Aaron Rodgers 'Could Define 2023 NFL Season'

Sports Illustrated placed the future Hall-of-Fame field general at No. 3 in the rankings

© Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com

It's the reason why the New York Jets made the move in the first place. They are hoping their new quarterback can turn the team into a contender and end their 12-year postseason drought.

Sports Illustrated's Gilberto Manzano can see that happening. The SI scribe included Aaron Rodgers when listing "the 10 offensive players who could define the 2023 NFL season."

Rodgers holds the No. 3 spot in the rankings, which were topped by the Cincinnati Bengals' signal caller Joe Burrow.

With Rodgers aboard, the Jets appear to have significantly upgraded their potential at quarterback. In what was collectively a below-average effort, Gang Green saw four passers combine for a 56.9 completion percentage and a 14:14 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Rodgers had a "down" year statistically speaking last season, but still managed 26 touchdown passes to only 12 interceptions while accounting for a 64.6 completion rate.

In the three-season span directly preceding 2022, Rodgers averaged 4,139 yards passing and 37 touchdown tosses per year. Jets' offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett was with the Green Bay Packers for all three seasons before becoming the Denver Broncos' head coach.

From "10 Offensive Players Who Could Define the 2023 NFL Season":

3. Aaron Rodgers

• Team: Jets
• Position: QB
  
  Of course, Rodgers is on this list. The Jets became instant Super Bowl contenders the second the trade with the Packers became official. The Rodgers-led Jets will be playing under a microscope during the 2023 season, and the brash second-year cornerback Sauce Gardner will also add to the spotlight for Gang Green. Rodgers’s arrival will likely turn the Jets into a playoff team for the first time since the ’10 season, but it might be tough for them to make a deep postseason run with so many talented teams with young star quarterbacks in the AFC.
  
  — Gilberto Manzano

.@GManzano24’s list of the 10 offensive players who could define the 2023 NFL season includes four quarterbacks and none are Patrick Mahomeshttps://t.co/PUxcIind8c

— The MMQB (@theMMQB) June 20, 2023

The Jets owned the NFL's fourth-ranked defense in 2022, but closed the regular season by losing six games in a row. Gang Green, which started the season by going 7-4, finished in fourth place in the AFC East.

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