Aaron Rodgers headlines 3 stars and 2 duds from Thursday's NY Jets practice

NY Jets training camp is officially underway as the team hosted their first practice of the summer open to fans on Thursday. Aaron Rodgers wasted little time welcoming fans back to Jets football.

The four-time MVP was the star of the show on Thursday, as the Jets' first-team offense was outstanding throughout the day. More on that in a moment, however.

Some other notable standouts who very easily could've made this list include Garrett Wilson, who hauled in a 75-yard touchdown from Rodgers on the first play of the day, Allen Lazard, who capped off another solid practice with a touchdown on the final play, and Sauce Gardner, who remains arguably the best player on this Jets roster.

It almost felt like cheating including Wilson and Gardner, which is partially why they were omitted. But make no mistake about it — they were excellent on Thursday. Let's take a look at a few other notable standouts and underperformers from Thursday's practice.

Standout: Aaron Rodgers, QB, NY Jets

Aaron Rodgers is back, and he did everything in his power to silence his critics with his performance on Thursday. The future Hall of Famer kicked off practice with a 75-yard bomb to Garrett Wilson for a would-be touchdown, much to the delight of the supporters in attendance.

That would prove to be the tone-setter for what was an incredible day for the longtime Packers quarterback. Rodgers stole the show on Thursday.

Rodgers finished 13-of-16 including 9-of-12 in team drills, frequently pushing the ball downfield and finding the likes of Wilson, Tyler Conklin, and others. He capped off practice with a red-zone touchdown to Allen Lazard to conclude his excellent performance.

Yes, it's only July. No, the team wasn't rocking pads yet. But Rodgers showed on Thursday exactly why there's so much optimism surrounding the organization. He's still got it.

Dud: D.J. Reed, CB, NY Jets

Thursday wasn't D.J. Reed's best day as a member of the Jets. The usually rock-solid cornerback was burnt twice downfield for Garrett Wilson, including on the aforementioned 75-yard heave from Rodgers on the first play of the day.

Wilson toasted Reed on a double move, causing the standout defensive back to stumble and allowing Rodgers to find him streaking down the left sideline.

Later in practice, Rodgers would chuck up another 50/50 ball to Wilson who had a step on Reed, only for the veteran cornerback to get a little handsy and tug at the receiver's jersey before the ball arrived.

While the play wasn't technically called a penalty, it was a pretty obvious case of defensive pass interference. It's pretty tough guarding Wilson one-on-one down the field, and Reed witnessed that firsthand on Thursday.

Standout: NY Jets offensive line

Perhaps the most notable difference between the Jets' offense this summer versus last summer has come with the offensive line. On Thursday, the Jets' starting offensive line dominated the first-team defensive line.

Tyron Smith stonewalled the likes of Jermaine Johnson and Will McDonald, buying Rodgers important time to scan the field and find open targets. The offensive line had quite a few things working against them too.

Padless practices typically favor defensive linemen and the Jets were still without both Alijah Vera-Tucker and Morgan Moses in team drills. But Wes Schweitzer and Max Mitchell filled in admirably, with the latter getting the better of Micheal Clemons throughout the day.

The Jets' offensive line is already off to a very encouraging start this summer, and it sounds like Vera-Tucker and Moses could return to practice in a full capacity as soon as next week.

Dud: John Simpson, LG, NY Jets

While the Jets' starting offensive line was impressive on Thursday, it was an inconsistent practice for left guard John Simpson. The veteran lineman held his own in pass protection and looked the part as a run-blocker, but he struggled in an area that has plagued him throughout his career.

Simpson jumped offside on two separate occasions leading to multiple false start penalties during practice. Both penalties resulted in the Jets temporarily sending him to the sideline as a pseudo-benching.

Penalties have been a recurring issue for Simpson in the NFL, as the former Baltimore Ravens guard ranked second among all players at his position with 11 penalties in 2023.

The Jets are evidently taking penalties very seriously this summer, and if the offensive line is going to reach its ceiling, the team will need Simpson to clean things up.

Standout: Takkarist McKinley, DE, NY Jets

The Jets' starting offensive line might've done their job on Thursday, but veteran pass rusher Takkarist McKinley had his way with the second and third-team units.

McKinley racked up a whopping three sacks during Thursday's practice, terrorizing the likes of Tyrod Taylor and Andrew Peasley with the backups. Granted, he was an unblocked rusher on two of those three sacks, but he showcased impressive burst, darting into the backfield on both plays.

A former first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft (13 picks after Haason Reddick was drafted), McKinley played under Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich in Atlanta before bouncing around between the Browns and Rams.

After spending the 2023 season out of football, McKinley signed with the Jets following a successful tryout during minicamp. He has his work cut out for him to make the 53-man roster, but there might just be a spot for him if he continues to impress.