Garrett Wilson made it to the 100-reception plateau for the first time in his NFL career, but the third-year receiver believes he should have done more this season for the Jets.
Wilson’s personal milestone didn’t take any of the sting out of the Jets’ 5-12 season and certainly not from the franchise’s 14th in a row without a playoff appearance.
“I’m sure it will be [meaningful] down the road when I finish up playing and all down the road, but I had a 100, and I needed about like 130 or 120 or something if we were going to do what we wanted to do [this season],” Wilson said after Sunday’s season-ending 35-20 win over the Dolphins. “I put some on the floor, I dropped some. I didn’t play my best ball.
“So I’m sure down the road I’ll look back on it and think maybe it wasn’t that bad, but at the end of the day, it’s alright, it’s cool.”
With four receptions for 51 yards, the 24-year-old Wilson finished with a career-high 101 catches for 1,104 yards and seven touchdowns despite essentially becoming the second option after longtime Aaron Rodgers favorite target Davante Adams was acquired from the Raiders in October.
Along with fellow 2022 top-10 pick Sauce Gardner, Wilson is eligible for a contract extension this summer, and he responded, “Yeah, I feel like I have,” when asked if he believes he’s established himself as a key part of the organization’s future.
The Ohio State product has missed only one game in his three seasons with the Jets, and he’s averaging 93 catches and 1,083 yards per year.
Still, the team has posted a 19-32 record since Wilson was drafted, and the losing is wearing on him.
“The only way to go is up, man, honestly, the way it’s been these last three years,” Wilson told The Post after his media scrum ended. “So that’s all I’m really gonna say about it. I’m not gonna speak on that too much right now, but truthfully, the only direction to go in the future is up.”
Wilson, who officially only had five drops this season, added that ending a roller coaster season with a win “feels great.
“This is how you want to do it. It obviously hasn’t been what we wanted throughout the season, but this is how you want to end it. I feel good about that,” Wilson said. “We definitely can’t help the thought of why we didn’t do this from Week 1.
“But to do it in the final game, this is our first game of 2025, so this is what you want to do. We wanted to start [the year] the right way, and we did that.”
