Star Playmaker Could Benefit Most From New York Jets Coaching Change

A young offensive playmaker could benefit the most from the New York Jets coaching change.

Oct 6, 2024; London, United Kingdom; New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson (5) celebrates after scoring on a 1-yard touchdown reception against the New York Jets in the fourth quarter at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Things are going to look a lot different for the New York Jets now that Robert Saleh has been fired as head coach.

Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will be taking over as head coach on an interim basis and he has already made some major changes. The biggest one is that offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett no longer has play-calling duties.

That task will now be handled by Todd Downing.

Shaking things up on offense was necessary given how much the unit has struggled in 2024. Too often players don’t seem to be on the same page and eventually, coaching plays a part in that.

One of the more disappointing developments in 2024 to this point has been the production of star wide receiver Garrett Wilson.

Outside of a 22-target game against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 5 when he caught 13 passes for 101 yards and scored a touchdown, it has been as struggle for the Ohio State product. 

In the previous four games, he caught only 20 passes for 191 yards and one touchdown. Getting him more involved has to be near the top of Downing’s to-do list as he takes over as the offensive playcaller.

Wilson has voiced his displeasure with his route tree at points this season, which is something that the new scheme should expand on. As Seth Walder of ESPN shared, a scheme change will benefit the explosive pass catcher.

“Wilson is running posts at less than half the rate he did in the past two years, and he is seeing just over half the number of digs. A big change new Jets playcaller Todd Downing can make versus the Bills is to get Wilson running laterally again and cut down on the back-shoulder passes Rodgers typically throws.”

Those timing throws that Aaron Rodgers made famous during his time with the Green Bay Packers has not consistently translated to New York. Too often he and Wilson are not on the same page and the future Hall of Famer is not shy about showing his displeasure.

Mixing in some more direct routes that don’t require as much chemistry, timing and cohesion should help. It will also make New York tougher to defend.

As Walder shared, scheming against them is relatively easy as their game plan was pretty straightforward.

“The Jets' route profile is quite the sight. The team ranks top three in rate of short fades, deep fades, short outs, ins, slants and go routes. It's in the bottom three in deep crossers, medium crossers, deep outs, comebacks and digs.

In other words, New York runs short or straight. This makes the offense somewhat arcane, and that's especially bad for Wilson. Over 2022-23, Wilson's highest yards run per route (screens excluded) came on digs, deep crossers, deep overs, posts and comebacks. His usage on all five of those routes has dropped this season.”

There are a good amount of things that need to be fixed with this offense. It will be tough doing it on the fly in the regular season, but there are things Downing can do so that the unit becomes more productive right away.

Getting the ball to arguably your best playmaker on a more consistent basis is a good place to start.