Jets Country

Where Garrett Wilson's Rookie Season Ranks in Jets Franchise History

Wilson set a new franchise record on Sunday, surpassing Keyshawn Johnson for the most receiving yards by a rookie in Jets history.

Max Goodman

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After a midseason lull, Jets receiver Garrett Wilson is finishing his rookie year in historic fashion.

Wilson added another 78 receiving yards and six catches in New York's loss to the Bills on Sunday. That gives Wilson 868 receiving yards on the season entering play in Week 15, the most in Jets history by a rookie. 

"That means a lot," Wilson told reporters on Sunday after the game. "It would've meant a whole lot more if we won this game. I can't lie to you, I was expecting to get that. It's about winning, I want to win. The personal accolades will be there regardless, but if we're winning it's going to come with it. We didn't get the job done today."

Wilson was able to set the new record by finding another gear in his production, beginning in Week 8. He's racked up 554 receiving yards on 35 catches (49 targets) in New York's last six games. That's nearly 100 receiving yards per game, a mark he's surpassed three occasions in 2022.

The rookie's biggest game of the year came against Minnesota two weeks ago, a 162-yard outburst on eight catches (with a career-high 15 targets).

With his 868 receiving yards, Wilson broke the previous record that was set by Keyshawn Johnson back in 1996 (844 yards). Wilson's six games with six or more receptions are the most by a Jets rookie since 1970, passing Johnson's previous record of five. 

Wilson has a chance to make this campaign even more memorable over the final four games of this season as well. With postseason implications each week, Wilson can climb the leaderboard and put together one of the best single seasons by a Jets wideout in recent memory.

If Wilson reaches the 1,000-yard mark, it'll be the 26th time a Jet has reached that milestone in franchise history. Only five players have eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards in a single season in a Jets uniform since 2000 as well.

Wilson's current pace would give him 1,135 receiving yards over 17 games. That number would be the 13th-most yards in a single season in franchise history, nearly as many yards as Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase produced during their historic rookie seasons over the last few years. 

Perhaps the most encouraging part about all of this is how much room Wilson has to improve. The wideout has established himself as New York's top target on offense, a wideout with sticky fingers, a mature mindset and special playmaking ability, but he only has four touchdowns, just scratching the surface of what he's capable of. 

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Jets for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. He also covers the New York Yankees, publisher  of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Yankees site, Inside The Pinstripes. Before starting out with SI, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. While at school, Goodman gathered valuable experience as an anchor and reporter on NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. Goodman previously interned at MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman and connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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