After going seven months without NFL games, many hardcore fans regard the August premiere of HBO’s “Hard Knocks” series as manna from the football heavens.

We can follow the reporting of NFL beat writers and keep our televisions tuned in to the NFL Network once training camps open, but “Hard Knocks” gives us insider access to an NFL camp, taking us onto the practice fields and into the meeting rooms. If you’re a rabid NFL enthusiast, the late-summer arrival of “Hard Knocks” is like an ice cream truck turning down your street, delivering a vast assortment of tasty treats (but without the annoying music).

The Jets will be featured on this year’s installment of the show. They last appeared on “Hard Knocks” in 2010, when then-head coach Rex Ryan soaked up the spotlight and popularized the phrase “Let’s go get a snack.” The vibe will be different this time around. Third-year Jets head coach Robert Saleh is a more taciturn figure than Ryan, and before a team had been chosen for this year’s show, Saleh said he didn’t want the Jets to be featured. He might not be quite as camera-friendly as Lions head coach Dan Campbell was on last year’s “Hard Knocks.”

Jets training camp opens on July 19 in Florham Park, New Jersey. HBO has yet to announce the date of the first episode. (The series began on Aug. 9 last year.)

Here are some of the most compelling storylines of this year’s “Hard Knocks.”

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HBO’s Hard Knocks: New York Jets Storylines

Rodgers Dons a New Shade of Green

For the first time since he entered the league in 2005, Aaron Rodgers will be playing for a team other than the Green Bay Packers. The cameras will monitor Rodgers’ every step, every uttering. It will be fascinating to see how the future Hall of Fame quarterback handles a new ecosystem and a leadership role with a new set of teammates. Rodgers can be “a complicated fella,” as Packers president Mark Murphy once dubbed him. A-Rod can be funny, playful and incisive. He can also be prickly with the media — and godspeed to the receiver who runs the wrong route in his presence.

Welcome to Camp Saleh

As noted earlier, Saleh is less than enthusiastic about inviting HBO’s production crew into Jets HQ for training camp. The team has gone 11-23 in Saleh’s first two seasons at the helm, but the Jets have been in rebuild mode. Now, Saleh and his staff are freighted with the burden of lofty expectations. With Rodgers brought in to stabilize the heretofore problematic QB position, the Jets’ Vegas win total has been set at 9.5, with odds juiced to the over. Saleh isn’t the showman type, so the cameras might not get a lot of mirthful moments out of him. But Saleh is passionate and personable, so he may still be able to win over the “Hard Knocks” audience even if he isn’t good for a lot of laughs.

Extra Sauce

While the Jets’ offense is a work in progress, the Jets’ defense has hardened into one of the best in the league, and young CB Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner has become this unit’s headliner. The fourth overall pick of the 2022 draft, Gardner led the league with 20 passes defensed in his first NFL season, earned PFF’s top grade among cornerbacks, and was named Defensive Rookie of the Year. Sauce is destined to be a star in camp practices, and with his effervescent personality, the cameras are going to love him.

Hall Monitor

Breece Hall, a second-round draft pick last year, was having a terrific rookie season before tearing his ACL in Week 7. His recovery has reportedly gone well, putting him on track to play in Week 1. Hall’s participation in training camp may be limited, but it’s a safe bet that “Hard Knocks” will be tracking his progress. It will also be interesting to see the competition for RB roles behind Hall, with Michael Carter, Zonovan Knight and rookie Israel Abanikanda jockeying for playing time.

Big Questions for Becton

Will the Jets finally get something out of massive OT Mekhi Becton? The 11th overall pick of the 2020 draft, Becton has played just one game over the past two seasons due to knee injuries. Listed at 6-7 and 363 pounds, Becton is said to be in great shape heading into training camp. He had reportedly ballooned to 400 pounds in 2021 after a fractured kneecap and MCL injury prematurely ended his second season. Becton wants to play left tackle, but he’ll have to compete for that role with 16-year veteran Duane Brown, who’s recovering from shoulder surgery. The Jets’ other option is to have Becton compete for the starting right tackle job. It will be interesting to see if the gargantuan lineman can get his NFL career back on track.

Can He Hackett?

Nathaniel Hackett’s head-coaching tenure with the Broncos was a disaster. He wasn’t even allowed to finish out the season, getting the axe in late December with the Broncos sitting on a 4-11 record. The Jets hired Hackett to be their offensive coordinator, and he’ll be reunited with Rodgers after serving as the Packers’ OC from 2019 to 2021. Green Bay ranked 18th, 5th and 10th in total yardage those three seasons. With the Jets’ defense ready for primetime, the pressure will be on Hackett to preside over a playoff-caliber offense.

New Faces in New Jersey

Rodgers isn’t the only significant Jets newcomer. Wide receiver Allen Lazard and safety Adrian Amos also defected from the Packers to join the Jets. Other significant free-agent additions include OG Wes Schweitzer, DTs Al Woods and Quinton Jefferson, and WR Mecole Hardman. The Jets seemingly hit the jackpot in the 2022 draft With Gardner and Hall. Their first two 2023 draft picks, cornerback Will McDonald of Boston College and center Joe Tippmann, aren’t likely to be as impactful right away, but it will be fun to watch them compete in their first NFL training camps.

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