It's been a little more than a month since Garrett Wilson signed his contract extension to remain with the Jets, and the cerebral introspective (off the field), explosive (on the field) wideout is quietly confident and thoughtful about how that will play out for him as he begins his fourth season with the Jets and in the NFL.
For starters, Wilson said securing his future with the Green & White has already impacted his view of himself as a team leader.
"It's definitely a different vibe, just knowing where you're going to be, of knowing that these new guys coming in, let's build this relationship, let's show 'em how we do things here," Wilson said before the Jets' penultimate practice of training camp Tuesday heading toward Friday's preseason finale against the Eagles. "For me, it's never been as much of the vocal thing. With that said, every now and then the time comes up when you've got to say something.
"But it's always out at practice, how do you go about your business, your practice prep, your week leading up to a game. Knowing that people are watching and just giving them great things they can steal from my routine, my training, my practice habits. Just because people believe in me around here and the stuff I've been doing, they deem it to work, so let's bring some people with you."
That's beguiling for the Jets and their fans, who want to see what the options are should opponents try to remove Wilson from the game plan. That happened sometimes in his first three seasons, but on the other hand, Wilson has had a start to his career that no other Jets WR can match. He's caught at least 80 passes for at least 1,000 yards in each of his first three seasons. No other Jet has done that in any three consecutive seasons, let alone from the start of his career.
For another, the new deal means reuniting with his close friend and Ohio State QB, Justin Fields, to do damage to opposing pass defenses in the seasons ahead. Wilson recalls when the two first connected in Columbus in 2019, when Wilson was a freshman and Fields had just transferred from Georgia and they rode to dinner and back to their dorms with Wilson's family.
And then those first practices firmed up their relationship.
"The second day of practice, it felt like we were snapping," Wilson said. "He gave me a chance. I was a lucky freshman, I got to get a rep with some of the older guys. He threw it up there, I just went and got it. And from that point on it felt like he had my back, he was going to push me along and made sure I was getting in the rotation."