With star playmakers like Sauce Gardner and Aaron Rodgers now on one roster, look for the New York Jets to make some noise this season for the first time in a very, very long time.
I would be utterly shocked if the New York Jets don't end their league-worst playoff drought this season for so many reasons.
While I don't know if Gang Green has enough in the tank to overtake the Buffalo Bills in the AFC East, this is a top-seven team in the AFC if I ever saw one. Anything short of a postseason berth should be viewed as a massive, massive disappointment for this long, downtrodden franchise.
So why so much optimism surrounding an AFC team that could seemingly never, ever get it right?
Two things: One, the Jets traded for Aaron Rodgers, so they now have a star quarterback who can possibly take them to the promised land. And two, young stars like defensive back Sauce Gardner are just now entering their primes. The combination of old and new is exactly the right mix to go on a run for New York. The AFC is tough, but so are the Jets. It is all about their mental toughness.
Here is what Gardner told Jania Clowers of The Detroit Free Press about what he needs to work on for this season after his rookie year, and what playing ball is really all about for him in the end.
Fate would have it, these two stars' careers intersect at this very point on the Jets ahead of 2023.
New York Jets may benefit from two important timelines converging perfectly
When it became abundantly clear that the Green Bay Packers wanted to move on from Rodgers in favor of seeing what they had in fourth-year pro Jordan Love, the Jets immediately jumped to the front of the line as a potential suitor. New York played very well at times during Gardner's first year with the Jets, but it was persistent quarterback issues that largely undermined their operation.
In a way, there are some similarities here to Tom Brady joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, or Joe Burrow coming back from a torn ACL in 2021 with the Cincinnati Bengals. All three losing franchises had drafted well before, but rarely got consistently strong quarterback to play make any difference. We saw Brady and Burrow be galvanizing forces for their teams, so could Rodgers?
Admittedly, Rodgers' best ball is probably behind him, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a few good years left in the tank. I don't expect for this season to go over like his predecessor Brett Favre's one year with the 2008 Jets. If it is anything like what we saw out of Favre in his first year with the Minnesota Vikings in 2009, then I think we could be on the verge of something amazing.
In truth, the AFC is so incredibly top heavy. I have my reservations about the Jets usurping the Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs in-conference this year. They could be better than one, but probably not both. This is why it is important for the Jets to build on whatever they accomplish next year and go for broke in 2024. To me, that is the year where the stars align for them, alright.
If the Jets get to the AFC Championship game this season, then they can win the Super Bowl soon.
