Garrett Wilson hasn’t had his usual standout game yet for the New York Jets, but the team isn’t concerned about it.
The talented wide receiver has caught 15 passes for 150 yards and one touchdown, which are decent numbers but not spectacular through the first three games. He has been targeted 26 times.
“Hey, shooters shoot,” offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said on Thursday. “Just keep giving him opportunities.”
Wilson set a high bar in his first two NFL seasons, making 178 catches from six different quarterbacks, none of whom were Aaron Rodgers: Zach Wilson, Joe Flacco, Mike White, Trevor Siemian, Tim Boyle, and Chris Streveler.
Now that Rodgers is healthy after recovering from a torn left Achilles tendon last year, fans expected a strong connection between him and Wilson, especially since they looked good together in training camp.
After last week’s win against New England, Rodgers mentioned that defenses are focusing on shutting Wilson down. As a result, Rodgers has been spreading the ball around, throwing passes to nine players, including Wilson.
“You’ve got to try to put him in situations where he can be the No. 1 in the progression, which he is a lot, and then mix up the looks,” Rodgers said this week. “So we’ve got to do a lot of things to give him a chance to get moving and we’d like to get the ball to him early, but it’s just a process.
“He’s got to be patient, we’ve got to be patient. We can’t force it.” Wilson, who was the 2022 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, continues to make great plays when he gets the ball.
His first touchdown this season came last week on a well-placed pass from Rodgers that only he could catch, just out of reach of Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez.
Wilson managed to twist his body and tap his toes in the end zone while staying inside the pylon. “G did a great job pushing up and getting some separation,” Hackett said.
“It looked as though Aaron might not have been able to see it right away, so just for him to naturally step right, move right, and then put that ball in a tight window where nobody was going to get it besides G.
Just even G with his body to be able to catch it and then somehow get into the end zone. “Just watching that connection and just everything was really cool.”
Rodgers and Wilson will try to build an even stronger connection on Sunday against Denver, but it won’t be easy with Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II doing a great job at shutting down top receivers.
“Pat’s a phenomenal player, but you know, Garrett is too, so it’s going to be a good matchup with those two guys,” Rodgers said. “A lot of respect for Pat, because he plays both sides, plays in the slot. Not many star coverage corners do that, so, a lot of respect for Pat.”
That said, Surtain and the Broncos are clear about their game plan.
“They have a very dynamic connection going on right now,” Surtain said of Rodgers and Wilson. “We have to game plan for them and we’re looking forward to competing and being the best defense we can be to eliminate that, for sure.”
The good news for the Jets is that their offense is doing well, even without big numbers from Wilson.
New York is leading the league in third-down situations and has scored three touchdowns in each of the first three games, which has only happened four times in the franchise’s history and not since 1989.
The Jets have also scored on all eight of their trips inside the red zone, including six touchdowns. “Garrett’s an elite football player in this league, so we want to get him the ball,” Hackett said.
“But if something happens or he’s taken away, the ability for the quarterback to progress and then other people make plays allows us to get another opportunity to potentially target him. But for us, it’s about a system.
“He might be No. 1, he might get it, he might not. He might be No. 2 and he might get it and everybody thought he was No. 1, so it’s just about the flow of the offense. When Aaron is going, I think that’s the most important thing because it gives us a lot of opportunities.”
