Sports Illustrated Selects Jets' WR1 as Potential NFL Offensive Player of the Year

Stock rising for Gang Green's second-year receiver

It would be a sizable jump for New York Jets' receiver Garrett Wilson to make, but it's certainly within the realm of possibility.

Sports Illustrated suggests Gang Green's WR1 has the potential to go from 2022 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year to 2023 NFL Offensive Player of the Year. 

"We knew he was going to be special, and he just keeps elevating the bar," said head coach Robert Saleh about the second-year pro after Sunday's training camp practice.

With future Hall-of-Famer Aaron Rodgers taking over quarterback duties, Wilson is likely to see an increase in the quality of his targets and an accompanying statistical boost. Gaudier numbers could catapult the second-year pro into Top 5 status at his position.

After gaining 1,103 yards receiving as a rookie, Wilson enters 2023 as Sports Illustrated writer Gilberto Manzano's "darkhorse pick" to capture NFL Offensive POTY honors.

Manzano teamed up with fellow SI scribe Matthew Verderame to identify a "quietly strong pick to take the hardware home" while noting "while receiver looks like a bad play from a historical angle, consider that Cooper Kupp and Justin Jefferson have won the past two Offensive Player of the Year awards."

While Manzano selected Wilson, Verderame went with the Dallas Cowboys' Cee Dee Lamb. 

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From "SI Predicts: 2023 Dark-Horse Picks for NFL Offensive Player of the Year":

Gilberto Manzano: Garrett Wilson, WR, New York Jets

Matt made some great points about wide receivers being the best bet for this award. I’m taking the advice and predicting that Wilson will take the hardware home in 2023 to make it three consecutive years for the wideouts.

There are many reasons for why Wilson is a strong candidate, but the biggest one is the arrival of Aaron Rodgers, who has already compared Wilson to Davante Adams. But Rodgers added that Wilson is a few years away from reaching Adams’s play level. I’m going to speed up the process and say Wilson will have a special second season with an all-time great throwing him the ball. 

As a rookie with Zach Wilson, Joe Flacco and Mike White at quarterback, Wilson recorded 83 catches for 1,103 yards and four touchdowns en route to winning Offensive Rookie of the Year. To compare, Ja’Marr Chase, the frontrunner for the award entering the season, had 81 catches for 1,455 yards and 13 touchdowns during his rookie season in 2021—and that was with Joe Burrow throwing him the ball. 

Wilson is on a superstar trajectory with his vast skill set of reliable hands, smooth footwork and blazing speed (he clocked a 4.38 in the 40-yard dash at the combine). Wilson will soon enter the realm of Chase, Tyreek Hill and Deebo Samuel as the game’s most dangerous playmakers in open space.

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Doing it in spite of the Jets' instability at quarterback, Wilson was highly effective as a rookie. He recorded first downs on 56 of his 83 catches and averaged 4.6 YAC yards after a reception.

"When you have a year under your belt and you go through things like I did last year, you feel good about going into the next year. You just want to get better every step, every day, every year. That hasn't changed. I feel like I a great level of confidence, but now I gotta go out there and keep stacking. That's the goal," said Wilson following the team's first preseason practice session.

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