Aaron Rodgers will be wearing green once again in 2023, except this time it will be for the New York Jets. The Green Bay Packers have agreed to deal Rodgers to the Big Apple, which shakes things up for both franchises in real and fantasy football.
According to Adam Schefter, the Jets will receive Rodgers, the Packers’ 2023 first-round pick (No. 15) and a fifth-round pick (No. 170) in exchange for the Jets’ first-round pick (No. 13), a second-round pick (No. 42), sixth-round pick (No. 207) and a conditional 2024 second-round pick that becomes a first if Rodgers plays 65% of the plays.
Let’s start things off in New York, where Rodgers will be the most decorated field general the team has had since another former Packer, Brett Favre, was under center in 2008. Rodgers is coming off a down season in the stat sheets, however, as he threw for 3,695 yards (the lowest total of his career when starting at least 10 games) and averaged an unimpressive 14.1 fantasy points a game.
That was the lowest fantasy total of his entire career.
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Entering his age-40 season, some fantasy managers will even wonder if Rodgers is washed up. But there’s a lot to like about this move. First, Rodgers will be working with Nathaniel Hackett, who was his offensive coordinator in Green Bay during his last two MVP seasons (2020-21). Second, the Jets have good, young talent.
Garrett Wilson is coming off a Rookie of the Year campaign and will be in the No. 1 fantasy wideout conversation with Rodgers under center. The Jets also added Allen Lazard, who is of course very familiar with Rodgers during their time together in Green Bay. Rodgers will also play alongside a strong, young running back in Breece Hall, who will benefit from defenses staying honest with the Hall of Famer at the helm.
Depending on his recovery from ACL knee surgery, Hall could be selected as a No. 1 back in fantasy drafts. Think about that … the Jets could have a No. 1 fantasy back and a No. 1 fantasy wideout in the same season with Rodgers in the mix.
Speaking of the veteran quarterback, Rodgers will see his value increase with the Men in Green. I’m not saying he’ll be a top-five player at the position like he was in his previous two seasons, but you certainly have to like him as a low-end No. 1.
In Green Bay, Jordan Love will take over the offense for coach Matt LaFleur. He’ll be draftable as a late-round No. 2 in fantasy leagues, but we simply haven’t seen enough of him to make a firm statement about his value. Love has played in just 10 games in his career, and he’s started in just one. That came against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021, and Love completed a meager 55.9% of his passes.
Still, he spent the last two seasons behind (and hopefully learning from) Rodgers. Love also has good, young talent in the passing game in Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs and two strong runners in the backfield in Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon. Do the potential ceilings for Watson and Doubs take a hit without Rodgers?
Likely, yes.
But the NFL can be weird and very unpredictable, so I wouldn’t drop either player significantly in rank lists. Watson will be a WR3 in most drafts, while Doubs will be a WR4 or WR5. Jones and Dillon will still share the workload, so neither will drop too far among runners. The wild card here, of course, is Love. If he turns into this year’s Geno Smith, he could be a bargain in drafts. But on the surface, the real fantasy winners in this trade are Rodgers and the Jets offensive skill players.
