Frank Reich isn’t backing away from the Garrett Wilson conversation.
The Jets offensive coordinator has found himself in the middle of a growing debate over how often New York should be getting its star receiver the ball, and he’s making the case that the answer isn’t simply to force-feed Wilson every week. Reich described Wilson’s frustration over the lack of catches as “healthy tension” and praised him as the kind of player who wants the ball when the game is on the line.
At the same time, Reich defended the way the Jets are spreading things around. His point is that Wilson’s presence changes how defenses play the Jets, and that attention creates opportunities elsewhere.
He pointed to both of Omar Cooper Jr’s big plays in the loss to the Miami Dolphins as proof. With Miami keying on Wilson, who finished that Week 7 loss with just two catches for 26 yards, Cooper found space for two major chunk gains.
That’s the balancing act New York keeps running into. The Jets have more than one pass-catching option to keep fed, with young players like Kenyon Sadiq, Mason Taylor, and Adonai Mitchell joining Cooper and Wilson in the mix. Braelon Allen is also starting to look like the best version of himself, which only adds another piece the offense wants to involve.
But the frustration around Wilson isn’t going away, and for good reason. He needs to be featured more than he has been in recent weeks.
The Miami game stood out because he wasn’t dealing with a shadow like Christian Gonzalez, yet the Jets still didn’t get him rolling. Wilson may not be at the point of demanding a trade, but he clearly wants to help turn this thing around, and that starts with getting him the football.
The upcoming matchup with the Raiders looks like a chance for the Jets to try to correct that. Las Vegas is using two rookie defensive backs heavily and comes into Week 8 on a four-game losing streak, which should give New York a favorable spot to scheme Wilson open. But that same kind of opportunity was supposed to exist against Miami, and Wilson still walked away with only a handful of catches.
That’s why this is about more than one receiver’s target count. It feeds into the larger disappointment around the Jets’ coaching staff, especially after home wins against Green Bay and Miami slipped away.
Instead of sitting at 4-3 and looking at a playoff path, Wilson and the Jets are staring at another losing season. Wilson has 37 catches for 444 yards and two touchdowns this year, and he could be headed for his fifth straight losing campaign.
In Other News...
Jets Lose T'Vondre Sweat And Now Face A Tough Timeline
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For a defense built around controlling the line of scrimmage, the timing is less than ideal, and it leaves the Jets with a short-term hole to patch in Aaron Glenns 3-4 front. The club still believes Sweat can be back later this season, but the immediate challenge is finding enough stability inside while he works his way toward a return. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Just Sent A Clear Message In The Will McDonald Debate
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For the Jets, though, the message has been clear. They have not moved him, and with his fifth-year option already exercised, McDonald remains under team control through 2027. Even with the numbers not jumping off the page, New York appears intent on riding out the rest of the season with him in the mix rather than turning a draft pick into a short-term fix. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Offense Has One Costly Problem Frank Reich Must Fix
Through seven weeks, the Jets have had enough offense to stay in games, but not enough finish to separate from them. Their red-zone work has been the clearest example of that problem, with drives reaching scoring range only to stall into field goals or empty possessions, a pattern that has helped turn several winnable moments into close losses.
Frank Reichs job now is to clean up the details inside the 20, where the margin for error gets razor thin and the play-calling has to match the moment. If the Jets can turn more of those chances into touchdowns, the ripple effect could be significant for a team that has already seen how costly those missed opportunities can be. [Read more 🡒]