When the New York Jets drafted wide receiver Garrett Wilson 10th overall, significant expectations were universal. The highly-touted young prospect with sky-high potential was expected to be a long-term mainstay and focal point of the Jets’ offense.
Throughout this offseason, Wilson showed glimpses of his special talent in training camp and the preseason. He seemed ready to take on an immediate role in the offense from the jump.
However, come Week 1, Wilson played just 49% of the Jets snaps offensively, most of which came late when the game was out of hand.
Wilson was clearly frustrated with his lack of playing time in the first regular season game. With more of an opportunity, you knew he would deliver.
And come yesterday, it was a completely different story for the rookie. Wilson played important reps for the Jets early and throughout the entire ballgame.
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Garrett Wilson shows colossal upside in just second game:
Wilson saw 14 passes come his way in Week 2 of his first year. He caught eight of them. The wide receiver recorded his first of many 100-yard receiving games. Wilson concluded yesterday’s contest with 102 yards in the air. His longest reception of the day went for 31 yards. Lastly, Wilson scored two touchdowns, both of which were in the red zone, and his second was the game-winner for the Jets.
There were so many noteworthy aspects to Wilson’s game that jumped out from yesterday it is hard to pick where to start. He exhibited his complete skill set that will make him a challenge to defend for years to come.
Whether it was out wide, in the slot, or tight splits, Wilson created separation for himself from all across the formation.
Not only did Wilson win from multiple pre-snap alignments, but he made plays all over the field and on each level. He caught passes underneath, on the intermediate and deep levels, inside and outside the numbers, as well as in the red zone.
Wilson’s natural ability to generate effortless separation with his combination of speed and quickness athletically when given space to operate was evident.
The contested catch and ball skills that Wilson possesses were on display. Even though it resulted in an incompletion, the first target Wilson had in the game, he showed his ability to jump and make a tough catch with his strong hands in the air. He just landed out of bounds on a deep go route.
Although it might not have worked due to a lack of space, Wilson also had an opportunity in the gadget game yesterday as Mike LaFleur designed an end-around for him. It is just another component of Wilson’s already versatile skill set.
The last two points to go over with Wilson are his visible effort and emotion as well as his clear mental toughness.
Wilson was certainly filled with energy following both of his touchdowns. His reaction to the Jets recovering the onside kick with 1:22 to go was priceless as well. He gave maximum effort on tough plays, most notably the jump ball on the out route he ran near the Jets sideline in the third quarter, which did keep him out for a bit. Wilson clearly has the drive and want to when it comes to winning.
Finally, with his mental fortitude, Wilson had a tough third down drop with the Jets down late in the fourth quarter. Despite the drop, Wilson was unfazed. He came back and caught the final two passes Joe Flacco completed on the day. Of course, most notably, Wilson hauled in the game-winning touchdown for the Jets in a clutch situation.
He is a young star who is just getting started.