The NFL preseason is just about to get into full swing with a full schedule starting this weekend. Aside from a few upcoming moves, these teams are as they are for the upcoming season. However, there is one team that is a complete unknown at this point, which is an excellent place to start for this Four Verts column.
The Jets are the NFL’s biggest wild card
Let’s try again. Everyone knows what happened to the Jets last year. Aaron Rodgers was signed, there was a summer of hope, and then it was over after four games. The Jets’ potential was immediately exhausted because of quarterback play, and thanks to one of the best defenses in football, they finished the season with a 7-10 record. Now they’re trying again.
At first glance, the roster appears to be one of the best in the NFL, but it is difficult to predict how this season will go for the Jets. As good as the team looks, there are still a few unknowns that will affect a season that is essentially must end in a playoff appearance – starting with Rodgers.
It’s impossible to predict what Rodgers might be this season. He’s 40 years old and fresh off a torn Achilles, and the last full season he played in 2022 showed a regression from his back-to-back MVP seasons in 2020 and 2021. According to rbsdm.com, Rodgers ranked first in expected points per dropback (.310) over the combined 2020 and 2021 seasons. In 2022, that number dropped to 21st (.039), sandwiched between Andy Dalton and Justin Fields. Then he tore his Achilles four plays into the following season.
It’s been nearly three years since Rodgers played like an elite quarterback, and it’s been nearly two years since Rodgers has really played at all. He’s 40. Given his expertise and overall ability for the position, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if he has a strong season for the Jets. However, given everything he’s been through over the past few years, if he struggles, that wouldn’t necessarily be surprising either. He’s a real wild card that makes it hard to predict what’s possible for this team. You really have to wait and see.
The players around Rodgers are talented, but they also raise questions. Garrett Wilson is a real star at wide receiver, but the Jets still need Mike Williams to get back into shape after a torn ACL and Allen Lazard to something after a terrible 2023 season and one of their young receivers stepping up and contributing. The same goes for left tackle Tyron Smith, who is still effective when healthy but has only played in 30 games since the start of the 2020 season. To be fair, he played in 13 games last season and was voted to the All-Pro second team, so maybe that’s nothing to worry about. Breece Hall, however. Monster. And Braelon Allen has a chance to be a fantastic RB2.
The defense, barring anything going wrong, will be good again. The Jets may not be as strong as they were last season after losing Bryce Huff and John Franklin-Myers, but Quinnen Williams and Haason Reddick (whenever he finishes his sabbatical) are a great duo. The Jets also have arguably the best cornerback trio in the league and their linebacker corps is strong as well.
It all depends on the quality of play of the quarterback and whether the players around him stay healthy enough to contribute. Anything is possible for the Jets this year. That’s probably an excuse, but anything from seven wins to a Super Bowl appearance sounds pretty good for this team.
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Don’t read too much into depth charts now
As the season approaches, teams will be building their rosters and deciding which players they will use during the season. This process essentially begins at the start of training camp or in the middle of summer and fluctuates throughout the preseason. When unofficial rosters are released in the next few weeks, teams will have to make decisions that may seem confusing at first glance.
Bo Nix, for example, has been praised at every turn by Broncos head coach Sean Payton this summer, and he is currently the third quarterback on the Broncos’ roster.
Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts was listed as a backup player on the Falcons’ unofficial list with 1,000 yards before his rookie season.
These things don’t really mean anything. It’s more about respect for the order and the players who have been on the team for a long time – because this usually affects newcomers.
Every now and then, you get a team like the Bears that come in May and say, “Caleb Williams is our starter.” But even No. 1 draft picks aren’t always so lucky when they get into the league. Trevor Lawrence, Justin Herbert, Jared Goff and Baker Mayfield are recent examples of highly drafted players who had to play “unofficial musical chairs,” and even then, those guys were in the starting lineup for most of their rookie year, or in Lawrence’s case, the entire season.
That’s what NFL teams do. In most cases, rookies have to come in and earn their keep – which is fine! There’s a team atmosphere and the quickest way to make rookies accepted members of the team is to make them work for it. Nix will likely start most of the Broncos’ games this season. Those unofficial lineups in early August mean nothing because that’s just standard operating mode.
Sure, it might be funny if you’re a Raiders or Chiefs fan to make fun of the Broncos because Nix is ranked QB3, but everyone knows he’ll soon be firmly established as a starter. Draft lineage (and contract value) still puts players on the field, just maybe not in the first week of August.
Don’t overreact to the depth charts you see over the next few weeks because they don’t mean much until they arrive.
NFL players have underestimated Patrick Mahomes again
NFL players, why do you do this?
The NFL Top 100 list was recently released and once again Patrick Mahomes was vastly underrated by his peers. Mahomes was ranked the fourth best player in the NFL, behind Christian McCaffrey, Lamar Jackson and Tyreek Hill. No. Just no. That is wrong.
I’ve seen NFL players fill out this form. Most of them put their buddies and teammates on the list and a few players who are generally considered elite players at the top. It’s not an exercise they spend a lot of time on. Still, someone has to bear the burden of making sure the 100 list is an honorable product, and that’s impossible since Mahomes is the fourth-best player on that list.
Some people will say, “What do you care? He’s still number 4.” These people have no principles.
Mahomes is clearly the best player in the NFL and should be No. 1 on this list every year until this list and its accompanying television shows no longer exist. Jackson being on this list makes sense considering he just won his second MVP award and is definitely an elite quarterback in the league. He can stay at No. 2 as long as Mahomes finishes first.
Hill being ranked ahead of Mahomes is especially funny considering the Chiefs have won the Super Bowl twice since trading Hill before the start of the 2022 season. Hill is arguably the most fearsome player for any defense, so it makes sense that he was ranked at this time, but Mahomes’ success has continued even without Hill and doesn’t appear to be stopping anytime soon.
Even if Mahomes were ranked second, he would still be the most underrated player in the sport. Fourth just isn’t right. Mahomes reads, he watches – and he’s found his motivation for the year. NFL players, just remember: What happens next is all your fault.
This weekend we got our first commercials for Olympic flag football, which will debut in Los Angeles in 2028. Much to the chagrin of NFL team owners, there’s a chance that a number of high-profile players will try to compete and win the first gold medal in flag football for the United States. While it’s still four years away, it’s hard not to imagine what an Olympic flag football team for the USA might look like.
That’s even worse than a way-too-early mock draft posted a day after the draft. Here are your way-too-early predictions for who might be in the running for U.S. flag football at the Olympics in 2028.
QB: Patrick Mahomes (32 years old in 2028): You’re fooling yourself if you think it could be anyone else. Mahomes could win 10 Super Bowls in the next four years.
WR/DB: Ja’Marr Chase (28 years old): Whatever frustration Chase may have over the franchise tag, he’ll have a few weeks to take it out on poor athletes from another country.
WR/DB: Devon Witherspoon (27 years): The United States needs to have a tough, combative cornerback on its roster. Witherspoon will be on his second contract with the Seahawks by then, and Geno Smith will still be the most underrated player in the league.
WR/DB: George Pickens (27 years): Just in case there is a fight.
ATH: Bijan Robinson (26 years): He may not know what to do with himself when he sees how much space he has on the field. Give him time, he may get emotional. He hasn’t experienced anything like this in a long time.
Rush specialist/center: Jordan Davis (28 years old): Is Davis the best defensive tackle out there? No, but he’s 6’6″, 360 pounds and ran the 40 yards in 4.78 seconds. Fear us.
Head coach: LeBron James (43 years old): If the U.S. wins gold, he’ll say he saw this moment coming as a kid in Akron.
