Shawn Jefferson can be forgiven for being a dreamer.
He will be mentoring Garrett Wilson.
And you can forgive Tony Deuce for being a dreamer.
He will be coaching Breece Hall.
The 24-year-old Wilson and the 23-year-old Hall were two big reasons why joining the Jets was attractive to Aaron Rodgers, the third-year star who is now as good as any WR-RB duo in the NFL.
“I always have lively discussions with Garrett in my room,” Jefferson said at the beginning of training camp. “It’s just part of his personality. … That’s one of the things I love about Garrett. He’s a stickler for detail. He has a real appetite for detail. So as a coach, you better focus on your job, because he wants to know the why.”
Rodgers, who is fulfilling his duties as the franchise quarterback and enjoying some spirited on-field debates with Wilson, can vouch for that.
“It’s amazing,” Jefferson said, “a coach’s dream. When you have a player that’s as driven as him, he’s competitive and he’s not kicking his ass waiting for his turn. He’s always waiting for his turn.”
Rodgers compared Wilson to former Packers wide receiver Davante Adams.
“As far as his ability to get out of the break and his quickness at the line of scrimmage, definitely,” Rodgers said during 2023 training camp.
Wilson is 6 feet tall and weighs 192 pounds. Adams, who caught 907 passes from Rodgers and accounted for 68 regular-season touchdowns, is 6’1″ and 216 pounds. Jefferson (470 catches, 7,023 carries and 29 touchdowns in 13 NFL seasons) doesn’t like to make comparisons, but the similarities are clear.
“What stands out to me, I think that’s a good trait of a really good receiver or a receiver that has the potential to be a really great receiver,” Jefferson said. “He makes the difficult plays routine. I was just amazed when I got here. I’ve seen guys like Calvin Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins make the difficult plays routine. He does the same thing, but he does it in a way that’s a lot easier than they did. Like the way he contorts his body. He’s never out of position. It’s just incredible. It’s talent.”
“I have to be careful not to trick him.”
Dews will be in his first year as Hall’s position coach.
“He can play all three downs, and I’m excited about his ability to help us in the pass game, his ability to run routes in the pass game, and then in the run game, he’s very smooth but twitchy and he moves faster than he looks,” Dewes said. “Sometimes when I watch him on the field, I’m like, ‘Brees, you’re tired, why aren’t you running?’ And then I watch the film and I’m like, ‘Oh, he’s moving pretty well.’ So I think he’s got incredible speed.”
Dewes coached Derrick Henry with the Titans from 2018-2022 before moving to the tight end room last season, and he loves coaching Hall.
He never hesitates to call himself Breathe the Beast.
“He’s a thinker, he’s very smart,” Dewes said. “He asks really good questions. He’s able to look at the film that we’re watching and ask the right questions, so you can tell he’s got a quick mind. And he communicates really well with Aaron and the quarterback. And probably the best thing about him is he’s worked really well with the other guys in the room.”
Wilson played all four snaps with Rodgers (remember the Achilles?) last season, but still caught 95 balls from Zach Wilson and co.
“He’s a really rare talent,” Jefferson said.
Same for Hall, who is a receiving weapon out of the backfield (76-591, 4 TDs in 2023). Rodgers compared Hall’s running style to former Packers running back Ahman Green (9,205 career rushing yards, 60 TDs, 378-2,833 receiving, 14 TDs), who played primarily with Brett Favre. Green is 6-0, 218 pounds, Hall is 5-11, 220 pounds.
“He’s got very natural hands, so he catches the ball with ease,” Dewes said. “He’s fluid, athletic, he can change direction, and he has the ability to run routes like some of the better route-runners we’ve seen in the NFL in the past. The first ones that come to mind are Alvin Kamara, and then obviously Christian McCaffrey and what he’s doing right now. So, I’m not comparing him to those guys, I’m just talking about guys who are good route-runners and have been able to have success in the passing game and contribute to their team.”
Three days before the Commanders’ joint scrimmage, Wilson pleaded with Jefferson to “release me on Thursday.”
“You can’t find anything like that these days,” Jefferson said. “It’s a dream come true for me.”
Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall: Beauty and the Beast.
