Nathaniel Hackett believes his second post-Broncos season will be ‘all kinds of different’

Nathaniel Hackett has the second year with the New York Jets that he never got in Denver — and that plenty think his work with the Jets didn’t warrant.

And in his mind, matters will be much different for the ex-Broncos head coach — simply because he has that extra go-round.

“Anytime you’re in a second-year offense, it’s a completely different feel from when you first start,” Nathaniel Hackett said in a podcast posted by the Jets’ official website.

“You’re installing plays, you’re installing alignments, and you’re talking about guys just trying to understand what they’re doing. Now you can really detail it up. You can talk about the intricacies of the route. You can experiment with new plays, new motions, all kinds of different, fun things. So it’s been really good. I think the guys have really enjoyed it.”

Nathaniel Hackett’s first season with the Jets was, by any reasonable metric, a failure. He lost his hand-picked quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, to a torn Achilles tendon on the first series of the season. Left with current Broncos quarterback Zach Wilson to try and pick up the pieces, the Jets offense foundered, finishing 31st in total offense.

That sort of performance is nothing new for a Hackett offense. In seven seasons as an NFL playcaller, he’s had just one offense that finished in the NFL’s top half — that of the 2017 Jacksonville Jaguars. But relative to Hackett’s point about being in the second year, that No. 5 finish in total offense came in his second season calling plays in north Florida.

The only positive aspect of Hackett’s maiden Jets voyage was his team’s Week 5 win in Denver. But even then, it wasn’t great; the Jets mustered just one offensive touchdown — a familiar outcome from Hackett’s ill-fated 15-game Broncos stewardship.

The Broncos will see Nathaniel Hackett and the Jets at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. in Week 4.

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