Trying to understand the very flawed argument for Jets WR1 Garrett Wilson

There is no doubt that the New York Jets made a smart choice with the No. 10 selection in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Garrett Wilson is an above-average wide receiver, but there are fans and pundits who act like the Jets have Justin Jefferson 2.0 on their roster. One Jets reporter even suggested that Wilson should be the “focal point” of the team’s offense.

“Garrett Wilson needs to be the focal point of this offense. Not the complement. It doesn’t matter the coverage. It doesn’t matter the issues. He’s not Robin. Introduce him,” said SNYIt’s Connor Hughes in an X-rated post.

It’s unclear whether Hughes wrote this message after drinking a gallon of eggnog, but I hope Wilson sent him a nice holiday gift.

On a good day, Wilson is probably around the 20th best wide receiver in the NFL. It’s a remarkable achievement in relative terms, but he’s far from a generational talent who deserves 12+ targets per game.

There’s also the fact that Wilson has been on the field for 97 percent of the offensive snaps this season averaging 9.4 targets per game. It’s not like the Jets are burying him on the depth chart. He has more than enough opportunities to play.

It’s also a somewhat misnomer to suggest that Wilson has been a forgotten man while taking a backseat to Davante Adams, who joined the Jets via trade in mid-October. Since the arrival of Adams, a true WR1, Wilson has collected 8.2 targets per game.

Meanwhile, quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw to Adams an average of 10.2 times per game — hardly an outrageous disparity between the veteran and Wilson.

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Not to mention, Adams has three All-Pro First Team selections while Wilson has yet to complete three full seasons as a pro. Wilson fans will be quick to boast that their favorite receiver only needs 13 more yards to reach the 1,000-yard plateau for the third year in a row.

It’s a great achievement, but nothing more, especially when the player now has 17 games to reach the mark. In his first two 17-game seasons, Adams eclipsed the 1,500 receiving yard mark.

Wilson has a promising future in the NFL, but he has a long way to go before he is held in the same regard as Adams. Anyone who says otherwise is not recognizing the facts.

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