FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — A year ago, Aaron Rodgers might’ve relished the chance to go against Sean Payton, to stand up for his friend (and offensive coordinator) Nathaniel Hackett after Payton trashed Hackett in the summer of 2023. Rodgers is no stranger to using external factors as motivation. The Packers angered him into back-to-back MVP seasons after they drafted Jordan Love. Even if Rodgers claims to not be online, he knows what people say about him.
So try to imagine the furor he would’ve played with in 2023 when the Jets traveled to Denver, a couple months after Payton said Hackett’s performance as the Broncos head coach in 2022 was “one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL.” Rodgers defended Hackett in training camp, but didn’t get a chance to avenge him in the game. Rodgers, of course, was out with his Achilles injury, but with Zach Wilson at quarterback the Jets rallied, beat the Broncos 31-21 and Hackett celebrated as if he’d won the Super Bowl.
OH MY, @ZachWilson to @GarrettWilson_V 🎯#NYJvsDEN on CBS pic.twitter.com/zJE3PCsErO
— New York Jets (@nyjets) October 8, 2023
A year later, Rodgers is getting his first shot at Payton — but Rodgers (if you believe him) doesn’t really care about those comments anymore.
“That’s old news,” Rodgers said. “We’ve all said things that we’d like to take back. Some things have been said and taken out of context, I’m sure, from time to time. I honestly haven’t thought about it.”
If the Jets win on Sunday, check back after the game to see if Rodgers’ tone changes.
The Jets-Broncos connections go beyond the Hackett-Payton of it all. This offseason, the Jets made multiple trades with Denver, sending Wilson and defensive end John Franklin-Myers to the Broncos in separate deals. They also pursued wide receiver Jerry Jeudy early in the offseason before the Broncos instead traded him to the Browns. Denver assistant head coach Mike Westhoff was a longtime Jets special teams coordinator. (Then there’s the Alijah Vera-Tucker factor: In each of the last two years, he suffered season-ending injuries while playing the Broncos.)
Wilson, the Jets’ former No. 2 overall pick, is the headliner. Odds are he won’t see the field on Sunday as the third-string quarterback, though Wilson did put together an impressive preseason that had Payton raving about his progress.
“I still stand here and believe that he’s going to have a hell of a career,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said. “He’s going to get an opportunity and be a very successful quarterback in this league.”
Here are some other news and notes ahead of Jets-Broncos game…
Fashanu steps in at RT
Olu Fashanu was in a unique spot as an early first-round pick coming to the Jets: They drafted him without the intention of playing him much in 2024. At least, that would’ve been the case if all went according to plan and the Jets’ two starting offensive tackles — Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses — made it through the year unscathed. As the Jets know well from their last few years of miserable luck on the offensive line, the odds of both Smith and Moses getting through the season without missing games was unlikely.
So when Moses left last week’s win against the Patriots with a knee injury, the Jets had the unique luxury of replacing a starter with a first-round rookie. Moses is expected to miss a few weeks — he won’t go on injured reserve, so could be back within four games — and Fashanu will step in as the starter at right tackle.
“I mean, the mentality of every rookie is to, you know, step in and play,” Fashanu said. “But for me, I think I’m in a very unique situation where I’m in an offensive line room with not only one, but two great tackles. For me it was about getting the most out of them, picking their brains and asking them as much as possible to help my own development.”
Fashanu was a standout during training camp. He spent the bulk of the summer at left tackle — the only position he played at Penn State — before getting some reps at right tackle in the latter stages of camp. Fashanu said he’d trained at right tackle during the pre-draft process as well, and he played well at right tackle in the Jets’ second preseason game.
When Moses left with the injury against the Patriots, Fashanu stepped in for 13 snaps at right tackle. He allowed zero pressures and graded out well (78.1 grade via Pro Football Focus) in the running game.
“We’ve got a lot of faith in in Olu to go out and execute,” Saleh said.
During the pre-draft process, there was a lot of noise about the Jets drafting an offensive weapon. And they might have, had either wide receiver the team had their eye on — Malik Nabers or Rome Odunze — fallen to them at No. 10. Saleh claimed on Wednesday that the Jets were always going to draft an offensive lineman first. True or not, they were thrilled when Fashanu fell to them.
“It was a very easy decision,” Saleh said.
And Fashanu has impressed Rodgers since training camp. Rodgers said he doesn’t like to make player comparisons but made one about Fashanu that is sure to please the locals: D’Brickashaw Ferguson.
“From the beginning, I felt like he reminded me a lot of D’Brickashaw personality-wise,” Rodgers said. “I obviously didn’t play with Brick, but I know people that did. I watched him from afar and it always felt like he was just so consistent week in and week out, like he wasn’t getting beat a lot. He was in the right place. He was good in the run game. He was good pass blocking.
“It’s just never been too big for Olu. I feel like he’s been consistent every day. If you make a mistake, he doesn’t make a repeat mistake. His attitude, he’s very quiet. He just kind of goes about his business. I think he’s in a good spot … I’m very confident in Olu.”
Mosley update
C.J. Mosley is dealing with a toe injury suffered in Week 2, didn’t practice on Wednesday and Saleh said he might be a game-time decision to play against the Broncos on Sunday.
Mosley’s importance goes beyond his football skills — he’s the team’s captain, leader and defensive signal-caller. But the positive side of his absence is that it’s given Jamien Sherwood an opportunity to get playing time he otherwise might not have to this point of the season. The fourth-year linebacker was slow to develop coming out of college after switching from safety to linebacker but he’s played well over the first three weeks and Jets coaches are confident in his ability to lead the defense with Mosley out.
Per PFF’s grading, Sherwood has been the 13th-best linebacker (out of 61) to play at least 100 snaps, grading out especially well (fifth) in coverage. Sherwood is a better athlete than Mosley, especially at this stage of his career, and the Jets should find ways to get him on the field even after Mosley returns.
“We’re really confident in Sherwood,” Saleh said after Week 2. “He’s got tremendous command of the huddle. He’s a great communicator in the pre-snap and post-snap. He’s got such good speed and tremendous length. He’s gotten so much bigger and stronger. When you’re converting from safety, it’s a process, a process I think he’s done a really nice job with.”
Garrett Wilson versus Patrick Surtain
The Jets offense is thriving like it hasn’t in a long time. Through three games, they’ve scored nine touchdowns. Consider: The Jets didn’t score their ninth touchdown until Week 11 last year. And yet, it still feels like there’s another level the group can reach — and it starts with wide receiver Garrett Wilson.
So far, Rodgers and Wilson have been just a tick off. Wilson only has 15 catches for 150 yards and one touchdown through three games and has yet to have the breakout performance many anticipated. However, everyone around the Jets insists it’s coming.
The biggest issue: Wilson has battled with some of the NFL’s best cornerbacks in recent weeks, and they’ve mostly traveled with him all over the formation. That was especially true in Week 2 (L’Jarius Snead) and in Week 3 (Christian Gonzalez) and will continue against someone who has a case for being the NFL’s best cornerback: Patrick Surtain. Rodgers called him one of the best players in the NFL, at any position.
“It’s a process” with Wilson, Rodgers said. “You try to put him in situations where he can be the No. 1 in the progression, which he is a lot. Then mix up the looks. We’ve gotta do a lot of things to give him a chance to get moving and we’d like to get the ball to him early. But it’s just a process. He’s got to be patient, we’ve got to be patient, we can’t force it. Pat’s a phenomenal player. But Garrett is too. It’s going to be a great matchup.”
(Top photo: Vincent Carchietta / Imagn Images)
