Current:Home > InvestAaron Rodgers' new Davante Adams, 'fat' Quinnen Williams and other 'Hard Knocks' lessons-LoTradeCoin
Aaron Rodgers' new Davante Adams, 'fat' Quinnen Williams and other 'Hard Knocks' lessons
View Date:2024-12-24 07:54:58
'Tis the season for fantasy football drafts. So, here's some valuable advice as you prepare to dominate your league of extraordinary friends this fall … hope Garrett Wilson is there for the taking.
New quarterback Aaron Rodgers has yet to take any meaningful snaps for the New York Jets — he will start in the Jets' fourth and final preseason game Saturday against the New York Giants — but "Hard Knocks" has shown that the future Hall of Fame quarterback and last year's offensive rookie of the year might have a unique Davante Adams-like vibe that could be mutually beneficial for both players, their team and fantasy owners alike.
"We played him three times, so I really kind of know (Rodgers). Like, I know him. He ain't got Davante Adams though …" Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Devin White says during a joint practice between the two teams. "That's what I'm saying. I don't know his guy right now. He got a lot of guys. I don't know his guy."
Insert highlight montage of Rodgers throwing numerous passes to Wilson, who in said montage makes some amazing catches.
Yeah, we think Rodgers has found his East Coast Davante Adams.
"What's 17 like?" former NFL wide receiver Braylon Edwards asks Rodgers after the Jets-Bucs joint practice.
"He's special," Rodgers says. "He's so (expletive) quick, I'm like missing the wrong shoulder. He gets out of his breaks so quick.
"Yeah, he's special, though. Best part is, he's a good dude."
HARD KNOCKS EPISODE 1: 'The Aaron Rodgers Show' and a fourth wall break
HARD KNOCKS EPISODE 2: Offense has issues, Quinnen Williams wreaks havoc
'LET'S GO EAT A SNACK!' 18 most memorable 'Hard Knocks' moments
Here is more of what we learned during the third episode of "'Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets":
RB room gets instant boost
Last week, the Jets signed running back Dalvin Cook to a one-year contract, bringing one of Rodgers' former NFC North rivals into the fold. In his final four seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, Cook was excellent, rushing for over 1,100 yards and earning Pro Bowl nods in each of those seasons.
Cook joins a backfield that already featured Breece Hall. Hall was off to a promising rookie season in 2022 before tearing his ACL during the Jets' Week 7 win against the Denver Broncos. A day after the Jets agreed to terms on a contract with Cook, Hall made his anticipated return to the practice field.
A healthy Hall and the addition of Cook should give the Jets a potent one-two punch out of the backfield.
There will be a lot of mouths to feed in the Jets offense, what with Wilson likely — and rightfully so — hogging a healthy portion of Rodgers' targets.
Mike Evans called Quinnen Williams 'fat'
Things got saucy — pun intended since Sauce Gardner was getting heavily involved in the commotion — during the joint practice between the Jets and Buccaneers (so much so that a Jets assistant coach got caught up in some "friendly fire" and was hospitalized).
And, as expected, trash talk was on the menu. Things got personal.
"Mike Evans called me fat," Jets defensive lineman Quinnen Williams — who is listed at 6-foot-3, 303 pounds — said. "I lost weight this offseason."
Zach Wilson's shake and bake
With Rodgers sitting out the Jets' first three preseason games, Wilson — the former franchise quarterback-turned-understudy — has seen a lot of action. The mentorship under Rodgers appears to be paying off, as Wilson has had an efficient preseason throwing the ball.
On Saturday against the Buccaneers, however, Wilson showed off his scrambling ability. In what might have been the Jets' lone highlight on offense, Wilson displayed some spin moves and juking ability for a 35-yard gain.
Rodgers saw an opportunity for a teaching moment: "Good run … go out of bounds!"
'The Karate Kid' is 'so (expletive) excited'
Ralph Macchio, best known as Daniel LaRusso from "The Karate Kid" movies and "Cobra Kai" series, made an appearance at Jets practice.
He waxes on some wisdom.
"An old movie sensei friend of mine once said, 'to succeed in life in all aspects, you need to find balance,'" Macchio said. "And I am seeing balance on this field, and as a longtime Jet fan that I haven't seen in my memory. I am so effin excited for this season."
"You said what?" Sauce Gardner asks.
Finally, Macchio drops the intended expletive to rousing cheers from the players.
Players on the fringe
Just when it seemed "Hard Knocks" might not feature any bottom-half-of-the-roster characters, viewers were introduced to some Tuesday night.
These players exist in the wilderness that is roster spots Nos. 54-90 in an NFL team's training camp hoard, a labyrinthine collection of players that comprises mostly third-day draft picks, undrafted rookies, former and future practice squad members, and former and future XFL or USFL players.
Packed into this episode a week before the NFL's 53-player roster cutdown mandate were:
- Undrafted rookie wide receiver Jerome Kapp put forth a Slim Shady performance that brought down the house (err, Jets team meeting room). Kapp, who played at Division II Kutztown (the same school that produced Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver Andre Reed), sports No. 31 and will have a hard time making the roster in a receiver room crowded with Rodgers' former Green Bay Packers buddies.
- Defensive lineman Tanzel Smart is entering his sixth NFL season, after spending his first three with the Los Angeles Rams and previous two with the Jets. He was seen in the first "Hard Knocks" episode mispronouncing "charcuterie board".
- Wide receiver Xavier Gipson, an undrafted rookie out of Stephen F. Austin, might need to impress with his return skills to make the final 53-player roster. He had a punt return for 31 yards in Saturday's preseason game against the Buccaneers.
- Running back Izzy Abanikanda is a local kid from Brooklyn. He was a 2023 fifth-round draft pick out of Pittsburgh, and — similar to Kapp and Gipson — sits in a crowded position room after the addition of Cook. Abanikanda had been having a nice night against the Buccaneers until he went knee-to-knee with offensive lineman Adam Pankey and left the game injured. After the game, Jets head coach Robert Saleh said Abanikanda had a thigh contusion.
NFL teams must trim rosters to 53 players by 4 p.m. ET on Aug. 29, which means that by the time next week's "Hard Knocks" airs, fans already will have learned which players were let go. It's unfortunate that the timing of the cutdown day — which moved to the Tuesday two weeks before the season opener in 2021 vs. the traditional Saturday before the season kicked off — has really hamstrung the show when it comes to highlighting the human drama that is the month-long chasing of an NFL dream.
veryGood! (4)
Related
- John Krasinski named People's Sexiest Man Alive for 2024
- NHL trade deadline primer: Team needs, players who could be dealt
- Sleepy bears > shining moments: March Napness brings bracketology to tired sanctuary bears
- France becomes the only country in the world to guarantee abortion as a constitutional right
- Sister Wives’ Madison Brush Details Why She Went “No Contact” With Dad Kody Brown
- 3 passengers on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 where door plug blew out sue the airline and Boeing for $1 billion
- Lisa Vanderpump Is Joining Season 2 of Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars
- Full transcript of Face the Nation, March 3, 2024
- Hill House Home’s Once-A-Year Sale Is Here: Get 30% off Everything & up to 75% off Luxury Dresses
- When is daylight saving time 2024? Millions have sunsets after 6 pm as time change approaches
Ranking
- Minnesota man is free after 16 years in prison for murder that prosecutors say he didn’t commit
- NFL world honors 'a wonderful soul' after Chris Mortensen's death at 72
- Lindsay Lohan Confirmed the Ultimate News: A Freaky Friday Sequel Is Happening
- Alabama Supreme Court IVF Ruling Renews Focus on Plastics, Chemical Exposure and Infertility
- Fantasy football waiver wire: 10 players to add for NFL Week 11
- EA Sports announces over 10,000 athletes have accepted NIL deal for its college football video game
- Kentucky House supports special election to fill any Senate vacancy in Mitch McConnell’s home state
- Search continues for autistic Tennessee teen who walked away from home a week ago
Recommendation
-
Queen Bey and Yale: The Ivy League university is set to offer a course on Beyoncé and her legacy
-
Jack Teixeira pleads guilty to leaking hundreds of highly classified Pentagon documents
-
NHL trade deadline primer: Team needs, players who could be dealt
-
Chris Evans argues superhero movies deserve more credit: 'They're not easy to make'
-
Denver district attorney is investigating the leak of voting passwords in Colorado
-
Get 62% off Fenty Beauty by Rihanna, 58% off Barefoot Dreams Blankets, 82% off Michael Kors Bags & More
-
Rescue of truck driver dangling from bridge was a team effort, firefighter says
-
Chris Evans argues superhero movies deserve more credit: 'They're not easy to make'