Report shares what NFL thinks of Jets' Aaron Rodgers coming off Achilles injury

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers turns 41 years old this December and understandably hasn't yet reclaimed his best form this season coming off the torn Achilles he suffered four offensive plays into New York's Week 1 game last September.

For a piece published Wednesday, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano asked individuals around the league what they noticed about Rodgers over his first two starts of the ongoing campaign. 

"More of a point guard distributing at this stage," one unnamed veteran AFC personnel man said about Rodgers. "Not the magician he used to be." 

Rodgers looked rusty in the season-opening 32-19 loss at the San Francisco 49ers back on Sept. 9 and then completed 18-of-30 passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns in this past Sunday's 24-17 win at the Tennessee Titans. However, Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports pointed out that Rodgers connected on only three passes of more than nine air yards versus Tennessee.

"He made some big-time throws late in that game," a scout said about Rodgers' performance at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. "Without them, the Jets don't win that game. I think for not being in real game action for a long time, he's been pretty good."

On Tuesday, Rodgers acknowledged he'd like the offense "to start faster" during games beginning with Thursday's prime-time home matchup against the 1-1 New England Patriots. According to ESPN stats, he heads into that contest ranked 18th in the NFL among qualified players with a 47.8 adjusted QBR, 23rd with a 60.8 completion percentage and 25th with 343 passing yards on the season. He tossed three touchdown passes and a single interception over his first two starts. 

"They're saying that the ball still goes exactly where he wants it to go when he throws it and that he has brought a swagger to the offense that has injected it with a confidence it didn't have last season," Graziano added about conversations he had with people around the NFL about Rodgers. "People readily admit he's not very mobile nor will he put up huge numbers. But when a throw needs to be made this season, the Jets can reasonably expect that it will be made."

On Wednesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed Rodgers as the betting favorite at +150 odds to claim this season's Comeback Player of the Year Award. That suggests at least some members of the gambling community believe the future Hall of Famer will get stronger and better between the start of Thursday's game and Week 18.