New York Jets: Garrett Wilson has taken the next step

Generally speaking, I think people are often too quick to declare that a player has taken a next step, whether that be from bad to average, average to good, good to great, or great to elite.

New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson though? Well, that man is elite and I'm ready to put my name to it.

Why is he elite? Well, to start, he's performing like a legitimate top 5 wideout.

For reference, those full-season figures would have ranked first in catches, 3rd in yards, and first in touchdowns in the 2023 season . Based on that, there are no ifs, ands, or buts around the idea that Wilson has been elite in the month of October.

Beyond that, the eye test is meeting the analytics so this certainly looks sustainable. As I wrote about in the lead-up to the New York Jets game against the Houston Texans , Wilson has finally become a plus player on contested catches, which was the big hole in his game. Thursday night operated as the perfect showcase of that skill, as Wilson began by hauling in this touchdown pass despite the contact.

Then he doubled down by doing this, which is quite possibly the catch of the year, and that's just based on the eye test and before considering that the analytics are basically saying that human beings should not catch this.

Long story short, the production is there, the underlying analytics are there, and the eye test is there. If this isn't a player taking the leap that puts them among the best at their position then I'm not sure what is. While the Jets season on the whole may not be living up to the hype, Garrett Wilson sure is and that means a lot for how the New York Jets project for the rest of this year and beyond.