It is understandable if you are not a Jets fan if you are getting a little tired of seeing the team so much. It has been a summer of overexposure for the Jets.
Whether it is on HBO or ESPN or in The Post, the Jets have been everywhere over the last five weeks. Aaron Rodgers and Robert Saleh have been on TV more than reruns of “The Office” or “Seinfeld.”
But one key Jet has been flying under the radar. The architect of this team has somehow managed to maintain a low profile while the rest of the organization raised its profile.
General manager Joe Douglas has been less of a presence on “Hard Knocks” than that mentalist or the rapping rookie wide receiver. Douglas has been seen in a few brief scenes talking to Saleh, but has not been wearing a microphone and has not had a camera following him around.
Douglas likes being in the shadows. A scout at heart, Douglas prefers being behind the scenes even though he is now sitting in the director’s chair. He has only done two interviews this summer. He had one with CBS during the Jets’ game last week. And, as a devoted fan of “The Howard Stern Show,” he did one with staffers from that show at practice one day.
The Jets’ GM may wish to remain behind the scenes, but his work is about to take center stage. Douglas has spent four years building this roster and after years of talking about growth and improvement, the 2023 season is going to be about one thing — winning.
The big move of the offseason, of course, was the trade for Rodgers in April. The fact that Rodgers even wanted to come to the Jets is a credit to what Douglas has built. The GM drafted both 2022 rookies of the year, wide receiver Garrett Wilson and cornerback Sauce Gardner, as well as running back Breece Hall, who would have been in consideration for the offense award if he had not gotten hurt. Douglas wisely extended young star defensive lineman Quinnen Williams, one of three players who remain on the roster from before Douglas was hired in June 2019. Then, he added Dalvin Cook this summer to give the team another playmaker at running back.
Douglas has transformed the roster from when he first arrived. During the summer of 2019, when the Jets’ front office met in training camp to discuss the roster, they counted 35 players out of 90 they felt were NFL caliber players. That’s a problem when you need to keep 53 players.
That team, constructed by former GM Mike Maccagnan, was top-heavy. There were some stars, but there was no middle class. That is where you can see the biggest difference in these Jets. They have depth. There are probably 60 players on the roster right now who could make the team. The Jets will have to cut the roster down to 53 on Tuesday, and they face some very tough decisions.
“We built a pretty darn good roster that people see the value in our players and so it is a lot of tough decisions for us because we know that we might have to say goodbye to somebody, but at the same time we know we’re going to get a lot better for it,” Saleh said.
Last season, the Jets had seven players claimed by other teams after they made their cuts following training camp. They could have a similar number this year.
That kind of depth is what makes absorbing a move like receiver Corey Davis’ retirement this week a little easier. Yes, losing Davis is a blow, but it is not a critical one as it would have been in the past. With Wilson, Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb and Mecole Hardman on the roster, Davis was either the fourth or fifth wide receiver on the team. When he signed in 2021, he was their No. 1 wideout. So, losing Davis just opens a spot for one of the young receivers who have shown promise this summer.
Douglas’ low profile is about to end. When the Jets take the field on Sept. 11 against the Bills, his handiwork will be on display and the roster he has built, and its depth, will begin to get tested.
That is when we’ll find out if Douglas is ready for his close-up.