Getty New York Jets rookie wide receiver Garrett Wilson at the 2022 NFL combine.
Actions speak louder than words — and New York Jets rookie wide receiver Garrett Wilson appears to be someone that has no problem leading by example.
“I’m [going to] be up here,” Wilson told reporters when asked how he would be spending his month or so of summer break. “Getting right with the strength coaches, getting on the same page with all my teammates, and just building chemistry. I’m [going to] be up here.”
Garrett Wilson says he’s going to stay in the area during this break before training camp so that he can continue to work with the #Jets training staff:
“It says a lot about someone with the way they spend their off time.”
The young playmaker even added wisely: “I’m excited for these next 40 days, it says a lot about somebody how they spend [their] off-time.”
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Dedication Is Contagious
Garrett Wilson may have brought this dedicated personality over from Ohio State, but the trait has become contagious at One Jets Drive under head coach Robert Saleh.
During a recent minicamp roundup on The Athletic, beat reporter Connor Hughes noted that second-year quarterback Zach Wilson will be holding his own “team passing camp” in July. Dubbed “Camp Zach” by Hughes, the journalist explained that it won’t just be about football.
“[Zach] Wilson talked to his receivers, tight ends and running backs this week and finalized plans for a team passing camp in July,” he wrote. “It’s not just about getting together to throw, [Zach] Wilson said, but also to bond. He’s planning fun activities for the group to do together. [Zach] Wilson didn’t say where or the specific dates they will work, other than that they are now finalized.”
They say leadership stems from the top, but when you have a locker room full of leaders, that’s culture.
Coach Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas have talked about that word from the moment they each stepped foot in the building. The Jets had no culture under Mike Maccagnan and Adam Gase but they’re molding one now.
On the marker board inside the #Jets war room they highlighted their top-3 free agency focus points: 📸 @nyjets #TakeFlight #Flight2022
This was on full display during episode two of the Jets offseason docu-series, “Flight 2022: New Heights.” While talking about the free agency period, the camera caught a glimpse of the front office’s top three “focus points” of each signing. It should come as no surprise that “love of [the] game” was number one.
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Hard Work Will Help Garrett Wilson Learn to Swim
In the same article, Hughes talked about the first-round wide receiver’s somewhat slow start during OTAs and minicamp. He voiced:
The key for [Garrett] Wilson is to catch up mentally so his physical gifts can shine. He’s swimming as he tries to learn all the nuances of the receiver position in this offense. The wideout spot is asked to do a lot in Kyle Shanahan’s scheme, which can be overwhelming for rookies. The break should do [Garrett] Wilson good.
Although that might sound terrifying for fans, Hughes’ overall message was that he saw improvement in the Ohio State product’s game from day one until the end of spring sessions.
“Garrett Wilson appeared more comfortable as the days went on,” he stated, “because he was much more active in minicamp. He made an incredible catch on Tuesday [June 14], jumping high in the air and then contorting his body for a 15-yard completion. He’s working mostly with the second-team offense behind [Corey] Davis, [Elijah] Moore and [Braxton] Berrios, but it won’t be long before he’s working entirely with the starters.”
You can hear that obsession with learning when Garrett Wilson speaks. “[I’m] a lot more comfortable,” the young man admitted to the media. “A lot of this stuff just comes with time and reps and that’s something I didn’t have at the start of those OTAs. Now getting into mandatory minicamp I feel like I have a better idea of what I’m going out there [to do] and trying to accomplish.”
“[The playbook is] a lot to learn but it’s a whole lot of fun to learn,” the rookie continued. “It gets to put you in a whole lot of different positions… you have to know everything, that’s the best way I can put it… and that’s really good for me.”
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Jets Star Draft Pick Reveals Plans to Receive Extra Training Over Break