With or without Aaron Rodgers, fans want the Jets on ‘Hard Knocks’

Fans want all the messiness of the New York Jets on ‘Hard Knocks’

Despite rapidly becoming a 365-day event calendar, there are moments in the year where the NFL isn’t necessarily providing everything the die-hard football fan would want. But just as those cravings start to rise, enter ‘Hard Knocks.’

The HBO docuseries is entering it’s 19th preseason. Each year the series draws in fans to watch one specific team, covering training camp and focusing on the most interesting characters. By now the premise isn’t exactly ground breaking, maybe even formulaic, but it somehow always works.

This year’s ‘Hard Knocks’ team has yet to be announced, but the field has been limited to just four teams. A group that includes some of the biggest brands in the league, making this season that much more intriguing even if picking the team is harder.

Because of restrictions on which teams can be eligible – no first-year head coaches, no playoff teams from the last two years, no team that has appeared on the show in the last 10 years – the options aren’t usually this plentiful. But this year HBO will pick between the Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets and Washington Commanders.

One of those teams, however, has sparked a ton of conversation this offseason, and it’s not the team that traded the first-overall draft pick. In a survey conducted by SB Nation Reacts polling NFL fans around the country, nearly 50% of fans want to see the Jets on ‘Hard Knocks.’

There are two VERY different reasons to be interested in a ‘Hard Knocks’ featuring the Jets. Most obviously, the looming presence of Aaron Rodgers. The somehow-still Green Bay Packers quarterback has requested a trade to the Jets but the two sides don’t seem all that close to a deal. So despite the Jets picking up every free agent on Rodgers’ wish-list and fans presupposing it will work out, the Jets still don’t have their quarterback.

If the two sides can come to terms, the idea of ‘Hard Knocks’ featuring Aaron Rodgers and the walking punchline that has been the Jets over the years is too much to avoid. Having cameras rolling while Rodgers tries to explain his crystals to a New York media is the kind of thing TV executives salivate over. With Rodgers, the Jets would not only immediately become one of the weirdest teams in the NFL, they’d also be among the best. The future Hall of Famer, even as his current self, would join a strong defense and experienced pieces Rodgers himself hand picked.

Somehow, even without Rodgers, the Jets are nearly just as interesting. While they may only be a Hall of Fame quarterback away from a Super Bowl, they are currently one of the messiest teams in the league. While Zach Wilson is technically still on the team, the Jets have done everything they can to make it obvious he has no future in New York. After benching the former first-round pick, his Jets teammates spent the last month trying to recruit Rodgers. If they don’t make the trade, the quarterback position is an absolute nightmare.

While teams don’t officially have a say in the decision of who ends up on ‘Hard Knocks’ that doesn’t stop team officials from making their feelings known. That alone has been enough in the past to swing the decision in another direction. Head coach Robert Saleh and owner Woody Johnson haven’t weighed in on the topic yet, but one of Johnson’s counterparts has.

The Bears, unsurprisingly, have been eligible for Hard Knocks a number of times through the shows run. But because of the weight behind team owner George McCaskey, the HBO cameras have never made it to Illinois. McCaskey recently told The Athletic that there were “thirty-one [other teams]” that would be great for the show. That would come as a disappointment to a majority of Bears fans, more than three-fourths of which said they would like to see the team on ‘Hard Knocks.’

With Justin Fields and an active offseason, the Bears would make for an entertaining season of the show.

The Commanders would similarly make for an entertaining topic, although not necessarily for reasons the NFL would like to highlight. With the team is in the midst of a possible sale, it seems like an inopportune time for cameras to be rolling. Despite that, nearly two-thirds of Commanders fans would enjoy having HBO filming.

The safest choice for all involved also seems to be the least interesting. While the Saints will feature a new quarterback and a still relatively new head coach, not even the New Orleans fanbase seems all that interested. Just over half of fans said they’d like the Saints to be on the show.

Which team will end up being selected is still a complete unknown. But if fan interest can be a thumb on the scale, the choice is a no-doubter. But no matter who is picked, football fans will be tuning in.

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