HBO/NFL Films
It can be argued that without second-year wide receiver Garrett Wilson and cornerback Sauce Gardner, there’s no way that the New York Jets would have had a shot at landing Aaron Rodgers.
The offensive and defensive rookies of the year, respectively, Wilson and Gardner truly represent a new era for a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2010 season, which is good for the longest drought in the league.
Clearly knowing how special these two are, HBO has highlighted the pair going one-vs-one in training camp in a recently released clip from the upcoming season of Hard Knocks.
We could get used to watching these two 🍿 #HardKnocks premieres August 8th on @StreamOnMax pic.twitter.com/e0CyYvZhmE
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) July 26, 2023
If the Jets are going to not only end their 13-year postseason drought but live up to the Super Bowl expectations that have been placed on them, they’re going to need both Wilson and Gardner to take another step up in their development. Now that Aaron Rodgers is in town, Wilson, in particular, should take his game to new heights this season.
During his rookie season — when he was catching passes from the likes of Zach Wilson, Joe Flacco, and Mike White — Wilson racked up 83 catches for 1,103 yards and four touchdowns. Now that Rodgers, perhaps the best pure thrower of the football in the history of the league, is his quarterback, it’s reasonable to expect Wilson to clear 100 catches, 1,500 yards, and eight touchdowns this season, which would make him one of the best wide receivers in the entire NFL.
Rodgers’ presence will also assuredly help Gardner and the defense, too, as the unit will no longer feel like they have to hold teams to under 20 points in order to win games, which has certainly been the case in recent years.
Wilson, Gardner, Rodgers, and the rest of the New York Jets will have their credentials tested as soon as the 2023 season begins as they’ll be kicking off the campaign with a Monday Night Football matchup against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills, who have won the AFC East the last three seasons.