This time, D.J. Reed avoided the historical comparisons to all-time great teams.
He didn’t reference the 1985 Bears defense — like he did last September, when the offseason anticipation and the “Hard Knocks” spotlight and the returning defensive nucleus from 2022 that remained intact bubbled over before Week 1 even began — or the Seahawks’ “Legion of Boom” secondary.
But Reed, who started his career with the 49ers and watched from his perch as a reserve as they advanced all the way to the Super Bowl in 2019, still didn’t hesitate when asked about the ceiling for the Jets this year.
They still have Aaron Rodgers.
The defense returns most of its top pieces, including its top two cornerbacks in Reed and Sauce Gardner.
There were Super Bowl expectations and predictions and dreams last year, and 12 months later, those haven’t changed.
“I would definitely say like this team is definitely on that [49ers] trajectory,” Reed said Saturday following the Jets’ training camp practice in Florham Park.
The offense, Reed said, will probably be better than the 49ers’ from that Super Bowl team, which featured quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, top targets George Kittle and Deebo Samuel, and a trio of running backs — Raheem Mostert, Matt Breida, Tevin Coleman — who each collected over 500 yards on the ground.
Gang Green’s Rodgers-Garrett Wilson connection has been on display again during camp, including Saturday when they connected, or at least tried to in other instances, throughout 11-on-11s.
Wideout Allen Lazard, who struggled last year without Rodgers as the Jets’ signal-caller, “has been playing great,” too, Reed said.
And this has all unfolded without No. 2 wideout Mike Williams, who started training camp on the physically unable to perform list while continuing to recover from a torn ACL.
“So like him coming into the picture, that could totally change things for the positive,” Reed said of Williams.
For Reed, the offense clicking and staying healthy will help take pressure off the defense, which was forced to be nearly perfect last season as Zach Wilson, Tim Boyle and Trevor Siemian all cycled through as signal-callers.
That was tough for Reed.
Really tough — “I’m not gonna lie,” he said.
Reed and the defense would go into the games knowing that if they allowed a touchdown, “we’re gonna lose this game,” he said.
There was pressure to score on defense.
There was certainly pressure to not allow an opponent to score, given that the Jets topped more than 20 points just four times in 2023.
“Playing like that is mentally tough,” Reed said, “especially at corner.”
But with Rodgers recovered from his torn Achilles, the Jets’ defense could have the chance to operate while holding a lead more often this season.
Opponents would have to throw the ball in that case — presenting chances for Reed, Gardner and the safeties to “bait” and force interceptions — instead of constantly running the four-minute offense and allowing the clock to keep draining and draining and draining.
Reed, who enters 2024 on the final year of his contract and previously said the “ball is in the Jets’ court” with any future contract extension, picked off one pass last year and finished with at least nine passes defended for the third consecutive season.
He’ll pair with Gardner, an All-Pro cornerback in his third season, again, and they’ve already been tasked with trying to contain the Rodgers-Wilson connection in practice — which has coincided with Reed working on his press technique.
“Man, they’ve been battles,” Reed said of defending Rodgers and Wilson, “But it’s ultimately gonna make me better.”
Rodgers, early last week, said that New Orleans — the site of the Super Bowl in February — remains the goal for the Jets.
And Reed, who has reached the ultimate game of a season before and come within 11 points of winning it all as San Francisco lost to the Chiefs, thinks the Jets have the talent to get there.
“So hopefully we keep building on that,” Reed said, “so like we definitely have a chance to win it all.”
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