Some believe New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers still has it.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler revealed his top 10 quarterback rankings for the 2024 season on Monday, July 15. This list is determined by a panel of 80 league executives, scouts, and coaches.
Rodgers placed No. 8 on the list after being No. 4 last year.
“He’s probably fringe top 10 at this point, but he still has the rare ability to throw the football,” an AFC exec told ESPN. “That hasn’t gone away. I think he’s got a major opportunity to lift the Jets and show what he can still do.”
Rodgers was a polarizing subject during the voting process. At least one person ranked him as high as No. 3 on the list. At the same time, others left him outside of the top 10 completely.
Fowler explained that Rodgers only appeared on “fewer than 60% of the ballots.” However, half of the people who did include him on the list included him in the top five of their rankings, resulting in the No. 8 spot on this list.
Backhanded Compliment for Rodgers
A-Rod being top-eight in a current QB ranking coming off a torn Achilles at 40 years of age is spectacular. However, when you read through the ESPN blurb, Fowler described Rodgers’ placement as a “mild upset.”
Scouts told Fowler that they “started to see decline” during 2022 in his final year with the Green Bay Packers.
“His production dipped in yards (3,695), touchdowns (26), and interceptions (12), his worst total since 2008. And a healthy 17-game season is hardly a slam dunk, considering Rodgers’ age,” Fowler said.
The fall of Rodgers has been greatly exaggerated. While it’s true those numbers were a down year by Rodgers’ standards, they were still pretty gosh darn good.
Rodgers’ 3,695 passing yards ranked No. 11 among quarterbacks that season. The 26 passing touchdowns was the No. 7 best mark in the league. He also paired that with 12 interceptions which was tied for the seventh most in the NFL, per ESPN.
Do you know who else had 12 interceptions or more that season?
Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs (12), Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals (12), Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills (14), and Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys (15).
Is anyone making all this extra noise about those statistics?
If Rodgers Lives up to That Billing, the Jets Are Making Noise
The pressing question this offseason is what version of Rodgers are the Jets getting in 2024? Spoiler alert, if they get top-eight quarterback play they will be among the best teams in football.
New York had the worst quarterback play in the league last season by every possible metric. The Jets are a likely candidate to have the biggest QB jump from one season to the next.
There isn’t anyone else in the NFL who will be in a position to go from No. 31/32 all the way inside the top 10 at the game’s most important position, quarterback.
That sizable jump paired with everything else the Jets already have going for them with a top defense and one of the best rosters in football should put the team in a prime position in 2024.
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Jets QB Aaron Rodgers Crashes Elite NFL QB Ranking: ‘Rare Ability’