For the first time in his five-year NFL career, Garrett Wilson is playing with a quarterback who possesses above-average accuracy, and he’s showing the world what he can do when he receives that luxury.
Through the first five games of 2026, Wilson is averaging career-highs in receptions per game (6.2), receiving yards per game (74.8), and touchdowns per game (0.6). He is on pace for 105 receptions, 1,272 yards, and 10 touchdowns.
However, those numbers still aren’t enough to put Wilson in the conversation as the league’s top wide receiver from a box-score standpoint. He ranks fifth among wide receivers in receptions (31), 11th in receiving yards (374), and ninth in touchdowns (9).
Despite those rankings, it could be argued that Wilson has actually been the NFL’s best wide receiver so far.
Wide receivers should not be evaluated by their box-score stats. Those numbers are influenced by a plethora of variables beyond the individual’s control.
To understand a wide receiver’s true impact, they need to be evaluated through methods that determine how they perform within what they can control.
In those areas, Wilson has a nearly impeccable resume through five games. No high-volume receiver is maximizing their opportunities quite like Wilson.
According to NFL Pro, Wilson has a catch rate over expected of 16.0%, the best mark among the 15 players with at least 40 targets.
That number makes complete sense when you comb through more of Wilson’s controllable metrics. He only has one drop, per Pro Football Focus. In addition, he has also caught 8 of 11 contested targets, a 72.7% rate. It’s the best mark among the 14 players with at least 10 contested targets.
So, Wilson is both securing nearly all of the passes he “should” catch (by minimizing drops) and stealing an absurdly high rate of difficult catches (by catching over 70% of his contested targets). Both of those skills show up in his 16.0% catch rate over expected, which tops the charts among receivers with a similarly large target volume.
It’s also important to note the efficiency of Wilson’s targets. According to FTN Fantasy, he is delivering 0.119 Expected Points Added, the sixth-best mark among players with at least 40 targets. However, of the five players ranked above him, only New Orleans’ Chris Olave plays in a pass offense that is averaging fewer EPA per dropback overall, which means that Wilson and Olave are among the top receivers at adding value to their offense relative to what the rest of the unit produces.
It does not take a genius to understand how impressive it is that Wilson has been able to maintain such a high level of efficiency in the Jets’ offense. Sure, he is benefiting from having a respectable quarterback for the first time in his career, but he has also spent much of the season with players like Isaiah Williams, Sterling Shepard, and Tim Patrick as his WR2, due to the injuries to Omar Cooper Jr. and Adonai Mitchell.
Toss in a run game that has been dormant at times, and it has been extremely easy for opposing defenses to fixate on stopping Wilson. Yet, he has still been capitalizing on his chances at as good a rate as anyone, while delivering efficient results in the process.
Other receivers may have Wilson beat in terms of raw production, but they are playing in more favorable environments to rack up numbers. When evaluating receivers based solely on factors within their control, Wilson has arguably been as unstoppable as any wideout in football through the first five weeks of 2026.
