Getty USC QB Caleb Williams reacting in the middle of a college football game.
The New York Jets received some help from the most unlikely of places.
Longtime comedian, actor, and filmmaker Chris Rock put on his recruiting shoes for Gang Green when speaking to a highly touted quarterback prospect.
Following USC’s home opener in basketball, Rock met up with quarterback Caleb Williams and pleaded with him to join the Jets.
“Who you want? The Jets, that’s who you want! The Jets so bad. You want the Jets. You don’t want Chicago, you wanna go to the Jets. You don’t wanna go to the Redskins, you wanna go to the Jets. There is no place you’d rather play than the Jets. Where do you want to live? You want to live in New York,” Rock explained.
During Rock’s pitch, Williams responded, “J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets!”
Chris Rock recruiting Caleb Williams to the Jets 😭🤣
(via @DaGman7)
Rock’s Jets Plea Was Entertaining, but Likely Won’t Be Successful
Shortly after Rock was born, his family moved to Brooklyn, New York where he became a die-hard Jets fan. A Williams-Gang Green connection is fun to dream about but is unlikely to become a reality next season.
The green and white are 4-4 through the first nine weeks of the year. If the 2024 NFL draft started today, the Jets would hold the No. 16 overall pick in the first round, per Tankathon.
According to Vegas Insider, Williams is the current betting favorite to be the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft (-500).
In other words, the only way the Jets would have a chance at Williams would be by trading up to acquire the top pick.
The USC product is having a spectacular season this year. He has a 28 touchdown to 4 interception ratio, has completed 69.2 percent of his passes, and has thrown for 2,958 passing yards.
Drafting a QB in 2024 Is Totally on Table for the Jets
Even if Chris Rock doesn’t get his wish for Caleb Williams, that doesn’t mean the Jets won’t select a young passer in the 2024 NFL draft.
The Jets have four quarterbacks on its roster including the practice squad. Aaron Rodgers is expected to return next season at a minimum, if not later this year. Zach Wilson is the current starter with Rodgers on the shelf with a torn Achilles.
In addition, the Jets have Tim Boyle as the backup and Trevor Siemian as another veteran option in the bullpen. However, Boyle and Siemian are both scheduled to be unrestricted free agents in 2024.
That would leave a 40-year-old Rodgers and an underwhelming Wilson as the only two passers on the roster in 2024.
With that being the layout, it would behoove the Jets to start thinking about the future. Wilson hasn’t shown you enough to confirm he can be the primary backup let alone a potential long-term answer.
Rodgers’ presence would allow you the luxury of slowly developing whichever young quarterback that tickled the Jets’ fancy. The former Cal product seems committed to a return in 2024 and maybe beyond.
Throughout the offseason he told the media that he never viewed this opportunity as a one-and-done affair, but rather a multi-year commitment.