For weeks now -- basically since the Jets season fell off the map -- there have been stories suggesting that Garrett Wilson will be looking to get traded out of New York. The latest one being widely reported is that he's tired of the team's constant turnover at quarterback and head coach.
Some of this stuff is just social media nonsense, where one site comes up with a story and then a dozen others repeat it for likes and clicks. But I'll play along. If in fact Wilson would like to be traded out of New York (and really, who can blame him), I think the Jets should at least consider it. He's been more good than great in his three seasons.
The quarterbacking has been mostly bad; two years of Zach Wilson and various journeymen, one year of Aaron Rodgers (with Rodgers paying more attention to buddy Davante Adams). But I look at three years of Wilson's numbers and see a guy who's a talented wideout but not necessarily a difference-maker. If another team thinks he can transform the offense, the Jets (who have plenty of needs) should see what they can bring in in terms of draft picks.
In three seasons since being selected 10th overall, Wilson hasn't missed a game and has gone over 1,000 yards in all of them. Pretty good stuff. But among the receivers who have been as available and involved as he has, his numbers haven't exactly been eye-popping.
Over those three seasons, there have been 28 wide receivers to see at least 300 targets. Only three of the 28 have caught a lower percentage of the passes thrown their way, and only five have caught fewer touchdowns. Yes, some of that can be attributed to lesser quarterbacking. But there are a lot of guys on this list who have dealt with poor quarterbacks and still graded out better in both areas than Wilson. DJ Moore, Adam Thielen, Jakobi Meyers, Jerry Jeudy, among others.
| WIDE RECEIVERS 300-PLUS TARGETS, 2022-2024 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Y/G | Ctch% |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown | 451 | 340 | 3939 | 11.6 | 28 | 80.4 | 75.4 |
| DeVonta Smith | 337 | 244 | 3095 | 12.7 | 22 | 67.3 | 72.4 |
| Adam Thielen | 306 | 221 | 2345 | 10.6 | 15 | 53.3 | 72.2 |
| Chris Godwin | 334 | 237 | 2623 | 11.1 | 10 | 67.3 | 71.0 |
| CeeDee Lamb | 489 | 343 | 4302 | 12.5 | 27 | 87.8 | 70.1 |
| Stefon Diggs | 378 | 262 | 3108 | 11.9 | 22 | 75.8 | 69.3 |
| Ja'Marr Chase | 454 | 314 | 3970 | 12.6 | 33 | 88.2 | 69.2 |
| Tyreek Hill | 464 | 319 | 4468 | 14.0 | 26 | 89.4 | 68.8 |
| Justin Jefferson | 438 | 299 | 4416 | 14.8 | 23 | 100.4 | 68.3 |
| Jakobi Meyers | 331 | 225 | 2638 | 11.7 | 18 | 58.6 | 68.0 |
| Michael Pittman Jr. | 408 | 277 | 2885 | 10.4 | 11 | 60.1 | 67.9 |
| Keenan Allen | 360 | 244 | 2739 | 11.2 | 18 | 72.1 | 67.8 |
| Tyler Lockett | 313 | 212 | 2527 | 11.9 | 16 | 50.5 | 67.7 |
| Jaylen Waddle | 304 | 205 | 3114 | 15.2 | 14 | 67.7 | 67.4 |
| A.J. Brown | 400 | 261 | 4031 | 15.4 | 25 | 85.8 | 65.3 |
| D.J. Moore | 394 | 257 | 3218 | 12.5 | 21 | 63.1 | 65.2 |
| Terry McLaurin | 369 | 238 | 3289 | 13.8 | 22 | 64.5 | 64.5 |
| Jerry Jeudy | 332 | 211 | 2959 | 14.0 | 12 | 61.6 | 63.6 |
| Chris Olave | 301 | 191 | 2565 | 13.4 | 10 | 65.8 | 63.5 |
| Drake London | 385 | 241 | 3042 | 12.6 | 15 | 60.8 | 62.6 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | 313 | 195 | 2384 | 12.2 | 15 | 56.8 | 62.3 |
| Mike Evans | 373 | 230 | 3383 | 14.7 | 30 | 73.5 | 61.7 |
| Courtland Sutton | 334 | 204 | 2682 | 13.1 | 20 | 55.9 | 61.1 |
| D.K. Metcalf | 368 | 222 | 3154 | 14.2 | 19 | 65.7 | 60.3 |
| Garrett Wilson | 469 | 279 | 3249 | 11.6 | 14 | 63.7 | 59.5 |
| Davante Adams | 496 | 288 | 3723 | 12.9 | 30 | 77.6 | 58.1 |
| Diontae Johnson | 301 | 170 | 1974 | 11.6 | 8 | 47.0 | 56.5 |
| Amari Cooper | 345 | 194 | 2957 | 15.2 | 18 | 64.3 | 56.2 |
The table, sorted by catch rate, was compiled using data from pro-football-reference.com. Could be sorted by a lot of other columns and Wilson would still be near the bottom of these No. 1-type wide receivers.
While I guess this is kind of a hit piece on Wilson, I'm aware he's a very good wide receiver who's been hamstrung by lousy quarterbacking. The Jets are better off having him than they'd be without him, especially given his youth versus 32-year-old Davante Adams. (Who also grades out poorly on this table, probably partly from dealing with lousy quarterbacking and also getting forced passes by Rodgers last season.)
But what is New York clinging to? This is a losing roster that's been losing forever. If they actually do bring Aaron Rodgers back, which seems to be a possibility, they'll probably have all of his receiver buddies back too. It will be other areas (offensive line, most notably) where they need the most help. Ship off Wilson for picks, bring in other talent, and maybe become relevant. Simply paying Wilson, which they'll have to do in the next year if they keep him, doesn't seem likely to get that done.
--Andy Richardson