You would never guess it based on his jaw-dropping highlight reels or his impressive streak of three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, but this stat about Garrett Wilson is completely true:
He has never ranked in the top 20 among wide receivers in deep receptions during a single season.
Yes, in each of Wilson’s four NFL seasons, there were at least 20 wideouts who caught more passes beyond 20 yards downfield than the Jets’ prized weapon from Ohio State.
Here is a look at Wilson’s total deep receptions in each of his four seasons, and where those numbers ranked among wide receivers each year:
- 2025 (7 games): 3 (67th)
- 2024 (17 games): 7 (22nd)
- 2023 (17 games): 7 (29th)
- 2022 (17 games): 5 (37th)
In 58 games across four seasons, Wilson has caught just 22 deep passes. In comparison, his college teammate, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, had 16 during the 2025 season alone.
If the Jets have any plans of being a competitive team in 2026, this stat must change. Wilson is far too talented (and being paid far too much money) to generate less than half a deep reception per game.
So, what gives? Why has Wilson been so unproductive down the field? And are the Jets equipped to fix that in 2026?
Explaining Wilson’s lack of deep production
It certainly isn’t for a lack of trying. In terms of deep targets, Wilson ranks much higher than he does in receptions:
- 2025 (7 games): 7 (83rd) vs. 67th in receptions
- 2024 (17 games): 20 (19th) vs. 22nd in receptions
- 2023 (17 games): 25 (12th) vs. 29th in receptions
- 2022 (17 games): 20 (21st) vs. 37th in receptions
This, of course, points to the fact that Wilson’s deep targets are being completed at a very low percentage.
For his career, Wilson has caught only 22 of his 72 deep targets. His 30.6% catch rate on deep targets is well below the 2025 league average for wide receivers (38.2%).
A receiver as talented as Wilson should not be catching deep passes nearly 8% less frequently than the average NFL wideout. It does not make sense.
The thing is, Wilson is mostly not at fault here.
Wilson has never been credited for a drop on a deep pass. This means that all 50 of his deep incompletions were either contested or uncatchable.
With a carousel of poor quarterbacks throwing him the ball, the main issue is that Wilson has dealt with poor accuracy on deep passes. There is a long reel of plays in which Wilson created excellent separation on a vertical route, but was thrown an uncatchable ball.
There are also instances in which Wilson was open but not targeted, which explains why his volume of deep targets isn’t higher.
For the most part, Wilson’s lack of deep production is the fault of his quarterbacks.
Earlier in his career, though, Wilson shared some blame. From 2022 to 2023, Wilson caught just 3 of 19 contested targets on deep passes (15.8%).
This is a weakness that Wilson has addressed over the last two seasons. From 2024 to 2025, he caught 5 of 8 contested targets on deep passes (62.5%).
At this point, it is completely up to New York’s quarterbacks to unlock Wilson’s deep game. It seems that neither Wilson nor the Jets’ coaches is at fault. The shots have been called, Wilson has gotten open, and he hasn’t dropped anything that should be easily caught. He just isn’t getting the ball thrown to him when he’s open, and when it does, it is rarely catchable.
Is Geno Smith the right quarterback to finally maximize Wilson’s potential as a deep threat?
There are some very positive signs.
During his time as the Seahawks’ starting quarterback, Smith consistently helped his top receivers rack up plenty of deep receptions. As recently as 2024, DK Metcalf led the NFL with 16 deep receptions while playing with Smith. Even the Seahawks’ second-leading deep threat, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, had 8 deep receptions, which would beat Wilson’s career-high.
In 2023, Metcalf ranked 12th with 11 deep receptions, while Smith-Njigba added another 6 as a rookie, and even Tyler Lockett threw in 5.
In 2022, Lockett (10) and Metcalf (8) combined for 18 deep receptions.
Smith didn’t find as much success in this area during the 2025 season with the Raiders, but he didn’t have a receiver of Wilson, Smith-Njigba, or Metcalf’s caliber.
Having said that, Smith still got the likes of Tre Tucker to a team-high 7 deep receptions, tying Wilson’s career-best in New York, and Tucker is a former third-round pick who is averaging 31.3 yards per game in his NFL career. If Smith can get Tucker to that mark, he should have no issue helping Wilson soar past it.
Garrett Wilson may finally have the quarterback he’s been waiting for.
