For New York Jets rookie wide receiver Garrett Wilson, Week 13 was just another day office. The sensational first-year wideout continues to make such utter dominance look so routine.
Wilson is coming off of a day in which he was targeted 15 times, surpassing his previous high of 14 in Week 2. The game in which Wilson propelled the Jets to their first win of 2022 over the Cleveland Browns.
Of those whopping 15 targets, Wilson caught eight passes on the day. He amassed a ridiculous 162 yards, averaging 20.3 yards per catch. Wilson had his biggest play of the game go for 60 yards, surpassing his season-best of 54, which he had twice (Week 8 v. NE, Week 12 v. CHI).
On the year, Wilson now has 57 catches on 94 targets, giving him a catch rate of 60.6%. He is averaging 4.8 catches and 7.8 targets a game. From there, Wilson has 790 receiving yards, an average of 65.8 per game. The rookie is averaging 13.9 yards per catch and has four touchdowns.
In year one, Wilson is currently on pace for 133 targets, 80 catches, 1,119 yards, and five touchdowns. Quite a fast start. Thanks to his last two big games, in which he has posted 257 yards, Wilson is now set to comfortably surpass 1,000 yards in his first year with the Jets. With five games left to play, he only needs 210 yards, an average of 42 per game. Certainly, something Wilson is more than capable of achieving.
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Garrett Wilson is playing special football for the New York Jets:
As just highlighted above, Wilson has taken off, and in a sizable way over these last two games. He has been targeted 23 times (11.5 per game), catching 13 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns. With his recent play, Wilson has positioned himself well to be the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. And this comes after the Jets lost Breece Hall for the year, who was in a position to take it himself. The two certainly give the Jets one exciting, young foundation offensively.
To no surprise, Wilson has been the guy Mike White has consistently looked to since he has taken over under center two weeks ago. In no time, their connection has looked seamless, leading to incredible success (128.5 yards per game).
Just a week after making some Jets history, Wilson is on the cusp of more. His 790 yards surpassed Wayne Chrebet’s rookie amount of 726 and Wesley Walker’s rookie total of 740, placing Wilson second. Now, he only trails Keyshawn Johnson’s 844, which Wilson could very well exceed this week, making him the franchise’s leader in receiving yards for a rookie.
Last week, Wilson recorded his third game of 95 yards or more which passed Walker and Al Toon, only to follow that up with his fourth this week, putting himself even further out in front.
Wilson has consistently generated explosive plays on a week-to-week basis. In eight of the Jets’ 12 games this year, Wilson has had a catch of at least 19 yards.
From an NFL perspective, following Week 13’s effort, Wilson now has five games of 90 receiving yards. He inches one step closer to the seven had by Justin Jefferson in his rookie year (2020), and the six Ja’Marr Chase put together in 2021, his first year.
To go further, beyond just the stats, the complete, multiple skill set Wilson offers has been on display throughout all of his highlight-making plays. The versatility of Wilson is just another clear indicator of how special he can be.
When reviewing Wilson’s catches and targets in Week 13, he proves his ability to make plays all over the field. Whether it be from different positions, before and after the catch, or winning 1-on-1s at the catch point in a variety of ways. He made plays from the slot and out wide. Wilson hauled in most of his receptions this game on the intermediate to deep levels of the field but had a few underneath as well. Tough grabs were made by Wilson outside the numbers, near the sideline, with great concentration, as well as inside the numbers, over the middle, making tough catches in traffic.
After the catch on his big 60-yarder, Wilson’s quick twitch and tackle-breaking ability were evident. His body control was also apparent on both sideline and over-the-middle grabs. Lastly, the ability to win deep was shown in the fourth quarter when he nearly scored an 84-yard touchdown, but the pass was just overthrown by White.
Wilson has undeniably delivered the excitement Jets fans expected when he was drafted 10th overall. He has asserted himself as the catalyst for this Jets’ passing game. With the Jets pursuing the playoffs, continued exceptional play from Wilson will be needed.