Of the many storylines to crop up during the 2022-23 NFL season, the New York Jets' rise to 4-2, and becoming a legitimate threat to any team they face, has seemingly been the most surprising.
On the same note, Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers' 3-3 start has been just as surprising, with some going as far as to pick them as the NFC representative in the Super Bowl.
That's why last Sunday's matchup between the two squads, in which New York came away with a 27-10 victory, has brought up conversation about the long-term direction of each franchise, including from Rodgers himself.
In his weekly appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," Rodgers spoke about what he believes has contributed to the Jets' turnaround, after already speaking on what he thinks has gone wrong with the Packers.
"Well, they got a lot of good players," Rodgers said. "They got good schemes, good players. They added to their mix since we played them last year. They added obviously through the draft and a couple guys in free agency, they could really play."
Rodgers also spent a significant amount of time talking about the Jets' team-building strategies. Sauce Gardner, who made headlines of his own following the game, looks like he's already becoming a star and Rodgers is seeing it.
"They got a couple guys that can really cover, they got veteran leadership on the back end. They signed (Jordan) Whitehead, who's a good player. They signed (Lamarcus) Joyner, who's a good player. Veteran guys who have played a lot of football. Obviously the guy in the middle, (C.J.) Mosley is a really talented player. They added Kwon (Alexander) next to him. ... Real stud young corner out of Cincinnati I believe, Gardner, who can really play."
The intense focus on team building could have something to do with Rodgers' displeasure with how the Packers' current roster was built, a focal point of many conversations surrounding the veteran over recent seasons. Depending on how things trend moving forward, it would be far from surprising to see Rodgers continue to show love to teams who fit into a similar category.
