During the offseason over a year ago, Garrett Wilson got a call from Davante Adams, who was in New York City at the time. Adams invited the Jets wide receiver to join him and some friends for dinner.
Wilson happened to be nearby — what Adams called a “fluke” — so he took the chance to meet up and talk football with a player he had always admired and tried to emulate on the field.
“We didn’t know it would come to this back then,” Wilson said on Thursday. “We threw out the idea of possibly playing together, but then it came full circle, and here we are.”
On October 15, New York traded for Adams, bringing the three-time All-Pro wide receiver back together with Aaron Rodgers, his former quarterback in Green Bay for eight seasons. Adams had been traded to the Raiders in 2022, and then Rodgers followed him to the Jets the following year.
“I was just trying to pick his brain about Aaron and hear about their connection,” Wilson said. “He’s one of my favorite players growing up, and he knows that.
I made sure to tell him when I met him at that dinner. Because of that, and the way he felt about my game, we had a really eye-opening conversation for me.”
“And he was able to share a lot of knowledge. So now, with him being here, it feels like we’re taking the next step.”
That step showed up on the field during the second half of a 21-13 win over Houston last week, when Wilson and Adams put on a show at MetLife Stadium, giving fans a taste of what they could become as a dynamic duo.
“It was exactly what we envisioned,” Adams said. Wilson caught nine passes for 90 yards, including two incredible one-handed touchdowns, one of which has been compared to some of the greatest catches in NFL history.
Adams, who missed a few games with Las Vegas due to a hamstring injury, had seven catches for 91 yards and his first touchdown in three games with the Jets.
“I knew the whole time it wasn’t necessarily going to happen in the Pittsburgh game,” Adams said about his debut with the Jets on October 20, where he had three catches for 30 yards.
“You’ve got to learn to play with each other. And that starts with the coaches figuring out which plays to call and how to space out plays for different players throughout the game. Plus, working with Aaron. So it takes time.
“But people were a little impatient, wanting to see it right away. Now I feel a lot more comfortable. Hopefully, this is where we can start to take off as an offense and get some consistency.”
Wilson was named AFC offensive player of the week and leads the NFL with 60 catches and 94 targets. In his three games with the Jets, Adams has 14 catches for 175 yards and a touchdown.
“Every day I come in, I’m thankful to have someone like that, who I can pick their brain and learn from,” Wilson said. “I watch him practice, and I just steal moves from him.
That boy’s cold. He’s been like that for a long time, and stuff like that doesn’t happen by accident.” Building chemistry with the quarterback is important too.
When Rodgers and Adams connect for their next touchdown, they’ll tie Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown for the fourth-most TDs by a QB-WR duo in regular season and playoff games, with 78.
Meanwhile, Wilson and Rodgers are starting to develop a good connection after struggling a bit earlier in the season to build their on-field chemistry.
“If I’m his favorite receiver, it’s because of the details and the work I put in, which obviously he’s interested in learning because it’ll help him in his career too,” Adams said about Wilson. “This game is real similar. Sometimes, the icon ends up being a fan of the young guy, and vice versa.
“So it’s fun to work with him and see him work every day. I’m definitely looking forward to this continuing.”
As for Wilson, whose second touchdown catch was featured on highlight reels and printed on black T-shirts for players this week, he has a simple goal for his next game when the Jets play at Arizona on Sunday.
“Hopefully just a dub,” Wilson said with a smile. “We’ve got to find a way to stack some wins.”
