Former star Dez Bryant has lofty expectations for Jets' Wilson
Expectations can be one of the hardest things to control in the NFL. Especially if you are coming off a Rookie of the Year campaign. ProFootball Focus already has grand expectations for reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year in Sauce Gardner ranking him as the number one cornerback in the entire NFL. On the other […]
Expectations can be one of the hardest things to control in the NFL. Especially if you are coming off a Rookie of the Year campaign.
ProFootball Focus already has grand expectations for reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year in Sauce Gardner ranking him as the number one cornerback in the entire NFL.
On the other side of the ball, Jets sophomore wide receiver Garrett Wilson’s expectations are only rising after his Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign. Count a former number one wide receiver among those who expects big things from Wilson.
Former Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Dez Bryant thinks the sky is the limit for Wilson and he expects to see it in his second season in the league.
Dez has Wilson as the number one fantasy wide receiver in 2023. Lofty expectations considering he was fantasy wide receiver number 21 in his rookie year according to Fantasy Pros. He finished over 100 points behind the number one fantasy wide out, Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings.
Wilson managed to put up the most points for a rookie wide receiver despite playing without his starting quarterback for eight games last year, and when his starting QB did play, it was Zach Wilson.
Wilson managed to put up 1,103 yards and four touchdowns last season with some of the worst quarterback play in the league. That’s more yardage than Mike Evans, A.J. Brown, Keenan Allen and Amari Cooper put up in their rookie seasons.
Garrett Wilson actually put up better numbers when Zach Wilson wasn’t on the field. With Zach Wilson as his quarterback, Garrett only caught 34 balls for 447 yards and zero touchdowns. In eight games with Joe Flacco, Chris Streveler and Mike White, Garrett Wilson caught 49 passes for 656 yards and all four of his touchdowns.
Enter Aaron Rodgers and it is very easy to see why Dez Bryant is so high on the Wilson’s sophomore campaign. Rodgers provides stability and talent that was frankly missing from the 2022 Jets.
Wilson impressed Rodgers early on. "His ability to kind of get in and out of his breaks. There’s another 17 [Davante Adams] I played with for a long time who does it better than anybody. The explosiveness, in and out of breaks, to the 17 here, is pretty similar," said Rodgers on the May 2 episode of the Pat McAfee Show.
Wide receivers who have fantastic rookie seasons don’t often slow down in their second season. Looking back at 2021 stand out rookie from the Cincinnati Bengals, Ja’Marr Chase, he caught four less touchdowns and 400 fewer yards in his second season compared to his first, but he played in five fewer games. His yards per game actually went up as did his receptions.
The year before that, Vikings star wide receiver saw increases in yards and touchdowns from his stellar rookie year to his sophomore year. Neither of those wideouts has indication of slowing down and neither of them saw the upgrade at quarterback that Garrett Wilson is about to see in his second year.
While Dez Bryant’s claim that Wilson will be the number one fantasy wide receiver might be a little off base, it will not be surprising to see Garrett finish in the top 10 of wideouts while enjoying more yards, touchdowns and (to the delight of Jets fans) wins than his rookie year.
Featured Image via JAMIE GERMANO / USA TODAY NETWORK
