Nary a member of the New York Jets is likely to look back on the 2025 season with many positives to grasp.
For wide receiver Garrett Wilson, arguably the team's top talent, it was most certainly a season he's looking to rebound from, having been held to seven games as he battled knee injuries.
"I've got a different standard that I just want to get back to, and that's the mission," Wilson said this past week, via .
The Jets suffered through a dreadful 3-14 campaign in which they sported the 29th-ranked offense in yards and points, while their defense was similarly frightful (31st in points allowed, 25th in total defense). During their struggles, the Jets also traded away defensive standouts Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams.
Perhaps overshadowed was that Wilson was derailed for really the first time in his promising career.
No matter the Jets' struggles -- as they've never won more than seven games since he joined the club -- Wilson produced in each of his first three seasons. He was the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2022, which stood as the first of three consecutive 1,000-yard showings to begin his career. He also never missed a game, but he missed 10 in 2025 with his 1,000-yard streak falling well short after he tallied just 395 yards in seven games.
So, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Wilson is on a quest to get back the very high level he's set since he was taken 10th overall in 2022 out of Ohio State.
"So now it's just getting back comfortable with playing, getting used to having a guy on me running routes," said Wilson, who last played in Week 10 of last season. "Stuff you can't really mimic until you're doing the real thing. I feel great, but as far as getting back to myself, I've got some work to do. I'm excited, though, I'm excited. It's going to be a journey and, um ... yeah, man, I'm not that far off."
New York is fielding a vastly different roster than Wilson last played on, but that's not all that novel for him.
Geno Smith is set to start at quarterback for the Jets, who have had Zach Wilson, Mike White, Joe Flacco, Aaron Rodgers, Trevor Siemian, Tim Boyle, Justin Fields, Tyrod Taylor and Brady Cook all start under center while Garrett Wilson has been on the Gang Green roster.
"He's awesome to be around," Wilson said of Smith. "He's a really good communicator, he's able to digest this stuff that we're all learning very well. And he throws a real friendly ball, one that's really easy to catch, you have no problem running right at it. ... I'm looking forward to getting to know him even more."
Wilson has become a whiz at catching balls no matter who's throwing them, but the 2025 season was an obstacle he wasn't able to shine through. So, he's rounding into offseason form, getting to know yet another new QB and moving forward on a quest to return to the stellar talent Gang Green fans have come to expect from him no matter the travails the Jets are suffering through.
"It sucks to see some of the guys that we came in with not here," said Wilson, who saw '22 draftmates Gardner, Jermaine Johnson II and Micheal Clemons exit the team, "but that's the reality of the thing when you just don't go play good ball.
"So, the reality is we've got to figure this thing out. And we are."
