The Jets' wide receiver room can and will be repopulated with new faces, from the draft, unrestricted free agency and undrafted free agency. But at the moment, head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey give the current group of young men in that meeting room and on the practice field in May two big thumbs up.
As Mougey said at the NFL Annual Meeting in Phoenix last week: "I feel good about the wide receiver room. Obviously, getting Garrett Wilson back and healthy will be big for us."
Much of the good feeling stems from Wilson's expected return to form from the knee injury that cost him 10 of the last 11 games last season. G's receiving numbers don't look anything like the average output in his first three pro seasons of 93 receptions and 1,083 yards per season.
Still, Wilson showed his worth after signing a multiyear extension with the team in July. Consider that despite playing only those seven games, his 395 receiving yards led the Jets for the fourth straight season. That lead position benefited from the patchwork states at times of the wideout and quarterback positions as well as from Wilson's unquestioned ability.
And since Wilson had no catches in a game for the first time in his career after coming back from his knee issue for a single appearance in the Week 10 win over Cleveland, let's prorate his totals from his first six games over a full 17-game schedule. Those numbers show he was on his way to another banner season: 159 targets, 102 catches, 1,119 yards and 11 touchdowns. All but the targets would have been career highs.
"Yeah, you hear about Garrett all the time," Glenn said. "And you should, because he is a true number one receiver."