'The energy just feels different' around Jets training camp, but avoiding distraction remains the focus

Jets rookies and veterans alike reported for training camp on Wednesday, and right from the jump, it’s clear that things around Florham Park are a bit different this year.

“Not gonna lie, the energy just feels different,” said cornerback D.J. Reed, who is beginning his second season with the team. “Definitely feels like more excitement coming into this year.”

And why is that?

“We got Aaron Rodgers. We got some of our main guys back. We just signed [Quinnen Williams],” Reed said. “So, I mean, personally for me, this is probably the most excited I’ve been.”

Between Rodgers’ arrival in New York, the extra cameras of HBO’s "Hard Knocks" being everywhere the players turn, a roster including rising young stars like reigning Rookies of the Year Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson, and even just the added expectations of being a Super Bowl contender, it’s clear this Jets season will be unlike anything the organization has experienced in the last decade.

“Well, you can start with all the cameras that are around on the first day,” said C.J. Mosley. “Obviously we have a big name in Aaron Rodgers here. You can kind of feel a lot screws and bolts kind of tighten up, but that’s expected with the name and the weight that he carries.

“Everybody’s excited from top to bottom – coaches, players, and you can talk to anybody in the building and everybody’s going to have the same mindset and excitement.”

It’s already abundantly clear that Rodgers’ presence has amped up the level of excitement surrounding the team. Consistent quarterback play was considered the final piece of the team's puzzle, and the Jets brought in a four-time MVP and future Hall of Famer to address that need.

If Rodgers and the offense can improve upon what the Rodgers-less group achieved last season, then the Jets should be able to “take another step forward,” as Reed put it, in all assets of the game.

“I just want us to be the best version of ourselves,” Reed said. “That’s just a 1-on-1 evaluation of yourself every day, coming to the building, being deliberate at practice, during walkthroughs and obviously that will translate to the game.

“My expectation is Super Bowl. That’s just me. Last year that was my expectation, too. That’s what I play for – is to win a Super Bowl.”

While AFC juggernauts Kansas City, Buffalo, and Cincinnati are still the betting favorites to come out of the conference as Super Bowl champions, the Jets are right behind them.

On paper, the Jets certainly have the talent to return to the Super Bowl for the first time in more than 50 years.

But getting there will mean blocking out the outside noise and focusing on the task at hand each and every week.

“I feel like we really need to keep our measure the same with the outside noise. More so now than any time, it’s easy to get distracted,” said Mosley. “If we let things be a distraction, it’s going to become a distraction, so we’ve just got to focus on what we can control…”