Multiple New York Jets weapons are facing favorable matchups against the Tennessee Titans’ defense in Week 1.

Running back Breece Hall could explode in the outside run game, while he also has a juicy pass-game matchup. Meanwhile, tight end Mason Taylor will have a great chance to make noise through the air.

But what about the richest star on New York’s roster, Garrett Wilson?

Let’s break down the Week 1 outlook for the Jets’ $130 million man.

Garrett Wilson’s projected role

Wilson projects to play a career-high percentage of his snaps on the outside this season. In a recent interview, Wilson indicated that offensive coordinator Frank Reich has been playing him outside more often than he has in recent years.

“I truly, like this year, I’m getting back to playing outside, which—and we were kind of talking about on the field—all of a sudden, the routes you do catch are a little more contested, but deeper down the field, more rewarding,” Wilson said. “So there’s aspects to it. I like being able to do a little bit of everything and, playing outside for me this year has been something I ain’t done in a while, and I missed it.”

Reich’s historical tendencies back up the idea that he prefers to use his top receiver in an outside-heavy role that features him on higher-upside, downfield targets. His past No. 1 receivers have lined up outside on over 83% of their snaps, including Michael Pittman Jr. (83.7%, 2021), T.Y. Hilton (85.6%, 2020), and Alshon Jeffery (86.2%, 2017).

Wilson’s career-average rate is 70.5%, and his career-high was 76.6% in 2024. So, we’ll probably see Wilson take a noticeable uptick in that category this year.

If this holds, it means that Wilson will run the vast majority of his routes against outside cornerbacks rather than slot defenders. Based on Wilson’s comments and the high yards-per-reception outputs of Reich’s past No. 1 wide receivers (14.6 for Jeffery, 14.3 for Hilton, 12.4 for Pittman), Wilson will also likely run more vertical routes and fewer shallow routes than in recent seasons.

With all of this in mind, how does Wilson match up against the Tennessee Titans’ defense in Week 1?

Garrett Wilson vs. Titans’ cornerbacks

The Titans’ starting outside corners will be Alontae Taylor and Cor’Dale Flott, both added in free agency on eight-figure salaries this offseason. Taylor came from New Orleans on a three-year, $58 million deal, while Flott came from the Giants on a three-year, $45 million deal.

Wilson will probably see plenty of both corners. Robert Saleh’s defensive scheme is zone-heavy and typically asks its outside corners to stay on one side of the field. So, as Wilson rotates between the left and right sides based on the strength of the formation or the spot of the ball (field side vs. boundary side), he will likely draw a nearly 50-50 split of Taylor and Flott.

Are the Titans’ corners up for the challenge?

Sunday will reveal the answer to that question, but, talent-wise, Wilson has a significant advantage here.

Despite their gaudy salaries, neither Flott nor Taylor has generated high-level coverage production in their careers.

Flott has career averages of a 64.7 coverage grade and 1.02 yards allowed per cover snap, per Pro Football Focus, compared to the 2025 cornerback averages of 62.8 and 1.00, respectively. Taylor has career averages of 51.4 and 1.28.

While he received the lower salary, Flott has the better resume. He’s been around average in these important coverage metrics, while Taylor has been comfortably below-average.

Taylor’s contract is likely a byproduct of his traditional metrics, as he looks good in the box score. Since entering the league in 2022, Taylor is fourth among cornerbacks in passes defended (52) and first in total tackles (293). So, he is definitely an active player with a knack for deflecting passes and finding the football, but his coverage metrics show that he gives a lot of production back.

After all, many of the tackles made by cornerbacks come after they allow a catch, so it’s not necessarily a positive if they record a high tackle total. Even passes defended can be a misleading metric, as a high quantity of them may result from the cornerback being heavily targeted due to his porous coverage.

It is also worth noting that Taylor will be transitioning to an outside role for the first time since his rookie year after playing in the slot over the last three seasons. Time will tell whether that transition is a positive or a negative for Taylor, but at six feet and 199 pounds with 32¼-inch arms, size certainly won’t be a concern for him out there. He also has ideal speed, boasting a 4.36 forty time.

Wilson, though, is an extremely tough matchup for Taylor to draw in his first regular-season action on the outside in four years. As Taylor acclimates to the adjustment, Wilson is catching him at the right time.

All signs point to Taylor being an advantageous matchup for Wilson. The same should go for Flott, but the former Giant is coming off the best season of his career. The question is whether he can maintain it.

While Flott’s career numbers are only around average, he was solidly above-average in 2025. Out of 85 qualified cornerbacks, Flott ranked 36th in yards allowed per cover snap (0.88), 12th in passer rating allowed (72.8), and 28th in PFF’s coverage grade (68.1).

Flott stands at a shade over six feet, but he lacks size and length in his frame, weighing in at 175 pounds with 30⅛-inch arms (11th percentile among CB) and 8-inch hands (1st percentile). That gives Wilson an opportunity to win with physicality on contested jump balls down the field, which have always been his specialty.

Flott’s susceptibility at the catch point shows up in his ball production; in 53 career games, he only has 25 passes defended and three interceptions.

All things considered, things are lining up nicely for Wilson, especially when considering Robert Saleh’s scheme.

Saleh likes to run single-high coverages. In 2025 with the San Francisco 49ers, his two favorite coverages were Cover 3 (31.5%) and Cover 1 (21.7%). This means that Wilson should see a healthy dosage of MOFC (middle of field closed) looks.

In training camp, Jets quarterback Geno Smith was aggressively taking shots to his outside receivers whenever he saw MOFC, as Robby Sabo detailed. Smith should get plenty of those looks against Tennessee, and Wilson will be his primary read on most of those plays.

If Reich’s history and Wilson’s comments are any indication, Wilson will be running a lot of deep routes on Sunday, giving Smith ample opportunities to take aggressive downfield shots to Wilson when he sees single-high coverage.

Given that the Titans’ corner duo seems to be at a disadvantage against Wilson, Smith should eagerly pursue those shots. Taylor has below-average career numbers in coverage and will be in the midst of transitioning back to the outside after three years in the slot. Flott is undersized and can be exploited in contested situations.

Against a shaky cornerback duo and a single-high-heavy scheme, with a veteran quarterback who confidently takes shots against single-high coverage, Wilson is lined up for an explosive Sunday to open the 2026 season.