Garrett Wilson showed off his elite potential from the jump
Garrett Wilson is already in rarefied New York Jets company. He hasn’t even touched the ceiling of what he could be in the NFL.
That ceiling was already evident in his first scrimmage in high school.
Wilson’s coach at Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas, Hank Carter, recounts that scrimmage in awe.
“He came into our system as a quarterback. In his freshman year, first scrimmage we had against Vandegrift High School… we put him in at quarterback, and I think he scored 10 touchdowns.”
First scrimmage.
Freshman year of high school. @GarrettWilson_V went for 10 touchdowns 😂 pic.twitter.com/fQmyDA6Kju
— New York Jets (@nyjets) June 25, 2024
Wilson also appeared on ESPN’s “You Got Mossed” for making a leaping catch while in high school.
Nothing about this is surprising when watching Wilson play in the NFL. His Week 1 circus catch against the Buffalo Bills was named the No. 1 catch of the 2023 season and the No. 7 play overall.
Garrett Wilson’s catch. Legitimately an amazing grab. pic.twitter.com/pru0zLljkN
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) September 12, 2023
Wilson became the first receiver in Jets history to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first two seasons in the NFL. He had 83 receptions for 1,103 yards and four touchdowns in 2022. He followed that up with 95 catches for 1,042 yards and three scores in 2023. These numbers came with by far the worst quarterback situation in the NFL. Eight different passers played quarterback for the Jets over Wilson’s two NFL seasons. He has a chance to blow those numbers out of the water in 2024 with Aaron Rodgers targeting him.
Not only did Wilson have poor passers throwing to him, but in 2023, he faced double coverage at the highest rate of any receiver in the NFL. This was because the Jets had no other receiver with more than 23 catches. There was no one to even remotely threaten defenses besides Wilson.
Pro Football Focus named Wilson, who turns 24 on July 22, the ninth-best player under 25 in the NFL. That’s despite the putrid situation he’s been in. The sky’s the limit for Wilson in Year 3.
