With Davante Adams Trade, Aaron Rodgers Has Turned Jets Into Packers 2.0. Will It Pay Off for New York?

Over the past two seasons, nine former Green Bay Packers have taken the field for the New York Jets. Some of those players have played a handful of games; others became regular contributors. But they all, in one way or another, tie back to one man: Aaron Rodgers.

Since he landed in New York in the 2023 offseason, there have arguably been no more compelling storylines in the league than those centered on Rodgers. They received another level of intrigue on Tuesday, when the Jets finally acquired Rodgers’ old friend, wide receiver Davante Adams, from the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for a conditional third-round pick.

During their stint up north, Rodgers and Adams were a dominant force. New York needs the two to recreate this magic, and fast. At 2-4 with a primetime matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers’ stout defense, they are staring down the barrel of a 2-5 start. Unless their offensive woes are addressed, they’ll extend their NFL-worst playoff drought to 14 years.

Moreover, just because something worked in the past doesn’t mean it will work in the present or future. Can Rodgers and Adams actually salvage this season? Or will the Jets flame out and require offseason maintenance to make their long-awaited playoff return?

Davante Adams has been a good receiver without Rodgers

In his time with the Raiders, Adams was a solid wideout. His numbers dipped without college teammate Derek Carr, but he flashed his prototypical brilliance on multiple occasions. In the fourth quarter of Las Vegas’ wild comeback victory over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2, he caught four passes for 86 yards and a touchdown. One of those receptions was an absurdly difficult toe-dragging grab.

If Adams, a soon-to-be 32-year-old receiver, isn’t nearing the end of his career, he’s in the final stages of his prime. His rapport with Rodgers is innate. Until he shows true signs of decline, he should be able to produce impressive totals week to week.

While Adams’ individual numbers are one thing, the Jets offense’s overall performance is another. So far, they’ve averaged 18.8 points per game, the 11th-fewest in the league. Their defense has allowed 18.7 points per game over the last three weeks, but the offense has failed to provide enough juice to win. Those struggles took New York from 2-1 to 2-4.

Fortunately, Adams’ addition will make things easier. If opposing defenses load the box to slow Breece Hall and Braelon Allen, Adams and Garrett Wilson will have one-on-one matchups outside. If they commit to taking Adams and Wilson away, Hall and Allen will face light boxes and can gash teams on the ground.

Adams can help restore the detail Rodgers requires

Defensive coordinators could simultaneously combat Wilson and the Jets’ rushing attack before Adams was in the fold. Now, Rodgers has two legitimate threats on the perimeter. He can pick and choose which side to attack in any given situation.

If Rodgers were in his prime, New York would probably average close to 30 points per game. But, at the age of 40, some have claimed his once other-worldly powers are gone. We’ll touch on this in a bit. First, we have to discuss why Rodgers, beyond his age, looks so shaky.

The biggest problem Rodgers has faced with his Jets teammates is a lack of precision and attention to detail. He often uses his cadence to draw defenders offside and create “free plays.” In fact, he has more “free play” touchdown passes than any other QB in NFL history. One of them was recorded in the 2024 season opener.

He tried replicating this multiple times in Week 4 against the Broncos. However, the Jets false-started five times and lost 10-9.

The non-detail-oriented approach harms him in more ways than possible free plays. He touched on this after the MNF loss when he criticized wideout Mike Williams for running his route incorrectly on the game-sealing interception. As FOX Sports’ Emmanuel Acho shows — and Rodgers knows — those little nuances can be the difference between victory and defeat.

This is why Allen Lazard, despite being much-maligned in the past, has found success in 2024. For the first six weeks, he was the only receiver truly on Rodgers’ wavelength. Adams doubles that total. Expecting one thing when you throw a pass and getting another would make any QB look bad. And Rodgers, even at peak powers, wouldn’t be immune to those mistakes.

Adams gives credence to Rodgers’ voice in the locker room. His established track record will help demonstrate where and why specific nuance is required. Over time, their newfound approach can take hold. And once everyone is finally on the same page, the sky will be the Jets’ offensive limit.

Can A-Rod help New York reach its ceiling?

There’s no sugarcoating it: in recent years, Rodgers has been okay, but nothing special. It’s natural to experience some drop-off in performance as one ages. However, the level at which he has seemed to decline is what fuels critics to say he’s incapable of taking the Jets deep into the postseason.

Dating back to Rodgers’ final year in Green Bay, he has an 11-13 record in his past 24 starts. In those games, his TD-to-INT ratio is the tiniest percentage better than two-to-one (35 TD, 17 INT). Across his first 15 seasons as a starter, his TD-to-INT ratio was nearly 4.5-to-1 (474 TD, 104 INT).

Yet, like Adams in Las Vegas, Rodgers has shown signs of his previous form since changing locales. His 294 passing yards on Monday Night Football in Week 6 were his most in a game since Dec. 12, 2021. There may be no better Hail Mary thrower in NFL history.

Is Rodgers as surgeon-like as he once was? No. But like he made Adams more productive in Green Bay, Adams will make him more productive now in the Big Apple. When you’ve got a supremely talented receiver on the boundary who can help “bail” you out in some moments, you’ll appear sharper. Having two of them, like Rodgers now does, is theoretically unfair.

Even without Robert Saleh, the Jets have a strong defense. They don’t need prime Aaron Rodgers to get to the playoffs: they just need an above-average NFL quarterback. With Adams, Rodgers should be better than average. And once the postseason arrives, anything can happen.