W-L                 Conf

1 Kansas City       West         7-2                   5-1

2 Baltimore           North        7-2                  4-2

3 Jacksonville       South        6-2                   4-2

 4 Miami                 East          6-3                   4-2

5 Pittsburgh          WC1         5-3                   4-2

6 Cleveland          WC2         5-3                  3-2

 7 Cincinnati          WC3         5-3                   1-3

8 Buffalo                               5-4                    2-4

9 Houston                             4-4                   3-2

10 LA Chargers                     4-4                   2-3

11 NY Jets                             4-4                   2-3

The AFC North teams are a remarkable 22-11 overall.  It’s even more remarkable when you consider that five of the 11 losses were at the hands of other AFC North teams.  In games outside their division the AFC North is 17-6.

John Harbaugh, coach of the Ravens, agrees per Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com:

The Ravens have the best point differential of any team in football through the first nine weeks of the season and they lead the AFC North with a 7-2 record, but they haven’t run away with the division.

Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh all remain within striking distance at 5-3 heading into Week 10. All four teams are currently in playoff position in the AFC, which led Ravens head coach John Harbaugh to sarcastically quip at a Monday press conference that “it would be just terrible if everybody was not a good team in our division.”

Harbaugh then went on to say that the Ravens are well aware of the potential dangers of playing in such a strong division.

“That’s my best answer,” Harbaugh said. “We respect these teams. This is a great division. There’s no doubt it’s the best division, it’s proven. We know the teams; these teams are real. When you’re in this division, you have to play them twice a year, you understand them, it’s not just this year, so we understand that. They all understand it, and everybody knows what’s going to happen when we all play each other.”

The Ravens are 2-1 in divisional games this year and they will host the Browns and Bengals in the next two games after beating both of them on the road earlier this year. Making a clean sweep of the Ohio teams wouldn’t wrap up the division, but it would make it pretty hard to see anyone else wearing the crown.

CHICAGO

After blustering about wanting free agency, EDGE MONTEZ SWEAT received and signed a massive contract with the Bears.  Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com:

– Ryan Poles’ confidence was not without merit.

Three days after the Chicago Bears general manager expressed optimism in being able to quickly execute an extension for pass-rusher Montez Sweat, the 27-year-old defensive end agreed to a four-year deal worth $98 million less than 24 hours before his debut with his new team.

Chicago sent a 2024 second-round pick to Washington at the Oct. 31 trade deadline in exchange for the former first-round defensive end. The aggressive process of bypassing free agency allowed the Bears to secure Sweat as he enters the prime of his career while making him the fifth-highest paid edge rusher at $24.5 million per year.

During an appearance on ESPN 1000’s pregame radio show, Poles equated negotiations with Sweat’s representatives to an interval workout. There were intense periods and then moments of quiet, “a lot of gas then it hits the break and you gotta wait it out,” Poles said. The Bears’ goal was to get Sweat paid so he could play without worrying how the nine remaining games of his 2023 season would affect his future earnings.

“It gives me another sense of security for me to go out there, and if I get injured, I know I’m protected,” Sweat said. “But that’s not really what I’m worried about. I’m worried about getting dubs, getting production.”

After generating 6.5 sacks in his first eight games with Washington, Sweat posted a season-high pass rush win rate of 25% in his first game with the Bears, which was tied for second-best by any edge rusher in Week 9.

Despite a second-half turnaround by the defense, Chicago lost its seventh game of the season, 24-17, to the New Orleans Saints. It wasn’t as if Sweat took over in his debut, and for a second time this season the Bears didn’t register a sack in back-to-back games (the first time being against Tampa Bay and Kansas City), but his impact showed the potential this defense can have once he gets acclimated.

“He looked good,” coach Matt Eberflus said. “He had a couple of good pressures there. He is getting his feet wet, different style of defense, different style of terminology. For him to come in and play that many plays was cool.”

The Bears’ plan was to play Sweat on third downs and when the Saints went into their two-minute offense while rolling him in on occasional first and second downs. The defensive end logged 42 snaps against the Saints with his biggest play arriving after he got to Saints quarterback Derek Carr on third-and-8 to force an incomplete pass and make New Orleans settle for a 55-yard field goal in the third quarter.

His modest stat line credits Sweat with two tackles and one pass defensed. His impact, however, is already being felt by those he’s rushing with.

“A guy who came in excited to work,” defensive tackle Andrew Billings said. “Every new guy isn’t on the same page. He came in on the same page from day 1.”

Poles felt that in order to get a fair evaluation of this defense, he had to add an impact player up front. Since the start of the 2023 offseason, the 37-year-old general manager had poured resources into bolstering the defensive line. He brought in defensive ends DeMarcus Walker, Yannick Ngakoue, Rasheem Green and signed Billings (who inked a two-year extension last week) before drafting rookie defensive tackles Gervon Dexter Sr. and Zacch Pickens.

None of it has paid off the way Poles had hoped. Sweat gives Chicago’s defense better chance for growth now and in the future, the same way the addition of DJ Moore is expected to help quarterback Justin Fields and the Bears’ offense take the next step.

The move certainly doesn’t come without risk from a financial standpoint. The Bears paid a premium for a pass-rusher who has never registered double digit sacks in a season since entering the league in 2019, nor has he been to a Pro Bowl. Sweat’s deal creates a new market for players who have yet to hit either of those thresholds.

MINNESOTA

The hero of the moment, QB JOSH DOBBS, has earned a second start.  Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com:

– Sunday was for celebrating. On Monday, the Minnesota Vikings began charting a path forward in the wake of their improbable 31-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

Joshua Dobbs will start the team’s Week 10 game against the New Orleans Saints, coach Kevin O’Connell said, with veteran Sean Mannion as the likeliest backup. Rookie Jaren Hall, whose first-quarter concussion Sunday opened the door for Dobbs to play just five days after the Vikings acquired him, is in concussion protocol.

And after spending last week preparing Hall for his first career start, while at the same time assimilating Dobbs into the offensive scheme, O’Connell said it was highly unlikely the team would try to sign another new quarterback this week. Mannion is on the practice squad and would have to be elevated to the active roster in order to be eligible to play against the Saints.

O’Connell joked that the only new quarterback the Vikings would consider adding is himself — he was a 2008 third-round draft choice of the New England Patriots — given “the amount of time and energy we’ll now put into making sure Josh is ready to roll.”

Dobbs lost two fumbles and was sacked for a safety in his first four possessions against the Falcons but ultimately accounted for three touchdowns and 224 yards from scrimmage, including a game-winning 6-yard touchdown pass to receiver Brandon Powell with 22 seconds remaining.

“I thought what he did was remarkable,” O’Connell said, “but there’s a lot of things that we’ll coach him through and get him a little bit more comfortable in what we do.”

Like Mullens, receiver Justin Jefferson (hamstring) became eligible Monday to return from injured reserve. O’Connell said “it’s possible” the Vikings will open his practice widow Wednesday but made no firm commitment.

“We’re going to do what’s best for Justin,” O’Connell said, “and make sure we’re doing everything responsibly to make sure that when Justin does return, he can be the Justin Jefferson we all know and expect to see out there.”

CAROLINA

The retirement of LB BLAKE MARTINE is over.  This from Jordan Schultz:

Sources: Veteran LB Blake Martinez is coming out of retirement and is signing with the #Panthers, sources tell @BleacherReport

Martinez, who has over 700 career tackles and 39 TFLs, was last with the Raiders after spending his first six years with the Packers and Giants.

Doric Sam of Bleacher Report with more – and it doesn’t reflect well on Martinez, if true:

Nearly a year after retiring from the NFL to pursue a career selling Pokémon cards, linebacker Blake Martinez is reportedly making a comeback.

Per Justin Terranova of the New York Post, Martinez was involved in a scandal as a trader and seller of Pokémon cards that resulted in him being banned from WhatNot, which is a social media marketplace that is popular among Pokémon card buyers.

A fourth-round pick in the 2016 draft, Martinez played four seasons for the Green Bay Packers and two seasons for the New York Giants. He signed with the Las Vegas Raiders midway through the 2022 season and appeared in four games before announcing his retirement on Nov. 10.

Two weeks before retiring, Martinez sold a 1998 Pokémon Japanese CoroCoro Rare Holofoil Illustrator Pikachu card at auction for $672,000. In March, Megan Sauer of CNBC reported that Martinez’s company, Blake’s Breaks, generated over $6.5 million in revenue in just eight months by selling Pokémon cards.

However, WhatNot released a statement in August that said Blake’s Breaks had been “permanently” removed as a seller on the platform and refunds were given to “all buyers impacted by the infractions.” Erich Richter of the New York Post reported at the time that the company had faced allegations of scamming buyers by “swapping out higher-level packs for lesser-value packs.”

ARIZONA

Coach Jonathan Gannon says the time has come for QB KYLER MURRAY to start.  Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com:

If all continues to go well this week for Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray he will make his season debut Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, coach Jonathan Gannon said Monday.

Murray, who hasn’t played since Week 14 of the 2022 season when he tore his right ACL three plays into a “Monday Night Football” game against the New England Patriots, will take all the reps with the first-team offense and continue to “ramp up,” Gannon said.

The plan is to activate Murray on Wednesday, the final day of his window to be promoted to the 53-man roster after coming off the physically unable to perform list. Should Murray not be able to go Sunday, rookie Clayton Tune will get his second straight start, Gannon said.

Gannon said the last two steps of Murray’s return are the reps with the first team and then, of course, playing in a live game for the first time in 11 months. However, the coach warned that at first Murray might not the be the dynamic player he was pre-injury.

“We got to be willing to understand that it might not look like Kyler,” Gannon said. “And I think he’s got a good expectation of that. The coaches have a good expectation of that, but I know this: He’s going to come out there and play his game and help us win.”

Gannon said the health of the Cardinals won’t impact whether Murray plays. Arizona lost two starting offensive linemen Sunday in Cleveland after already being down starting tight end Zach Ertz and wide receiver Michael Wilson. Running back James Conner is eligible to come off injured reserve this week.

“If he’s out on the field, we feel good about him being healthy enough to play,” Gannon said of Murray. “Every team in the NFL’s banged up and we’ll put our best foot forward and get the right pieces in there and give ourselves a chance to win a game.”

Thus far, Murray has done everything Gannon has asked of him and has led by example, the coach said.

“He’s excited to get back in in the huddle and assume a little bit of that leadership role being in the huddle as well,” Gannon said.

LAS VEGAS

The NFL asks for, and receives, a delay from the Nevada Supreme Court in its appeal to get Jon Gruden’s lawsuit out of state court.  KLAS in Las Vegas:

Attorneys for the NFL and league commissioner Roger Goodell asked the Nevada Supreme Court on Monday to delay proceedings scheduled for November in former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden’s case against them.

The high court was scheduled to hear arguments in the league’s appeal on a district court judge’s ruling on Nov. 7, the court’s docket said. Attorneys for the NFL and Goodell were asking for a delay until at least January due to unrelated legal matters and the holidays, a filing said.

The NFL appealed to the high court after a Clark County District Court judge sided with Gruden in the NFL’s request for arbitration in Gruden’s lawsuit against the league.

“Appellants are making this request in good faith and not for the purpose of delay,” the NFL’s lawyers wrote in their delay request. “Because the proceedings below are stayed, a postponement of oral argument will not result in the waste of judicial or party resources.”

Lawyers for the NFL have pushed to settle Gruden’s lawsuit through arbitration — and not the public process of discovery. That process would likely reveal how and who leaked Gruden’s emails and other business-related information. The discovery process could also reveal other information the NFL seeks to keep confidential.

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS

Hard to believe that a player signed from the Patriots, and now back with New England, was lacksadaisical.  But that’s what the Chargers are saying about CB J.C. JACKSON who was so bad that the GM apologized to the other DBs for signing him.  Kris Rhim of ESPN.com:

AS THE DEFENSIVE backs meeting was ending, Los Angeles Chargers general manager Tom Telesco walked to the front of the room.

It was Week 6, the group’s first meeting since the Chargers traded cornerback J.C. Jackson to the New England Patriots for a swap of late-round picks, just over a year after signing him to a five-year $82.5 million contract in March of 2022. Telesco stood in front of the group and began to apologize.

Telesco told the group that signing Jackson was a mistake, according to multiple team sources. He apologized for continuing to give Jackson opportunities, despite Jackson routinely showing that he wasn’t as committed as the rest of the team while being one of the Chargers’ highest paid players.

Telesco called the move a “swing and a miss.”

The apology was a shocking admission, but Telesco’s points weren’t a secret in the organization. Jackson struggled to be the player the Chargers thought they were getting after his four seasons in New England, which included a second-team All-Pro selection. In two seasons in Los Angeles, Jackson played seven games. He missed 14 of 22 games due to injuries and was benched in his final two games as a Charger.

When he did play, Jackson’s stats were among the worst in his career, with highs in passer rating while targeted and yards allowed per completion.

“I’m still confused on why, but like I said, I can’t put my opinion on it. It was the coach’s decision,” Jackson said after he was benched for the Week 3 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. “I can tell you I’m confused. I don’t know what’s going on, but that’s not the real answer of why I didn’t play last week or why I didn’t start. That’s above me.”

Many within the organization believed Jackson approached practices with a “lackadaisical” attitude and didn’t respond well to coaching, according to team sources. In the Chargers’ Week 4 game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Jackson refused to go in after he was benched for the first three quarters, telling coaches he wasn’t warmed up enough, according to team sources.

In that same game, quarterback Justin Herbert played with a fractured left middle finger, an injury in which Herbert’s bone punctured his skin. Herbert didn’t miss any snaps. The juxtaposition of those moments was the final straw for the Chargers, according to team sources.

They traded Jackson and a 2025 seventh-round pick for a 2025 sixth-round pick from the Patriots. Ultimately, the Chargers paid Jackson $38.5 million for seven games over two seasons. Entering their “Monday Night Football” matchup against the New York Jets (8:20 p.m. ET, ESPN), the Chargers are allowing the most passing yards per game in the NFL (297.4).

“There’s a body of work to go off of — two years’ worth of a body of work,” coach Brandon Staley said after the trade. “We just felt like this was the best course for our team.”

When asked if “the body of work” Staley was referring to was specific to performance on the field or off the field, Staley was direct.

“In all ways.”

– – –

This makes us aware of the passing of time – WR KEENAN ALLEN has quietly hit 10,000 in career receiving yards.  Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com:

Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen topped the 10,000 career receiving yards milestone during Monday night’s win over the Jets, and afterward he said he had impressed even himself.

“That’s amazing. Hard work paying off, consistency, resiliency. I’ve been through a lot, injuries, so it’s nice,” Allen said.

Allen topped the 10,000-yard mark on a sensational leaping one-handed catch which he said he was looking forward to seeing on the highlight shows.

“I haven’t seen it yet, but it felt pretty good on the field,” Allen said.

Among active players, Allen is sixth in career receiving yards behind Julio Jones, DeAndre Hopkins, Mike Evans, Travis Kelce and Davante Adams.

Asked if he feels old to be in that kind of company, the 31-year-old Allen said, “No. They still can’t stop me.”

In his 11^th season, Allen lost all but 1 game in 2016 and significant part of 2 other campaigns.  He’s had 100+ catches in four of his last five full campaigns, 97 in the other.

HOUSTON

Where would you rank QB C.J. STROUD among the rookie QBs of the last 15 years?  Darn near the top we would think.  Let’s see what Chris Trapasso of CBSSports.com has in mind.

We’ll go back to 2010 for stylistic similarity as to how the quarterback position is now played. And I’ve only ranked the top 8 full rookie quarterback seasons for a reason. They’re really the only ones worth ranking. Let’s dive in.

8. Kyler Murray, 2019

Murray won the Rookie of the Year in 2019 but his first year in the NFL doesn’t quite stack up to the rest of those on this list. His big-time throw rate of 4.0% was very respectable, as was his 2.7% turnover-worthy play rate. His yards-per-attempt average of 6.9, not so much. While good for the vast majority of rookies, it’s just not amazing here, and his aDOT was just 7.6 in Kliff Kingsbury’s Air Raid offense that also featured a plethora of screens and quick underneath throws. Murray did run for 544 yards at a 5.8 yards-per-carry clip and looked like Mario on most of those scampers.

7. Dak Prescott, 2016

Not that it was Prescott’s fault, but he landed in the coziest environment of any quarterback on this list. In 2016, the Cowboys had an elite offensive line and a dynamic rookie power back in Ezekiel Elliott. Out wide, Prescott had in-his-prime Dez Bryant, in-his-prime Cole Beasley, and Jason Witten at his disposal. Prescott didn’t just ride the coattails of his teammates. He orchestrated the offense calmly for the entire duration of his rookie campaign with 11 of his 16 games featuring a quarterback rating over 100.

6. Current-pace C.J. Stroud, 2023

Stroud is slowly but surely climbing this list, particularly after a record-setting performance in Week 9’s bonkers comeback win in which he averaged 11.2 yards per attempt with five touchdowns and no interceptions against a respectable Buccaneers defense.

Stroud hasn’t provided the run-game element of most of the others on this list, which keeps him relatively low here. And despite a few highlight, pinpoint strikes in each contest, Stroud’s overall accuracy figures aren’t quite to the level of most here, either. His current big-time throw rate is 3.7% and his turnover-worthy play rate is 2.4%. However, I’ve admired how Stroud has balanced taking aggressive shots with not being careless with the football. He’s also clearly helped spark the breakout season for Nico Collins and the impressive premier for fellow rookie Tank Dell at receiver. Tight end Dalton Schultz has been a serious weapon, too.

How far can Stroud ascend these rankings? Hopping Mayfield is very plausible, and if the Week 9 eruption was a sign of more to come, entering the Top 4 isn’t entirely out of the question.

5. Baker Mayfield, 2018

Mayfield looked like the worthwhile No. 1 overall pick as a rookie in Cleveland. Throwing to Jarvis Landry, David Njoku, Antonio Callaway and Rashard Higgins, Mayfield put the Browns offense on his back in 2018. His 9.6 yards aDOT proves he wasn’t a conservative passer whatsoever. More evidence of that lies with his robust 7.7% big-time throw rate. His 3.1% turnover-worthy play rate was solid albeit unspectacular, and he provided essentially nothing on the ground. Mayfield’s 74.0% adjusted completion rate was awesome for most rookies, just not those on this list. Altogether, Mayfield’s Oklahoma play transitioned seamlessly to Cleveland in 2018.

4. Robert Griffin III, 2012

In young Kyle Shanahan’s offense, with Matt LaFleur as his quarterbacks coach and Sean McVay and Mike McDaniel also on the offensive staff, RG3 was an instant rockstar in D.C. Now, he didn’t have three All-Pro receivers at his disposal, but the Washington offensive line was sturdy and could lean on a stellar run game led by fellow rookie Alfred Morris.

RG3 is a bit lower on this list because of what know now about Shanahan’s offensive brilliance and ability to maximize a quarterback’s efficiency. His 3.7% big-time throw rate and 2.3% turnover-worthy play rates were good, not great, and there wasn’t a single game in his rookie season in which Griffin III attempted 40 passes. He was very much operating a ball-control offense. And he operated it outstandingly. Can’t forget his 843 yards rushing with nine scores on the ground either. One of the flashiest and most fun rookie quarterback seasons in league history.

3. Cam Newton, 2011

Newton burst onto the scene in an unprecedented way, with a 422-yard aerial display in his NFL debut after being a polarizing first overall pick by the Panthers. He maintained his ultra-aggressive ways that season, with a hefty 10.0 aDOT and a big-time throw rate of 8.2%. He wasn’t incredibly accurate — the long-ball propensity needs to be considered there — and did have a turnover-worthy play rate of 4.4%. Newton was a ran the football unlike the league had ever seen at quarterback, given his size, athleticism, and power combination. He had 706 yards on the grounds with 14 rushing scores. Incredible.

2. Justin Herbert, 2020

Herbert threw 596 passes as a rookie en route to setting the rookie passing touchdown record. His big-time throw rate was an impressive 4.9% to just a 2.3% turnover-worthy play rate. And it’s not like Herbert operated behind a Fort Knox offensive line. He was pressured on 36.6% of his drop backs that year (11th-highest rate in football) and, remarkably, led all quarterbacks with a 99.4 rating under pressure.

Mostly thanks to his bazooka arm and aggressive tendency as a thrower, Herbert’s rookie season was absolutely dazzling in Los Angeles.

1. Russell Wilson, 2012

Wilson’s rookie season gets overlooked because of the all-time strength of Seattle’s defense. Yes, Wilson was fortunate to land in Seattle when the Legion of Boom was in its prime, but his individual performance in Year 1 represents the gold-standard for recent rookie quarterback campaigns.

His average depth of target was a whopping 10.3 yards. His BTT was a gargantuan 7.1% while he was charged with a turnover-worthy play on only 1.7% of his drop backs in 2012. He ran for nearly 500 yards and despite all his improvisational wizardry was sacked on less than 8.0% of his drop backs. Wilson spread the ball around wonderfully to a, then, relatively unproven receiver group led by Sidney Rice, Golden Tate, and second-year pro Doug Baldwin. It’s easy to focus on the impact Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, and Earl Thomas had on the Seahawks in 2012. But Wilson’s rookie season was genuinely special.

We would have Stroud up near Herbert, but what do we know.  He’s headed to north of 4,500 pass yards and about 30 TDs with a 102.9 rating…with no significant running game and a patched-up line.

There might be 6 wins left on the Texans’ remaining 9 games.  A 10-7 record with those numbers?

Now, we liked Griffin plenty in 2012 – but he was 3,200 yards and 20 TDs (albeit 815 rush yards).

Mayfield in 2018?  3,725 pass yards and 27 TDs.

NEW YORK JETS

Rich Cimini of ESPN.com on the mood in the Jets locker room after another offensive dud (Nathaniel Hackett, coordinator; Zach Wilson, QB):

The New York Jets are having one of the worst offensive seasons in franchise history, and the frustration seeped out Monday night after a dispiriting 27-6 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers at MetLife Stadium.

Wide receiver Garrett Wilson and running back Breece Hall, the Jets’ top playmakers, appeared annoyed by yet another no-show performance by the offense. Hall said, “We all have to grow up and do our job,” and Wilson echoed that sentiment.

“It’s inexcusable, man, and it’s getting to the point where it’s disappointing,” Wilson said in a quiet locker room. “I hate coming off the field, looking our defense in the eyes and knowing that we have to send them back out there after three-and-out. Them boys are my dogs and they come out and ball. They put us in a great position. It’s time for us to start returning the favor, man. It’s time. We got to figure it out.”

The Jets (4-4) managed only two field goals against the NFL’s 31st-ranked pass defense, snapping their three-game winning streak. They lost three fumbles (two by quarterback Zach Wilson), allowed eight sacks and converted only three of 17 on third down. Their third-down success rate (22%) is lowest in the NFL over the past 45 years.

This wasn’t an isolated clunker. The Jets have scored only eight offensive touchdowns for the season, tied for their third fewest in their first eight games in team history.

Garrett Wilson paused when asked if the Jets’ issues are scheme related.

“I don’t know, man, I really don’t know,” he said. “I like to think that isn’t the case and that it’s truly things that we can just watch the film and be like, ‘All right, we have to do this better and this will lead to a touchdown.'”

The Jets had designs on being a prolific offense in 2023, but quarterback Aaron Rodgers went down with a torn Achilles tendon on the fourth play of the season. In came Zach Wilson, the former No. 2 overall pick. After making subtle improvements in recent weeks, he took a step backward Monday night.

His stat line wasn’t ugly, as he completed 33 of a career high 49 attempts for 263 yards, but it doesn’t tell the full story. He missed open receivers and didn’t sense pressure well, as the offense sputtered in every imaginable way. They had three pre-snap penalties, which didn’t help. Not even a stellar performance by the defense, which sacked Justin Herbert five times and held him to a career low 136 passing yards, could bail out the Jets.

Coach Robert Saleh refused to blame his quarterback.

“Was it his best game? Obviously not,” Saleh said. “Was it his worst game? No, I’m not going to say it was worst game.”

Despite having led the offense to only eight touchdown drives, four of which were one-play drives, Wilson insisted he’s not the same quarterback who got benched twice last season.

“I feel like I’m a different player,” he said. “I feel like I’m in the best position I’ve ever felt, mentally, my understanding of the game. I feel ready to be out there and be competing, and so that’s so frustrating, just not getting things done. It’s frustrating and it starts with me finding a way.”

Saleh said he has no plans to change playcallers; he’s sticking with offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who came to the Jets from the Denver Broncos, ranked 32nd in scoring last season. A change wouldn’t sit well with Rodgers, who is extremely close to Hackett.

Right now, the Jets are 30th in points per game and 31st in total yards per game.

“If you aren’t angry, I would think something is wrong,” said Garrett Wilson, who ruined a potential scoring drive with a first-quarter fumble. “This is disappointing and it definitely messes with your psyche a little bit, but it’s nothing we can’t handle. We’re professionals. We’re going to push through this and it’s going to be better on the back end. But, yeah, I’d be lying if I said that we were all content with what we’re doing out on the field because we’re not.”

Tight end Tyler Conklin shook his head when told they have only eight touchdowns for the season.

“I really don’t know what to say right now, to be completely honest with you,” he said.

– – –

Let’s try again on something we aimed to put in Monday’s Briefing – although it doesn’t look as good this morning.  Here’s Rich Cimini from ESPN.com on the Jets 2022 draft class.

Wide receiver Garrett Wilson went left, went right and slithered his way through the crowd, finding daylight. TV lights, actually.

In the New York Jets’ victorious locker room last week, Wilson, who has a knack for finding open space, penetrated a pack of reporters and joined teammate Breece Hall at a makeshift podium. In a playful mood, Wilson leaned into Hall, listening as the running back explained how they pulled off an improbable 13-10 overtime win over the New York Giants.

“Luckily,” Hall told the TV cameras and microphones, “Zach [Wilson] and Garrett did their thing, so it was a blessing.”

Garrett Wilson put his left arm around Hall, who scored the game’s only touchdown, and gave him an appreciative squeeze. Standing on the periphery of the scrum, waiting his turn in the media spotlight, was cornerback Sauce Gardner. Not far from him was defensive end Jermaine Johnson, who spoke to reporters at his locker after the first two-sack game of his career.

There, within a few yards of each other in the plush bowels of MetLife Stadium, stood a big chunk of the present and future of the Jets. Gardner, Wilson, Johnson and Hall — members of the celebrated draft class of 2022 — represent the Jets’ “Core Four” of players under the age of 25. Or maybe they should be known as the “Restore Four” because of what they’ve meant to the previously downtrodden Jets (4-3), who hope to snap a 12-year playoff drought.

“Franchise-defining,” coach Robert Saleh said of their ’22 draft, which produced the NFL offensive and defensive rookies of the year in Wilson and Gardner.

This season was supposed to be about the oldest player in the league — quarterback Aaron Rodgers, 39 — but his left Achilles injury on the first series of the first game changed everything for the Jets.

The focus has shifted to the quartet of Gen Z players — their leading rusher (Hall), leading receiver (Wilson) and leading sack producer (Johnson). Gardner isn’t leading any statistical categories, but he’s the most accomplished of the group — first-team All-Pro as a rookie, the first corner to do that since San Francisco 49ers legend Ronnie Lott in 1981. That foursome is a big reason the Jets, left for dead after losing Rodgers, took a three-game winning streak into Monday night against the Los Angeles Chargers.

“We all just understood that we had to come here and do big things and have a big impact for the team, for the organization,” Johnson said. “And we kind of took that as a challenge, and with pride.”

In the span of 24 hours, on the nights of April 28 and 29, 2022, general manager Joe Douglas changed the course of the franchise by drafting Gardner (fourth overall), Wilson (10th), Johnson (26th) and Hall (36th). Johnson was a backup last season and Hall missed the final 10 games with a left ACL tear, but now the group is intact. They’re all starters and each is producing at or near a Pro Bowl level, according to Saleh.

The draft is a tricky business, and no one knows that better than the Jets, who have flubbed many top-10 picks over the years. They once chose a pass-rusher who didn’t record a sack for his entire career (Vernon Gholston, sixth overall, 2008) and a cornerback who had more surgeries in college than interceptions in the NFL (Dee Milliner, ninth overall, 2013). For the record, it was five surgeries, three picks.

So there’s no such thing as a gimme in the draft game, but Douglas, who had two first-rounders and two second-rounders, went into the ’22 draft thinking “it could really be special.” He wound up with four of the 18 highest-graded players on his draft board, using one second-round pick to trade up for Johnson in Round 1 and benefitting from Hall’s fall into Round 2.

“They got four impact players for the team — all home-run scenarios,” one AFC personnel director said.

The draft was two years in the making. In July 2020, the Jets traded disgruntled safety Jamal Adams to the Seattle Seahawks for 2021 and 2022 first-round picks, which they used for guard Alijah Vera-Tucker and Garrett Wilson, respectively. They picked up an extra second-rounder when they dealt quarterback Sam Darnold to the Carolina Panthers in 2021.

It was a textbook case of how to acquire extra draft capital to accelerate a rebuild.

“We were brought here for a reason,” Wilson said. “We all feel like we have something special to bring to the table. We all feel like we’re unique and alphas.”

Another key date for this class was Oct. 16, 2022. That day, at Lambeau Field, Gardner and Hall staged dominating performances in a 27-10 win over the Green Bay Packers, catching the eye of a certain future Hall of Fame quarterback.

Rodgers has remarked many times one of the reasons he picked the Jets was because of their talented young core — budding stars on rookie contracts, the ideal roster-building situation for an aging quarterback. He really hit it off with Gardner, who had recruited him on social media.

“It’s a blessing to be able to be one of the reasons why he’s here,” Gardner said.

The Jets’ championship opportunity is short term, which made Rodgers’ injury hurt that much more. While all four players are signed through 2025, they will be eligible for new deals after the 2024 season.

“Their window is now because they’ll have to pay all those guys in a couple of years,” one NFC scout said of the Jets. “That’s why they felt so pressured to make the Rodgers trade. They have to win now or everyone is gone. You watch Saleh on the sideline and he lives and dies with every snap because he knows they mortgaged the farm.”

IT STILL BURNS Hall that he wasn’t a first-round pick. After a record-breaking career at Iowa State, he figured he’d be a Day 1 selection, but he was victimized by the devaluation of the running back position, according to multiple personnel sources in the league.

Because they graded him as the 18th-best player in the draft, the Jets had no qualms about trading up two spots to grab him in Round 2. In their eyes, he was a steal. If the past 24 games have proved anything, it’s that the Jets are a different team when he’s on the field.

It’s simple math: The Jets are 9-5 with Hall in the lineup, 2-8 when he’s not. When he scores a touchdown, they’re 8-0.

Hall is a home-run threat, something they haven’t had in the backfield since Thomas Jones rushed for 1,402 yards in 2009. Hall leads the league in yards per carry (5.7) and he’s responsible for four of the top five ball carrier speeds on the team, reaching a high of 21.5 mph.

“It’s like when you’re watching a plane fly by,” wide receiver Allen Lazard said of Hall’s running style. “The thing’s 30,000 feet in the air and it looks like it’s moving slow, but the closer you get — it’s hauling and you probably should get out of the way.”

As a runner and receiver, Hall already has broken plays of 83, 72 and 50 yards — all this despite having major knee surgery last October. He began the season as a wild card; even people in the organization weren’t sure how long it would take for him to be 100 percent.

Thanks to his “robot knee,” as he calls it, Hall has answered that question.

WILSON ALREADY IS one of the top young receivers in Jets history. His 122 career receptions are the fourth most by a player in his first two seasons, behind Wayne Chrebet (150), Keyshawn Johnson (133) and Al Toon (131). At his current pace, he will finish the year with 178 through his first two seasons, blowing them out of the water.

The downside to his sudden success is opponents have made a significant adjustment in how they defend him.

Wilson is drawing press coverage on 44% of his routes, the third-highest rate in the league among players with at least 100 routes, per NFL Next Gen Stats. It’s a big increase from last season (25%).

That’s what happens when you amass 1,103 receiving yards as a rookie despite a less-than-ideal quarterback situation. It’s what happens when you’re as elusive as a drop of liquid mercury. Some call him Gumby because of his uncanny ability to contort his body, making impossible catches — like his one-handed, juggling touchdown grab against the Buffalo Bills in Week 1.

“People don’t want him to get loose, so they’re going to get up and try and get in his face,” said receivers coach Zach Azzanni, explaining the steady diet of press coverage.

Wilson has spent an inordinate amount of time working on his release from the line of scrimmage, studying film and honing techniques that will allow him to improve against press coverage. Not that he’s worried; he still has 39 catches for 469 yards.

“There’s nothing that’s made me feel like, ‘Oh, wow, they got the plan for me,'” Wilson said, adding that he’s not as concerned with individual stats as he was last season. “I feel like I’m as good as I’ve ever been as far as my receiving skills.”

BEFORE FACING THE Dallas Cowboys in Week 2, Gardner received a text from Rodgers, who was recovering from surgery in California.

“He told me to get a pick for him,” Gardner said.

Sure enough, he was served one up by quarterback Dak Prescott, but Gardner dropped the would-be interception, a likely pick-six. Nearly two months later, he’s still chafed by it.

“I can’t believe it,” he said, shaking his head.

Gardner has encountered a few hiccups in Year 2, including a costly holding penalty in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Statistically, his coverage metrics are down from last season. He has been targeted at the same rate, but he’s allowing a 77% completion mark and a 105.8 passer rating as the nearest defender, per NFL Next Gen Stats. A year ago, it was 48% and 62.9.

Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said “nearest defender” stats can be misleading because they don’t account for the player’s actual assignment.

“I still think he’s an exceptional player,” Ulbrich said. “He’s a guy who I think can cover anyone in this league.”

It would be hard for Gardner to duplicate his historic 2022 performance. He was an instant star who hit the first-year trifecta — Pro Bowl, All-Pro and Defensive Rookie of the Year. He made it look easy, shutting down some of the league’s premier receivers.

He has improved his on-field communication, according to Ulbrich, who said Gardner isn’t like the proverbial star corner who prefers to live in isolation on his own island. He regularly engages with teammates in pre-snap conversations, helping to set the defense.

“Coverage-wise, I’ve been pretty solid. I’m not really having that many opportunities to get interceptions,” said Gardner, who has zero, “so it just makes me think about Dallas every time. I just wish I could have that play back.”

WHO’S THAT?

That’s how Johnson reacted when he studied his rookie season on tape. He didn’t recognize that player. Where was the burst? Where was the explosiveness that enabled him to win ACC Defensive Player of the Year at Florida State in 2021?

Determined to change, Johnson reinvented himself in the offseason, sculpting his body and improving his speed and get-off times, based on GPS tracking. He has improved his pressure rate from 9% last season to 10.1% this year. No doubt, he’s the most improved player among his 2022 draft classmates.

His goal this season: “dominate.”

“Just getting back to Jermaine,” he said. “I wasn’t playing like me last year. I don’t know the cause of that, but I looked myself in the mirror and looked at my Florida State film and I was like, ‘I want to be the guy that plays and acts like that. I want to see him.’ So I took it as a challenge.”

With a new-look body and a new number (he changed from 52 to 11), Johnson won a starting job in training camp, replacing Carl Lawson. Not only does he lead the team in sacks (4), but Johnson has gone from a bit player in a deep defensive-line rotation to one of the main cogs. He trails only Quinnen Williams in snaps played.

“I just have to remember that people have to deal with me,” he said, “not the other way around.”

These same people have to deal with Gardner, Wilson and Hall, too — the “Restore Four.”