PARADISE, Nev. — The New York Jets have a strong core of young talent they hope can soon turn them into a winning franchise, and one player expected to play a big role in their future is star receiver Garrett Wilson. In 2023, Wilson became the first Jets player to record at least 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first two seasons, and he did so while playing with six different quarterbacks.
Last season didn’t go as planned for the Jets. New York went out and acquired a new quarterback in Aaron Rodgers, but the four-time NFL MVP tore his Achilles just a handful of games into the campaign, setting the table for what would be another season losing for the Jets. However, with Rodgers now recovered, optimism has returned for the Jets, a team many see turning the corner in 2024.
CBS Sports sat down with Wilson in the Courtyard by Marriott suite at Allegiant Stadium on Thursday to discuss his first two seasons in the NFL, Rodgers as a leader and what the future looks like in New York .
Who is the best wide receiver to come out of Ohio State in recent years?
Wilson: We have one coming out this year in the draft, Marvin Harrison. He will likely go down as one of the best drafted receivers of all time. He’s got the college film to go with it, the work ethic. He’s just a great person, a great player. And I feel like he takes the cake. But we’ve got some really good ones, man, and it’s really cool to see the direction Ohio State is going with the receiver room. I don’t take being a part of this piece for granted. It’s special to look back on and it’s something that has maintained our friendship and brotherhood throughout our early NFL careers.
This doesn’t happen by chance. What are you doing at this wide receiver factory in Columbus?
I think it all starts with the type of guys Ohio State wants to recruit. No one is afraid of competition, even though we are all highly ranked when we leave school, we are all eager to go somewhere and compete with the other top performers. of the best to prove our belonging and earn our place. And when you have guys like that, you have people who are wired a certain way.
I think the competitive spirit in the room and the way we’re coached, the way we approach our offseason, that translates well to the NFL and we’ve been fortunate to have some great players who call the shots. to become Buckeyes. .
What have you learned about yourself during your first two seasons in the NFL? Because your team has suffered its share of adversity, but you have experienced success personally. What have you learned about yourself?
Just that I have a long way to go to get to where I want to be. It’s great to be in this league, it’s very special but just being here is not enough. I feel like we want to take that step to become a better team, I want to take that step to become a better player, and it all starts with the offseason and how to go about it. I’m just excited to approach this the right way and make sure I’m taking the right steps in my third year.
Tell me about your head coach Robert Saleh. What kind of leader is he?
He is one of the best defensive minds in football. He’s the type of guy who believes in doing certain things really well. You don’t have to do everything, just do what you do, do it very well and do it in great detail. We kind of bring that mindset into everything we do in the facility. He’s good at rallying the troops and getting us ready to go. He always has the right words to say before the week to motivate us. We need to win some games for him this year, and we’re excited to have the opportunity.
You’re entering year two of the Aaron Rodgers Jets era. What was his message to the team this offseason?
Yeah, we get it back. This creates a lot of enthusiasm. We got to see him these last two weeks of the season and how he went through therapy and then started working with the scout team. And now we’re at the point where you just have to be ready. Let’s make the right choices during the offseason, on a personal level and on a team level. Make sure we have everything we need to make it happen next year. And yeah, Aaron is one of those guys that he doesn’t say much about, but when he does say something, it carries a lot of weight. He kind of carries that on his shoulders. He doesn’t “talk too much,” but he’s one of those people that when he’s on the field and in training, his whole confidence goes through the roof. And that will certainly be the case when we come back to train here in June.
Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles just a few games into the season, but he was rehabbing vigorously to try and come back. Did you think he would make it, that he would come back at the end of the regular season, or was that always seen as kind of a long shot?
No, it wasn’t long, man. He did things a certain way to be back for the end of the season as far as his therapy, and he really attacked. I think he accomplished everything he wanted to and it was kind of up to us as a team to figure out where it was possible to be in a place where it made sense for him to come back. and we could get something out of it, and it wasn’t. He sort of continued his therapy but I’m convinced he could have come back. I will never count Aaron out. First of all, he sort of thrives on it. I’m sure he could have been there if that made sense. That said, I’m happy that he was able to make a full recovery, get this full season of rehab back and be able to face it next year.
What are the Jets’ goals in 2024?
It all starts with making the playoffs. Start fast and finish with a better team than us to start the season and make the playoffs. This is something we’ve been wanting to do for a while in Jersey and we gotta go, man. It’s one of those things that gets talked about a lot, but it’s time to play. I’m excited. I feel like we have the team to do it, the guys to do it, the staff, and I know everyone in the facility feels the same way. It all starts there and I feel like everything will work itself out if we put ourselves in a position to be competitive when it counts.
Do you have any Super Bowl predictions?
Mahomes. The Chiefs. What will he get? Number three? Yeah, he’s a bad guy. I really like Mahomes.
Wilson spoke with CBS Sports to promote the “Courtyard Super Bowl Sleepover Suite” at Allegiant Stadium.
“I’m very excited to be here with Courtyard by Marriott and to have the chance to showcase this ultimate Super Bowl upgrade room. We have Falcons fans coming this weekend.
“Look at this room. They completely transformed a Raiders stadium suite into a hotel room so two lucky fans could come here the night before the game and just enjoy it. That’s a company I’m lucky with to work and they do a great job putting things like this together. It’s the ultimate piece for real.