Garrett Wilson has spent most of his Jets career fighting the same battle: elite talent, uneven quarterback play. This season, though, the equation looks different. With Geno Smith giving New York a more accurate hand at quarterback, Wilson is starting to look like the player the Jets have always wanted him to be.
That was on full display in Week 3 against the Detroit Lions, when the Jets finally made him the center of the passing game. Wilson caught 10 of 13 targets for 107 yards and a 23-yard touchdown, leading New York in receptions, targets and receiving yards.
With Adonai Mitchell out, that kind of workload made sense. So did the production.
The rest of the Jets’ receiver group barely showed up. Wilson’s 10 catches and 107 yards dwarfed what New York got from every other wideout combined, as the group finished with just two receptions for 24 yards. Injuries to Mitchell, Arian Smith and Tim Patrick left the room thin, but Wilson still did what WR1s are supposed to do: take over.
And really, the Jets should have been leaning on him all along. Wilson saw only 14 combined targets in Weeks 1 and 2, which is hard to justify for a player with his ceiling. Smith can spread the ball around, but Wilson needs to be the first read far more often than he’s been.
The numbers back up the eye test. Before this week’s Sunday and Monday Night Football games, Wilson’s 23.6% CROE - catch rate over expected - led all players with at least 15 targets. That’s a clean reflection of his ability to make tough grabs look routine.
A bigger role under offensive coordinator Frank Reich has also changed where Wilson is working. He hinted before the season that a shift was coming, and it’s happened.
After lining up outside on 61.2% of his passing snaps in 2025, that number has climbed to 79.1% this season. That fits Reich’s history of using his top receivers.
The move outside has opened up more chances for Wilson to attack downfield, and he has taken advantage. He has caught all three of his deep targets of 20-plus yards for 77 yards, including Sunday’s touchdown. That’s a noticeable jump for a receiver who entered 2026 with just 22 deep receptions in 58 career games, or 0.38 per game.
He’s also been a force when the ball is contested. According to Pro Football Focus, Wilson has hauled in eight of his nine contested targets this season, including six of seven against the Lions. His 88.9% success rate leads receivers with at least five contested opportunities this season.
Some of that spike in vertical and contested work may have come while Mitchell was out, but Wilson made the most of it. Even when the Jets get healthier, there’s no reason to pull back. If anything, this season has shown exactly how much damage Wilson can do when New York treats him like the centerpiece instead of just another option.
In Other News...
Jets Suddenly Have A Bigger Breece Hall Problem
The Jets were already scrambling in Week 3 against the Lions without several key starters, and the injury list only grew from there. One of the biggest concerns came when Breece Hall went out with a thigh injury, forcing New York to adjust on the fly in a game where depth was already being tested.
Hall sounded unsure afterward about just how serious the issue might be, which is where the real concern starts for the Jets. Braelon Allen handled the lead-back role once Hall exited, but for a team trying to piece together its offense through injuries, any uncertainty around Hall carries obvious weight going forward. [Read more 🡒]
Dan Campbell Just Gave Jets Fans A Reason To Reconsider Aaron Glenn
Aaron Glenns first season has come with plenty of scrutiny, especially when late-game decisions and clock management have left Jets fans grumbling. But after a tight loss to the Lions, Dan Campbell offered a different perspective on the coachs work, praising Glenn publicly and crediting him for how hard the Jets made the game. For a team that has spent much of the year fighting through injuries and a difficult schedule, it was another sign that the performance level has been trending in a better direction even when the results have not always followed.
Campbells endorsement carries some weight because of his history with Glenn, and it arrives at a time when the Jets are still sorting out what their present and future should look like under him. There has been visible progress from a roster that leaned on contributions from Geno Smith, Kenyon Sadiq and Garrett Wilson to stay competitive against a strong opponent, even if the final score again left room for frustration. The broader question now is whether the improvement around Glenn is enough to quiet the criticism, or whether the conversation around him will keep coming back to the same lingering issues. [Read more 🡒]
Aaron Glenn Just Gave Jets Fans Their Most Encouraging Sign Yet
The Jets left Detroit with a loss, but there were clear signs of a team starting to look more organized under Aaron Glenn. Against a Lions squad that can overwhelm opponents, New York stayed competitive throughout a 31-24 defeat in Week 3, and the little details were better too. Situational awareness and clock management, both areas that have hurt this group before, were noticeably sharper even as the roster dealt with injuries and a talent gap.
Geno Smiths afternoon also offered a real reason for optimism. He completed 31 of 37 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns, giving the Jets the kind of efficient, productive quarterback play that can keep them in games if the rest of the operation continues to clean itself up. For a team still trying to establish Glenns standard, the result was disappointing, but the process looked more like progress than setback. [Read more 🡒]