Through four games, the New York Jets are 21st in the NFL in points scored.
They’re coming off a season-low nine-point showing in a loss to the Denver Broncos.
Wide receiver Garrett Wilson isn’t all that enthused with offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett’s scheme so far this season.
“I don’t think we do a lot of different stuff to be honest,” Wilson told the Bart & Hahn podcast, via ESPN’s Rich Cimini. “I watch football on Sundays and I see a lot of teams mix it up and stuff like that. I don’t think we do that. I think we know our identity. It’s just about going out and executing it or figuring out if it’s going to work. I don’t think we’re trying a lot of different things.”
Wilson’s coming off a particularly frustrating Sunday in which he was targeted eight times by quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but came up with just five receptions for 41 yards, having failed to register more than 60 yards in a game this season.
The 2022 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year lined up against Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II on 28 of his 46 routes and had two catches for 22 yards with Surtain in coverage, per Next Gen Stats. Wilson’s of the belief that that he’s not being bestowed the opportunities to succeed, it would seem.
“I know, personally, my route tree hasn’t been what it has been the last two years as far as the stuff I’ve been running,” Wilson said. “It’s just about figuring out if it’s the right identity and whether it’s going to win games.”
New York’s offense is 18th in EPA (expected points added) per offensive play (-0.07) and 15th in EPA per pass (-0.03). Aside from a 400-yard showing a Week 3 win over the New England Patriots, the Jets offense hasn’t topped 266 yards of offense in any other game.
It was all sunshine and rainbows in the summer of 2023 when Rodgers came to town, but all the pleasantries came crashing to the cold, hard ground when the four-time AP NFL MVP tore his Achilles in the Jets’ season opener.
Optimism rang again this year with Rodgers coming back healthy. However, the offensive product thus far has been underwhelming aside from the win over the Patriots, which has been an outlier, at least so far.
Wilson has pulled in a team-high 20 receptions for 191 yards and a touchdown over his first four full games with Rodgers as his quarterback. In comparison, though, when Wilson nor the Jets offense was lighting it up last season, the wideout still had better numbers through his first four games — hauling in 21 catches for 225 yards and two TDs.
At 2-2 and in second place in the AFC East, things could certainly be worse for the Jets, but this is bound to stir things up.
Hackett was Rodgers’ OC from 2019-2021 in Green Bay, with the two combining to form a top-10 offense in each of their final two seasons during that span. Since leaving the Packers, though, Hackett was a bust as the Broncos’ head coach in 2022 and has been met with a whole lot of scrutiny in New York. This certainly won’t help.
Next up for the Jets is a meeting with their former first-round selection, Sam Darnold, and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday in London. Wilson’s comments should make for some interesting in-flight conversation.
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