One of the more impressive things I saw in the latest round of exhibition games was the work of Aaron Rodgers and Garrett Wilson. I'm not a Rodgers fan and it can be hard to sign off on a franchise like the New York Jets, but I have a feeling Wilson is headed for a huge campaign.
Rodgers and Wilson were on the field together for just two series in the preseason. The quarterback attempted 9 passes, and 5 of them went to Wilson. He caught all 3 of the catchable balls, including a quick out so quick that I initially didn't even see the ball, and a slick touchdown dart that was also too fast for the defender to turn around.
Rodgers is 39 years old, and there are some questions with the offensive line. To keep him in one piece, there's going to be some quick throws and play action stuff to take the teeth out of opposing pass rushes. That might be a negative for deep threat types like Mecole Hardman, but could be a bounty for Wilson (and the lesser talents at wide receiver, Allen Lazard and creaky old Randall Cobb).
But Wilson is seemingly headed for a huge season, as in a top-10 type of campaign. I hope I'm able to draft him in a league or two, but thus far this year I've been getting early draft spots (and he's gone before my pick comes up late in the second round).
Wilson, of course, was the Offensive Rookie of the Year last year while catching passes from Zach Wilson, Mike White and Joe Flacco. Now he's working with a quarterback who's produced a whole lot of quality wide receiver seasons as a starter.
In the last 15 years (leaving out the two seasons where he missed half the year due to injury, 2013 and 2017), Rodgers has been the quarterback for 17 top-25 wide receiver campaigns (PPR) -- ten top-10 seasons. Five of those were Davante Adams, and perhaps he'd have been putting up big numbers with lesser quarterbacks. But the other 12, while from good wide receivers (Nelson, Jennings, Driver, Cobb, Jones), aren't necessarily any better than Wilson. Fair to say guys like Favre and Rodgers made them stars.
| TOP-25 GREEN BAY WIDE RECEIVERS, 2008-2022 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Tgt | No | Yds | TD | FF | Rk |
| 2020 | Davante Adams | 149 | 115 | 1374 | 18 | 360.4 | 1 |
| 2021 | Davante Adams | 169 | 123 | 1553 | 11 | 344.3 | 2 |
| 2016 | Jordy Nelson | 152 | 97 | 1257 | 14 | 306.7 | 2 |
| 2014 | Jordy Nelson | 151 | 98 | 1519 | 13 | 327.9 | 3 |
| 2018 | Davante Adams | 169 | 111 | 1386 | 13 | 329.6 | 4 |
| 2011 | Jordy Nelson | 96 | 68 | 1263 | 15 | 284.3 | 4 |
| 2010 | Greg Jennings | 125 | 76 | 1265 | 12 | 274.4 | 5 |
| 2014 | Randall Cobb | 127 | 91 | 1287 | 12 | 297.4 | 7 |
| 2008 | Greg Jennings | 140 | 80 | 1292 | 9 | 265.2 | 7 |
| 2016 | Davante Adams | 121 | 75 | 997 | 12 | 248.7 | 9 |
| 2012 | Randall Cobb | 104 | 80 | 954 | 9 | 242.6 | 16 |
| 2012 | James Jones | 98 | 64 | 784 | 14 | 226.4 | 17 |
| 2011 | Greg Jennings | 101 | 67 | 949 | 9 | 215.9 | 18 |
| 2009 | Donald Driver | 113 | 70 | 1061 | 6 | 213.4 | 19 |
| 2009 | Greg Jennings | 119 | 68 | 1113 | 4 | 207.3 | 21 |
| 2008 | Donald Driver | 116 | 74 | 1012 | 5 | 205.6 | 22 |
| 2019 | Davante Adams | 127 | 83 | 997 | 5 | 214.7 | 23 |
It was just a small glimpse of his potential over the weekend; too soon to say with certainty it will translate over the course of a full year. But I'm very interested to see what Wilson, who was the 21st-best PPR wideout as a rookie with the lesser quarterbacks he was working with, is able to do this season.
--Andy Richardson