Jets WR Garrett Wilson opens up about mindset after ‘worst year’ of his life
Garrett Wilson vented to Jets coaches and management about how frustrated he was last season. Then as soon as New York played its final game, the receiver started looking to get away.
He went all the way to Italy. And domestically, he spent time in Arizona. The time away from the Meadowlands hit the anxiety spot.
“It was Zen, man. It was chill,” Wilson told reporters after a recent OTA practice. “I had to get my feet back under me and my head right.”
Wilson, the former Ohio State star, was the NFL offensive rookie of the year coming out of 2022. And the Jets were supposed to be better in 2023. This time a year ago, Wilson and the rest of his teammates were getting acquainted with Aaron Rodgers, the newly acquired quarterback. They had no idea that three months later, Rodgers’ season would end with a ruptured Achilles.
Rodgers’ injury had a ripple effect on other Jets, including Wilson. The main thing was New York needed another starting quarterback and the ones the team used weren’t very effective. Wilson was still consistent. He posted a second 1,000-yard receiving season. And he became the first Jets player to do consecutive 1,000 yards since Keyshawn Johnson accomplished the feat in 1998-99. It was so long ago Wilson had yet to be born.
But here’s a caveat to Wilson’s production. The young receiver, in his opening two seasons, had six different quarterbacks throwing him passes with two offensive coordinators calling plays. The constant change could confuse and frustrate even an aging vet. Now imagine how it impacted the spirit of an NFL youngster.
He told the Jets all about it, describing 2023 as “the worst year of my life.”
“They’ve definitely let me vent, I guess you could say,” Wilson said back in January during an appearance on ESPN New York radio. “I’m appreciative of that. I know that isn’t the case everywhere and that isn’t the case often.
“They allow me to do that and they have insightful answers to all the things I ask, all of my worries, and it all comes with good answers from them. They have an open-door policy. We had our exit meetings this week. … Even past that, we’ve had conversations. That’s something I don’t take for granted because the intentions are there to get this thing the way it should be.”
So remember all the Jets quarterbacks who threw the ball to Wilson? None of them are with the team anymore. Zach Wilson was the main quarterback. He’s now with the Broncos. As for Rodgers, he’s yet to throw a regular-season pass to Wilson.
Eighteen receivers in the NFL have notched consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in 2022-23. But Wilson was the only one of the 18 who had six quarterbacks tossing to him.
So forgive him for the dream of having only one quarterback.
“If we can find a way to stay upright out there and keep Aaron on his feet, I’m excited for that and everything that comes with it,” Wilson said.
He added: “Winning games and winning in the playoffs — I’m confident that we do that. … We’re going to score points, and I’ll have something to do with it. We all will, so I’m excited.”