9 thoughts ahead of Jets' 2024 season, including Breece Hall's importance and latest on Haason Reddick

EAST RUTHERFORD – Mercifully, the preseason is over. I used to genuinely enjoy covering these games. That was when there was some game planning involved and coaches used them to ready their team for the regular season. Now? You’re lucky if you see the starters for two quarters. Some coaches are even sitting reliable backups.

Anywho: It’s all over. The regular season is a week away. The games finally count.

So here are some final thoughts on the Jets as they are ready to embark on what they hope is a special year...

If they can stay healthy …

I got into an argument with someone over at the Jets about this. Their stance: The “they have to stay healthy” takeaway is true for every team. He’s right. The difference: Not every team is relying on players who are always hurt to not get hurt. That, to me, is truly the only thing that’s going to derail the Jets. Who knows if they’ll make the Super Bowl – there’s so much that can happen to prevent that. But this team, when healthy, is absolutely capable of making a run. They just need to stay healthy.

The offensive line is really good

They are. That might actually be underselling it. I don’t make this statement lightly: I genuinely believe the Jets will have one of the three best offensive lines in the NFL if the grouping of Tyron Smith, John Simpson, Joe Tippmann, Alijah Vera-Tucker and Morgan Moses play 85 percent of this season’s snaps. Losing one of Smith or Moses, and replacing him with Olu Fashanu, still probably gives them a top 10 unit. They looked that good when on the field together, specifically in the run game. That blew me away the most. They were moving guys in that joint practice with the Commanders.

Four-fifths of the line you know a decent amount about (Smith, Moses, Tippmann, Vera-Tucker). The signing of Simpson (Laken Tomlinson’s replacement), though, is looking sneaky good. He could go down as one of GM Joe Douglas’ best free agent signings. He’s had a very quiet camp – which is a very good thing for a lineman. Remember: He’s seeing Quinnen Williams and Javon Kinlaw on most plays.

Aaron Rodgers is also still really, really good

There’s not much to expand on here. Rodgers is still an elite player. There’s been no signs at all that he’s hindered at all by his Achilles or that he’s regressed due to his age. The Jets will have a chance to win any game that he steps on the field – he’s that good.

The Garrett Wilson - Rodgers connection

There were growing pains, frustration. Never to the point it was detrimental to the Jets, but those viral social media videos were absolutely a behind-the-curtains look at Rodgers and Wilson trying to figure out how to play together.

Wilson isn’t exactly a technical player. He’s a guy who runs to an area, then uses his God-given ability to get open. Zach Wilson talked about this his rookie year and why it sometimes made throwing to him a bit more challenging. Say Wilson is supposed to run an in 9.5 yards up the field. He might run the route to nine yards, 10, or seven. He’ll be in an area and open, but in his own way.

Rodgers is the type of quarterback who not only expects the route to be run at 9.5 yards, but you should be hitting that 9.5-yard marker at the exact millisecond he expects.

It took a bit, but the two married their play styles and desires towards the end of the summer and you really started to see things blossom. Wilson was uncoverable in the joint workouts with Washington, Carolina and the cross-town rival Giants. I’d expect that to continue in the regular season.

The offensive concern …

Is what the Jets have opposite Wilson. It’s not great. Xavier Gipson is a fine slot, but New York really needs Mike Williams to be the player he was before his knee injury. It’s hard to tell if that’s the case or if he’s lost a step. If it’s the latter, I don’t feel overly confident in Allen Lazard (despite an OK summer) to fill the void. Jason Brownlee, last year’s training camp star, hasn’t really taken a huge step forward, either.

The good news is this: Every year there are usually two or three receivers available at the deadline. Davante Adams (whom I’d expect to be a Jet if the Raiders actually make him available) is the name everyone fixates on, but there are plenty of players who can be acquired.

No. 2 receiver being your biggest need is also a good thing.

With that said …

This offense will run through Breece Hall. The Jets have expanded his role to feature him in the passing attack. Not just as a dump-off artist, but running legitimate routes. You saw that when he burned Giants linebacker/cornerback/safety Isaiah Simmons for a touchdown in the joint practices or the number of wheel routes Rodgers has thrown to him. The Jets practice like they think Hall is their best player. They’re probably right.

Again: Rodgers is tremendous and Wilson should assert himself as a top 10 receiver, but Hall is clearly the focal point. They will go as far as he takes them.

That makes sense. Establishing and featuring Hall will only make everyone else’s job easier. You alleviate hits on Rodgers. You wear the opposing defense down. You bring safeties up in the box, which opens up the backend.

Rodgers, as good as he looks, is 40. He’s dealt with injuries the last two seasons (thumb, Achilles). A running game is a quarterback’s best friend and a healthy Hall has all-pro potential.

But how does he work in?

You never want to read too much into organized team activity or minicamp observations, but every now and then a player sticks out. Rookie running back Braelon Allen was one of those guys. What’s surprising is that he impressed even more in training camp.

I remember talking to a handful of sources just after the draft about Allen. He was universally liked, but not loved. The reasoning: He was physical, but not as physical as they’d expect from a player his size. That’s among the reasons he was there for New York in the fourth round.

With the Jets, though, that physicality is absolutely there. Ten fold. He hasn’t shied away from contact – he’s embracing it. It really does look like the Jets have a good one here. Here’s how highly I think of Allen: The Jets have some decisions to make soon regarding money. Guys like Wilson, corner Sauce Gardner, Hall, and defensive lineman Jermaine Johnson all are eligible for extensions. You can’t pay them all. Franchise-tagging Hall after his contract expires, then letting him walk and turning the offense over to Allen? Might not be the worst idea. Granted, that’s down the road.

Hall is on a different level than Allen right now, clearly, but the Jets offense won’t suffer when he needs spelling. It will be interesting to see if the Jets start finding ways to get Allen on the field, though. Not just when Hall needs a break, but because they want to get him some touches.

Much ado about nothing?

Cornerback DJ Reed, in the final year of his deal, wants a new contract. He seems to understand there’s a chance (probably a good one) that’s not coming with the Jets. They have plenty of players they now need to pay, and with Gardner also due for a new deal, it’s hard to pay everyone.

Struggled might be too harsh of a word, but Reed has been picked on more this summer than in his first two years with the Jets. You wonder if that contract is weighing on him some. Two team sources did praise Reed for how he played against Giants rookie phenom Malik Nabers in their joint practice.

This isn’t anything to sound the alarms about, but make note of it.

Tick … tick … tick

Haason Reddick update: There is no update. I continue to be told the same thing: There is a chance he reports within the next 24 hours … just like there’s a chance this holdout stretches into the regular season. It’s really about when Reddick wants to show up. Some sources I touched base with who are familiar with Reddick genuinely believe he could hold out the entire season. We’ll see.

The Jets, at the moment, hold the leverage. They continue to stress how impressed they are with their offensive line. They’d love to have Reddick, but they don’t believe they need him. You can’t find fault in their insistence, because no one else has access to their coach’s tape. That all changes when the games begin.

The Jets lose the leverage they have if they fly to San Francisco, lose, and can’t sniff Purdy as the 49ers line tosses Will McDonald and Micheal Clemons around. That’s when this hard-line, we’re-not-paying-you stance the Jets have will change. Until then, though, all continue to wait.