The stars seem to be aligned for WR Garrett Wilson ahead of training camp and his fourth season with the Jets in the NFL.
His new quarterback is an old acquaintance from Ohio State, Justin Fields. His new coaches -- Aaron Glenn and OC Tanner Engstrand -- have talked him up as one of the keys to what promises to be a varied and versatile offense.
"Garrett, he's continuing to improve every single day and learn the way that we want to run the routes all the time without taking his creativity away, just him learning when he needs to be in certain places at certain times because that's where the quarterback expects him to be," Engstrand said during the recent minicamp. "Clearly an elite athlete and we're looking forward to him continuing to get a hold and a grasp of this offense and take it to the next level."
Across his three seasons with the Green & White, Wilson has not missed a single game as he's corralled 279 passes (a career-best 101 last season) for 3,249 yards (11.6 per), 7 TDs and 60 first downs.
"We talk about it really in the evaluation process about instinctual players," he said. "Garrett is a very instinctual player, and there is a fine line to being overly instinctual, if you will, but being able to get to where he needs to be at the time that he needs to be there."
DC Steve Wilks: Maintain Focus on Summer 'Vacation'
With the end of minicamp last week and the start of training camp still about a month away, DC Steve Wilks said he expects his guys to stay engaged.
"One of the things we always talk about is really the consistency and how we operate," he said. "So, yes, it's good to get away, have some down time, enjoy your family, but we got to continue to emphasize our conditioning, working out, guys staying in the playbook, still studying, doing things like that, so when we come back, we're starting exactly where we left off."
During a session with reporters, Wilks was asked for impression of two of the Jets' draft picks -- DBs Azareye'h Thomas and Malachi Moore.
"I think those guys are doing well," Wilks said. "I think the number one thing that we talk about as a staff is it has yet to be too big for them. Those guys have stepped in, accepted the challenge, do a hell of a job when they're out there communicating and talking, staying ahead of the down, as I always talk about as far as understanding the formation and what we can get pre-snap to allow us to be able to check or rotate or whatever we have to do, and those guys compete. ... Those guys are very competitive, and they fit our DNA."
STC Chris Banjo: 'Depth Charts Are Written in Pencil'
Special teams are kind of the Rubik's Cube of the game in the NFL -- there are always moving pieces to the puzzle. And special teams coordinator Chris Banjo understands putting together solid kickoff and punt return teams is a moving target.
"I think when we talk about our depth chart from a special teams' perspective, I know AG has said this and I echo the same sentiment, those depth charts are written in pencil," Banjo said. "So, it's a dynamic process that can change on a consistent and day-to-day basis. The biggest thing that we try to make sure we do is challenge these guys, make sure they compete, and put their best foot forward as much as they possibly can."
In terms of return men, it's "an open competition" among Xavier Gipson, and rookiesArian Smithand Jamaal Pritchett, among others.
"Just a guy who's dynamic back there," Banjo said of Pritchett.
When it comes to gunners, the speedy Smith is in the mix as Banjo and the Jets anticipate the return of Irv Charles from injury. Charles blocked a punt in Week 2 at Tennessee last season before he sustained a torn ACL in a Week 14 OT loss to Miami. Nevertheless, the Jets re-signed him, and he is continuing to rehab.
"If you're talking about playing football on fourth down in the special teams' world, it's hard for anybody around the league to not know about somebody like Irv," Banjo said. "And obviously, he did a phenomenal job last year until his unfortunate injury. ... He's doing his best job staying mentally sharp, staying mentally prepared, and just kind of putting himself in those situations whenever he's fortunate enough to come back and play."
Aaron Glenn: Culture = People
The term "culture" has evolved to be a kind of catch-all for a way of doing business. We may have a hard time defining it, but we know it when we see it.
"Well, here's the first thing when you talk about culture, and also here's the negative part of it, because I think sometimes people think culture is about a coach sitting in front of a group of men and giving some rah-rah speech," HC Aaron Glenn said during the recent minicamp. "And the negative part of that is, players can have deadhead when you continue these rah-rah speeches, and they've heard that before since they were in pee-wee football, these speeches.
"So, that's not culture to me. Culture is all about people. So, you bring the right people in the building, that determines what kind of culture you're going to have. Listen, I give the guys before this regime, before we got here, credit because we don't have any bad guys. I think we have a bunch of good guys on this team. So, I give those guys a lot of credit for the guys they have here.
"So now, our job is to make sure we steer them in the right direction the way that we want to play football, the way that we want to operate, the way we want this building to be. And to me, that's what culture is."
