How Jets reacted to 'special dude' Aaron Rodgers on 'Hard Knocks'

"[Rodgers] is a special dude. And he’s cool as f—," defensive tackle Al Woods said, adding, "Whatever they said about Aaron Rodgers on TV is a lie."

Wide receiver Mecole Hardman, 25, sounded more like a fan than a player when he told the 39-year-old Rodgers, "I watched you my whole life, basically."

But perhaps the greatest praise came from defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. While dissecting one of Rodgers' throws from practice, Ulbrich told his defense, "I don't know if there's any other human on Earth that can make that f—ing throw. He's our quarterback. He's ours."

Aaron Rodgers and Nathaniel Hackett are inseparable

When the Jets hired Nathaniel Hackett as offensive coordinator in January, many around the league viewed the move as a bargaining chip intended to sway Rodgers to come to New York. The pair developed a close relationship while together in Green Bay, where Hackett directed the Packers' red-zone game plan from 2019-'21.

With Rodgers and Hackett reunited with the Jets, their tight-knit bond is hard to miss.

Throughout the opening episode, Rodgers and Hackett can be seen playfully bickering with one another. After one practice, the quarterback wails at his coach for not saying hello to Liev Schreiber, the narrator of "Hard Knocks." Later in the episode, Rodgers jokingly yells out "Sean Payton" as a way to psych out Hackett during a game they created.

Payton, Denver's head coach, recently ripped Hackett, who was fired as Broncos HC after less than a season.

"The more you’re around him, the more you realize how special he is as a human," Rodgers said of Hackett. "We like to give each other s—t, but in the end, we really love each other."

Zach Wilson has his swagger back

Wilson is no longer "The Guy" on his team or in "Hard Knocks" — and he seems to like it that way. 

The former No. 2 overall pick spent much of his screen time learning under Rodgers and receiving pointers from the four-time MVP. Despite being teammates for only several months, the quarterbacks seem to have developed a strong connection, with Wilson blossoming under Rodgers' wing. 

Wilson admitted that "things felt like they were getting worse each week" last season and his "confidence was going down." Now entering his third NFL season, it seems his morale has begun to rise.

When taking the field in last week's Hall of Fame game, Wilson told his teammates, "Let's have some damn fun." Shortly after, the 24-year-old uncorked a 57-yard pass to wide receiver Malik Taylor, which Wilson hilariously called a "dime and a half." 

The Jets kept Wilson around in hopes he could develop into a more complete quarterback behind Rodgers. So far, the early signs are promising.