The Jets' wide receiver room can and will be repopulated with new faces, from the draft, unrestricted free agency and undrafted free agency. But at the moment, head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey give the current group of young men in that meeting room and on the practice field in May two big thumbs up.
As Mougey said at the NFL Annual Meeting in Phoenix last week: "I feel good about the wide receiver room. Obviously, getting Garrett Wilson back and healthy will be big for us."
Much of the good feeling stems from Wilson's expected return to form from the knee injury that cost him 10 of the last 11 games last season. G's receiving numbers don't look anything like the average output in his first three pro seasons of 93 receptions and 1,083 yards per season.
Still, Wilson showed his worth after signing a multiyear extension with the team in July. Consider that despite playing only those seven games, his 395 receiving yards led the Jets for the fourth straight season. That lead position benefited from the patchwork states at times of the wideout and quarterback positions as well as from Wilson's unquestioned ability.
And since Wilson had no catches in a game for the first time in his career after coming back from his knee issue for a single appearance in the Week 10 win over Cleveland, let's prorate his totals from his first six games over a full 17-game schedule. Those numbers show he was on his way to another banner season: 159 targets, 102 catches, 1,119 yards and 11 touchdowns. All but the targets would have been career highs.
"Yeah, you hear about Garrett all the time," Glenn said. "And you should, because he is a true number one receiver."
But the coach really has a desire to see Adonai Mitchell in his second season and first full campaign wearing green and white.
"I look forward to seeing what AD is going to do, going through OTAs, going through the workout program, understanding exactly how we go about doing things," Glenn said. "I think it takes that summertime to be able to bond with your teammates and then get into the season. I know we just got him during the season, but to be able to see him go through the whole process with our guys, I really look forward to that."
Mitchell exploded for career highs of eight receptions and 102 yards in the Week 13 win over Atlanta and had a 52-yard touchdown connection with Tyrod Taylor in that game. His strongest stretch of six games from Weeks 12-17 would prorate to 17-game totals of 65 catches for 824 yards. Not bad for a No. 2 or WR-1A who had no offseason work with this current team.
The Glenn/Mougey duo also mentioned two others in the room in second-year man Arian Smith and kick-returner-turned-slot Isaiah Williams. Smith has excellent speed but didn't get a lot of traction in his rookie season, but that's expected to improve under new coordinator Frank Reich, new QBs coach Bill Musgrave and new pass-game coordinator Sean Ryan, not to mention holdover WRs coach Shawn Jefferson. Williams augmented his dynamic return skills with some unflashy but steady numbers once he saw his first targets in the Week 8 win at Cincinnati.
Mougey said he was intrigued by "seeing AD Mitchell and Isaiah and Arian, having those guys take the next step and continue to grow." But, the GM added: "We'll continue to evaluate the markets and see if there's an opportunity to add depth and competition."
Glenn echoed that sentiment, but he wasn't about to sell his hands on hand short.
"I like the way our receiver room is," he said. "You're always going to try to get players that are going to help your team. But I look forward to seeing those guys work together."
