The Jets haven’t yet locked in on a starting quarterback, but it’s looking like that guy will have to operate without the team’s leading wide receiver.
Garrett Wilson didn’t practice yesterday, and he’s also not participating again today. He injured his knee in Week 6. Right now, it’s looking very unlikely he’ll be active on Sunday.
That will make for an uphill climb for Justin Fields or Tyrod Taylor, with Wilson being the one big-time wide receiver that team has. It doesn’t have much of anything else.
In Wilson’s six games, he caught 36 passes, while no other wide receiver caught more than 8. As No. 1 receivers go, that workload puts Wilson up with the likes of Amon-Ra St. Brown, Drake London, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Ja’Marr Chase. He’s their passing game.
New York’s other wide receivers include Josh Reynolds, who’s caught 3 passes in each of his last two games, but for fewer than 30 yards in both of them. They’ve also got Allen Lazard, Tyler Johnson and rookie Arian Smith. Johnson showed some chemistry with Taylor on Sunday, catching all 3 of the passes thrown his way, including a 35-yarder.
The Jets have rookie tight end Mason Taylor, who’s caught 24 passes, but they’ve averaged only 8.7 yards, and with no touchdowns.
Despite missing a game, Wilson is one of only five wide receivers who’s caught 25 more passes than any other wide receiver on his team.
| LEADING WIDE RECEIVERS / GAP TO NEXT GUY | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Yds | TD | Next WR | Diff |
| Ja'Marr Chase, Cin. | 58 | 629 | 5 | Tee Higgins (24-316-3) | 34 |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown, Det. | 50 | 538 | 7 | Jameson Williams (17-289-2) | 33 |
| Drake London, Atl. | 38 | 469 | 2 | Darnell Mooney (10-147-0) | 28 |
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Sea. | 50 | 819 | 4 | Cooper Kupp (24-293-1) | 26 |
| Garrett Wilson, NYJ | 36 | 395 | 4 | Josh Reynolds (11-101-0) | 25 |
| Deebo Samuel, Was. | 34 | 315 | 3 | Terry McLaurin (10-149-0) | 24 |
| Zay Flowers, Balt. | 34 | 423 | 1 | Rashod Bateman (11-120-1) | 23 |
| Puka Nacua, LAR | 54 | 616 | 2 | Davante Adams (31-431-6) | 23 |
| Stefon Diggs, N.E. | 39 | 456 | 0 | Kayshon Boutte (20-356-4) | 19 |
| Wan'Dale Robinson, NYG | 35 | 446 | 2 | Malik Nabers (18-271-2) | 17 |
| Justin Jefferson, Min. | 34 | 528 | 1 | Jordan Addison (18-283-1) | 16 |
| George Pickens, Dall. | 36 | 607 | 6 | CeeDee Lamb (21-332-1) | 15 |
| Chris Olave, N.O. | 44 | 440 | 3 | Rashid Shaheed (30-356-2) | 14 |
| Tetairoa McMillan, Car. | 30 | 413 | 2 | Xavier Legette (17-142-2) | 13 |
| Nico Collins, Hou. | 26 | 339 | 3 | Xavier Hutchinson (13-123-2) | 13 |
| DK Metcalf, Pitt. | 22 | 406 | 4 | Calvin Austin (10-139-2) | 12 |
| Jerry Jeudy, Cle. | 22 | 257 | 0 | Isaiah Bond (11-123-0) | 11 |
| Marquise Brown, K.C. | 32 | 316 | 4 | JuJu Smith-Schuster (22-260-1) | 10 |
| Marvin Harrison, Ari. | 24 | 396 | 2 | Michael Wilson (15-136-1) | 9 |
| Michael Pittman, Ind. | 35 | 351 | 5 | Josh Downs (26-217-1) | 9 |
| Jaylen Waddle, Mia. | 30 | 405 | 3 | Tyreek Hill (21-265-1) | 9 |
| DeVonta Smith, Phil. | 38 | 504 | 2 | A.J. Brown (29-395-3) | 9 |
| Keenan Allen, LAC | 44 | 435 | 4 | Ladd McConkey (37-380-2) | 7 |
| Courtland Sutton, Den. | 33 | 469 | 3 | Troy Franklin (27-269-2) | 6 |
| Romeo Doubs, G.B. | 24 | 306 | 4 | Matthew Golden (18-249-0) | 6 |
| Kendrick Bourne, S.F. | 25 | 385 | 0 | Ricky Pearsall (20-327-0) | 5 |
| Emeka Egbuka, T.B. | 31 | 527 | 5 | Sterling Shepard (26-267-1) | 5 |
| Elic Ayomanor, Ten. | 19 | 225 | 2 | Calvin Ridley (16-290-0) | 3 |
| Rome Odunze, Chi. | 24 | 359 | 5 | DJ Moore (22-258-1) | 2 |
| Khalil Shakir, Buff. | 25 | 268 | 2 | Keon Coleman (24-237-2) | 1 |
| Travis Hunter, Jac. | 28 | 298 | 1 | Brian Thomas (27-365-1) | 1 |
| Tre Tucker, L.V. | 29 | 389 | 4 | Jakobi Meyers (29-329-0) | 0 |
—Ian Allan