We could see a massive Garrett Wilson breakout with the New York Jets in 2024.
One reason for that could be due to a new wrinkle being installed on the offensive side of the ball. Rich Cimini of ESPN said in a column posted on Sunday, August 4, “Like every team in training camp, the Jets are trying to install new wrinkles on offense. By the regular season, don’t be surprised if you see Wilson in the slot more than past years.”
Moving Wilson Could Greatly Benefit the Jets
According to Pro Football Focus, Wilson got 299 snaps in the slot in 2022 and 297 snaps in the slot in 2023.
Wilson appeared in the slot on 34% of the offensive snaps as a rookie in 2022 and that number decreased in 2023 with only 29% of the offensive snaps coming from the slot.
Despite limited opportunities through his first two seasons, the former Ohio State product has made the most of it.
“In 2023, Wilson made 40 of his 95 receptions (42%) from the slot, an increase from 2022. That year, he made 29 of 83 (35%),” per Next Gen Stats via Rich Cimini of ESPN.
When you operate from the slot as a wide receiver you just get a ton of optionality. Contrarily when you’re lined up out wide the defender can use the boundary as an extra defender. There is no such advantage on the inside for the defense.
Cimini explained that this strategy didn’t just come out of the blue. This is something Nathaniel Hackett and Aaron Rodgers utilized in previous iterations of the Green Bay Packers offense.
“In 2021, Rodgers’ most recent MVP season, [Davante] Adams scored seven of his 11 touchdowns from the slot. Wilson has studied those tapes,” Cimini revealed.
Kay Adams told Wilson during a one-on-one interview that the word on the street is that he’s “lining up in the slot a lot more.”
“I don’t want to tip anyone off,” Wilson responded on “Up & Adams.” “Just being able to do as much as you can, right? Just not putting a box on yourself because teams are going to take away things. So the more I can do, the harder it is to take away what they might be trying to take away. At the end of the day, I want to be a receiver that you can put at any position that can be expected to make the play at any position. If they’re putting their confidence in me to line up in the slot and make those reads that come with being a slot receiver, I know I’m taking the right steps in my progression.”
High Expectations for Wilson From the National Media
On the Monday, August 5 edition of “The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny”, Wilson was the consensus choice for Dark Horse Offensive Player of the Year honors.
“He is so good. Rodgers loves to funnel WR1’s right? Davante Adams had like 170 targets in 2021, right? If he has a guy, you trust that guy, he will funnel him targets. That’s if there are other good receivers. Look at the Jets depth chart, right? If Mike Williams gets hurt, he’s the only one! He perfectly fits what you’re looking for,” ESPN NFL analyst Ben Solak explained.
Oh baby!
Both @minakimes & @BenjaminSolak agreed that #Jets WR @GarrettWilson_V is their dark horse to win the #NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year award in 2024. 👀
‘He’s so good. [Aaron] Rodgers loves to funnel WR1s right? Davante Adams had like 170 targets in 2021. If he has…
“He is so quarterback-friendly with his style of play. With the way he finds spaces in zone, he beats man coverage, he to me if Rodgers is healthy is going to put up astronomical numbers in this offense,” Mina Kimes added.
Through Wilson’s first two seasons, he has impressed despite playing with seven different quarterbacks. The next step for him is joining the elite of the elite wide receivers in terms of production.
To do that, Wilson will need competent play from the quarterback position. Rodgers has proven throughout his career that he can do that and more often than not better than that.
