Aw, crap. What else to say? We’re not going to get 17 games of rejuvenated Aaron Rodgers. We’re getting instead Zach Wilson. And that makes Garrett Wilson look a lot more like Clark Kent than Superman.
Garrett Wilson was looking like the season’s breakout receiver, possibly or probably moving up into the Jefferson-Chase-Tyreek stratosphere. He was Rodgers’ guy, and they were going to connect on a bushel of touchdowns.
“The first of many,” Rodgers said to the second-year receiver after they connected on an impeccable short-range touchdown in the preseason game against the Giants.
If only.
We’re still talking about one of the best pass-catching talents in the league. The touchdown on Monday night may go down as the best catch of the year. But Garrett Wilson nowadays is looking more like a top-20 receiver, rather than an All-Pro candidate.
The stats are pretty ugly. In 11 games with Zach Wilson, Garrett Wilson has averaged only 3.8 catches for 45 yards, with 1 TD in those 44 quarters of play.
| WILSON WITH WILSON AT QB | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opp | Score | Tgt | No | Yds | Avg | TD |
| at Pitt. | W 24-20 | 6 | 2 | 41 | 20.5 | 0 |
| Mia. | W 40-17 | 4 | 3 | 27 | 9.0 | 0 |
| at G.B. | W 27-10 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 0 |
| at Den. | W 16-9 | 4 | 4 | 24 | 6.0 | 0 |
| N.E. | L 17-22 | 7 | 6 | 115 | 19.2 | 0 |
| Buff. | W 20-17 | 9 | 8 | 92 | 11.5 | 0 |
| at N.E. | L 3-10 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 6.0 | 0 |
| Det. | L 17-20 | 9 | 4 | 98 | 24.5 | 0 |
| Jac. | L 3-19 | 9 | 4 | 30 | 7.5 | 0 |
| Buff. | W 22-16 | 5 | 5 | 34 | 6.8 | 1 |
Other than that one jaw-dropping catch Monday night, all of Wilson’s best work as come with other quarterbacks. In seven games with non-Zach quarterbacks last year, he averaged 6.6 catches for 91 yards, with 4 TDs. He averaged almost 3 more catches per week, and for twice as many yards.
| WILSON WITH OTHER QUARTERBACKS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opp | Score | Tgt | No | Yds | Avg | TD |
| Balt. | L 9-24 | 8 | 4 | 52 | 13.0 | 0 |
| at Cle. | W 31-30 | 14 | 8 | 102 | 12.8 | 2 |
| Cin. | L 12-27 | 11 | 6 | 60 | 10.0 | 0 |
| Chi. | W 31-10 | 8 | 5 | 95 | 19.0 | 2 |
| at Min. | L 22-27 | 15 | 8 | 162 | 20.3 | 0 |
| at Sea. | L 6-23 | 11 | 3 | 18 | 6.0 | 0 |
| at Buff. | L 12-20 | 7 | 6 | 78 | 13.0 | 0 |
| at Mia. | L 6-11 | 17 | 9 | 89 | 9.9 | 0 |
The flicker of hope is that Zach Wilson is a better passer now than he was in his first two seasons. As seen on Hard Knocks, Rodgers seemed to be effectively mentoring him. But I’m expecting a big statistical drop from the Jets, with probably a dozen fewer touchdown passes. At least.
—Ian Allan