When the media entered the Jets locker room shortly before noon on Wednesday, Garrett Wilson was sitting at his locker, facing in, watching film of the Broncos.
The Jets wide receiver has one of the toughest assignments of the week for Gang Green — beating Broncos star cornerback Patrick Surtain. It is just the latest in a series of tough matchups for Wilson, who has faced a parade of top cornerbacks in the past few weeks. Jets opponents have been focused on shutting Wilson down.
“They’re daring us to go somewhere else with the football,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said.
Last week, the Jets did.
Wilson had a quiet game against the Patriots by his standards with just five catches for 33 yards, although he did score his first touchdown of the season. But the attention on Wilson opened things up for others on offense and Aaron Rodgers took advantage of it.
As good as the Jets offense looked against New England, the Jets know they need to get Wilson involved to truly maximize their potential. Wilson is the most dynamic playmaker on the Jets. He and Breece Hall are the go-to guys, but the Jets have been unable to go to Wilson as much as they’d like early this season.
“The entire focus of all three defenses we’ve played has been taking Garrett away,” Rodgers said after last week’s game.
The last two weeks, Wilson has been followed by the best cornerback on each team. L’Jarius Sneed followed him in Tennessee and Christian Gonzalez followed him last week for the Patriots.
That trend is likely to continue with the Broncos and Surtain, perhaps the best cornerback in football, this week. In Denver’s first three games, Surtain has been on DK Metcalf of the Seahawks, George Pickens of the Steelers and Mike Evans of the Buccaneers. Metcalf had three catches for 29 yards against Surtain. Pickens caught two passes for 29 yards. Evans had two catches for 17 yards.
The burden falls on Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and Rodgers to find a way to get Wilson involved. The Jets likely will put Wilson in the slot more and use pre-snap motion to try to free him up.
“It’s a process,” Rodgers said. “You’ve got to try to put him in situations where he can be the No. 1 in the progression, which he is a lot, and then mix up the looks. We have to do a lot of things to give him a chance to get moving. We’d like to get the ball to him early, but it’s a process. He has to be patient and we’ve got to be patient. We can’t force it. Pat’s a phenomenal player, but Garrett is, too. It’s going to be a good matchup with those two guys.”
This is not the first time Wilson has faced Surtain. The Jets and Broncos have played each other in each of Wilson’s first two seasons. In 2022, Surtain did not travel with Wilson, but he did last year and Wilson only had one catch for 12 yards against the shutdown corner. He had three catches for 54 yards overall.
While the Jets can scheme some things up for Wilson, this is also a chance for him to prove he is among the league’s best wide receivers. Wilson is eligible for a new contract after this season and there will be debate where he fits in with the top receivers. If he wants to be talked about with Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson, and paid like them, he needs to put up numbers when the opponent is focused on shutting him down.
Jets wide receiver Mike Williams knows what it is like to be the receiver opponents want to stop. He had that role with the Chargers for much of his career.
“When you require so much attention, obviously they respect you,” Williams said. “It can get frustrating if you’re not seeing the ball coming your way. Garrett was getting his opportunity to make plays and he made them.”
Through three games, Wilson has 15 catches for 150 yards. It feels a little like the beginning of this Yankees season when Aaron Judge started slow. The concern that generated looks comical now as Judge again approaches 60 home runs.
Wilson will start hitting his own bombs soon. He’s too good not to.
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