Jets' attitude: Sky's the limit with Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers wanted his new teammates to set the bar high and believe that they could compete for a Super Bowl. They have and they do.

Second-year receiver Garrett Wilson said with Rodgers, the Jets should be one of the best teams in the NFL this season.

“We know what we have in this room,” Wilson said during a Zoom call Wednesday. “We’ve known what we had in this room. When you add someone like that with the accolades that he has and the ability that he has, we expect to compete with everyone in the league, beat everyone in the league, be one of the better teams in the league.”

The Jets have missed the postseason for 12 consecutive years, the NFL’s longest active streak. Rodgers’ arrival has given the Jets a jolt that they not only will change that, but they’re embracing the challenge that comes with trying to achieve that.

“I’d be lying if we said we had someone of Aaron Rodgers’ pedigree and the expectation doesn’t go up a little bit,” Wilson said. “I’m excited to have him. We know what comes with it. We know that all of a sudden, eyes are on us. We got to back it up every time we take the field, practice or game.

“What we know we have. We’re excited to prove that to the world every week.”

Rodgers said last week that he would stick around and take part in OTAs to spend time with his teammates. He wanted to start building chemistry and talk about expectations with them so “they could start manifesting with our words the desire in our heart.”

Second-year cornerback Sauce Gardner got to spend a lot of one-on-one time with Rodgers on Tuesday. They went to dinner together and then to the Knicks-Heat playoff game. Gardner said everyone knew who Rodgers was and he enjoyed being “in his shadow.”

Gardner also discovered that Rodgers is a funny guy and that they both have something in common — despite all the attention and high expectations, they don’t feel any pressure.

“We were just talking about that yesterday. There’s no pressure,” Gardner said. “When it comes to playing in New York, you just got to tell yourself, ‘I’m built for this.’ Me and Aaron, we just caught ourselves yesterday, telling each other, like, ‘I’m built for this.’ He said he’s built for this.”

The Jets were a confident team that seemed to be on the rise last year. They were 7-4 before dropping their final six games. That nosedive led to the realization that the Jets needed major upgrades at quarterback and pursuit of Rodgers began.

Getting Rodgers has this team’s confidence at an all-time high, but it has taken some getting used to for some Jets players to see him in the building and on the field.

“Just seeing him in the huddle it’s still a surreal feeling,” guard Alijah Vera-Tucker said.

“That’s a legend right there,” Wilson said. “That’s a Hall of Fame player. This is something 20 years from now, 30 years from now I’ll tell my kid, I played with Aaron Rodgers.

Linebacker Quincy Williams said the first time he was on the field with Rodgers, he needed a second because he wanted to watch him throw the football.

“I ain’t gonna lie to you, I was kind of star-struck at first,” Williams said. “We warm up right next to each other, so I was like, “Hold on, Coach, let me take a minute and take this in.’ Just watching a few throws and seeing him in the [Jets] green. I just took that in and was like, ‘Alright let’s get to work, so we can give him more opportunities to throw the ball.’”

Wilson said he was “honored” to hear Rodgers compare the way he gets in-and-out of his breaks to Davante Adams. Wilson said Adams was his favorite receiver, and he still has a long way to go to reach his level, knowing Rodgers can help.

“I know where I want to be and I got to keep working,” Wilson said. “I know I got to keep my head down and keep working and continue to prove that. But I appreciate the praise from ARod, and he knows it. The way he slings the ball I have a lot to say about that.”

By Al Iannazzone

al.iannazzone@newsday.comAl_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.