The Jets went into their Week 14 matchup against the Buffalo Bills with a lot at stake regarding AFC playoff positioning. Rookie wide receiver Garrett Wilson had something else to play for from a personal standpoint, too.
While Gang Green couldn’t overcome Buffalo in a 20-12 loss, Wilson did something no rookie wideout has done in franchise history.
We talked about him being on the verge of breaking Keyshawn Johnson’s receiving yards in a season record last week. Wilson didn’t need all that much to pass his fellow pass-catcher on the franchise leaderboard. He got the job done on Sunday afternoon.
Wilson was targeted seven times in Buffalo. He pulled down six of them for 78 yards. His 868 receiving yards have officially surpassed Johnson’s 844, which he accomplished in 1996. This is a wonderful personal accomplishment for the first-year player out of Ohio State. It may just be the first of a string of things the Jets haven’t seen a rookie wide receiver do for them.
With four games left, Wilson will try to become the first Jets rookie WR to surpass the 1,000-yard mark. He’s currently on pace for 1,135, so the chances of that happening appear good. The wideout also has a shot at winning the 2023 Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. This honor has never been won by a Jets player.
Wilson has become a favorite target of Jets quarterbacks in short order. He’s only received fewer than five targets in a game three times: Week 5 (four), Week 7 (four), and Week 11 (three). It’s also worth noting he’s accomplished this while having three different signal-callers tossing him the football.
Joe Flacco started the first three games before Zach Wilson was under center for seven. Most recently, it’s been Mike White over the past three. Wilson has been targeted 10-plus times on three occasions, and none happened with the other Wilson under center. It happened in Weeks 2 and 3 with Flacco and in Week 13 with White tossing him the pigskin in Minnesota.
Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
