to the Kansas City secondary in his first two seasons, proving to be a shutdown corner in the slot and outside. He earned an All-Pro nod in 2023” They still had us taking Garrett Wilson at #10 and Breece Hall went #15 to the Texans.

Interestingly they had us taking safety Jalen Pitre instead of Jermain Johnson at #26 (JJ was still available) - “Taking only high-value positions in the first round is a nice idea but not always functional. Jermaine Johnson II is talented and athletic and could succeed in the right situation. But New York has too much depth for him to play, and they wasted a valuable resource to force the pick on a backup. Safety Jalen Pitre would've been a fun addition to their young secondary. Pitre was more effective as a rookie in Houston than in Year 2, but his range and consistent tackling would've fit nicely into Robert Saleh's defense instead of Jordan Whitehead.” Personally I’m sticking with Jermaine Johnson there.

The 33rd team also looked at some trends of the increasing cap and spoke about the boom with receivers and quarterbacks getting a ridiculous amount per season. I actually find it quite sickening to talk about some of these contracts.

Seth Walder over at ESPN graded everyone’s offseason and gave the Jets a B+

Biggest move: Trading for edge rusher Haason Reddick
Move I liked: Signing OT Tyron Smith
Move I disliked: Retaining offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett

The Jets know who they are, and their 2024 offseason reflected that. With a Super Bowl window that could close after the season, they made moves to shore up needs and crafted a roster around quarterback Aaron Rodgers that has a chance to win.

Don't get me wrong, the Jets' offense hinges on a three-leg health parlay of Rodgers, Smith and wide receiver Mike Williams. It's a long shot that the group lasts the year together, but if it does, the Jets have a real chance. And that's why these made sense; the point is to win the Super Bowl, and this was the best way to try.

The one insurance policy was using a first-round pick on offensive tackle Olu Fashanu, but I like this in conjunction with the two veteran tackle acquisitions (Morgan Moses being the other beyond Smith). On average, rookie tackles -- even first-rounders -- are below average. To count on Fashanu right away would have been tough for a team with this short a window, but at the same time, he at least provides depth behind two injury-risk veterans.

The Eagles got the best of the Jets in an informal swap of Reddick and Bryce Huff. They are similar players, but the Eagles received a third-round pick for the younger (but more unproven) Huff. Otherwise, the Jets were able to bolster their 2024 chances without mortgaging too much of 2025 and beyond. They did err in signing defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw -- had they not, they likely would have been entitled to a fourth-round compensatory pick, per OverTheCap's Nick Korte. Perhaps the biggest error was keeping Hackett, a questionable choice but something they probably had to do to placate Rodgers.