September 2, 2024
One of the new-look position groups for the Jets in 2024 is the wide receiver core which is headlined by Garrett Wilson. The Jets have returning players Garrett Wilson, Allen Lazard, and Xavier Gipson but they have new faces Mike Williams and Malachi Corley.
The wide receiver 1 for the Jets the past 2 seasons and now this season is Garrett Wilson. Wilson is now coming off the only back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in his first 2 years in NFL history and is destined to hit that again with Aaron Rodgers. The former offensive rookie of the year was ranked the 72nd-best player in the NFL after 95 receptions, 1,042 yards, and 3 touchdowns in 2023. Now in 2024 Wilson is bound to continue his tear in the NFL with Aaron Rodgers at QB.
WR2 for Gang Green is free agent signing Mike Williams who signed a 1 year $10 million deal back in March of 2024. In Mike Williams' career, he has been a consistent number 2 option for the Chargers since his career began in 2017. Williams has had 4 seasons above 700 yards and 2 seasons with 2 at least 1,000 yards. His career best year came in 2021 when he had 1,146 yards and 9 touchdowns on 76 targets. Coming off an ACL tear in 2023 Mike Williams will look to bounce back as he is now cleared for week 1 vs the 49ers.
The Jets third option and slot receiver is former UDFA Xavier Gipson. In 2023, Gipson’s rookie year, he had 229 yards on 21 receptions and 38 targets. Gipson was mostly utilized in the punt and kick return games in 2023, where he had 33 punt returns for 319 yards, including a touchdown and 22 kickoff returns for 511 yards. In 2024 Xavier Gipson is expected to have an expanded role as he is listed as WR3 to start the season.
The 4th option is Allen Lazard who is entering his second year in his 4 year $44 million deal with the Jets. Last year Lazard struggled, only having 311 yards and 1 touchdown on 23 receptions. In the past with the Packers, he achieved over 450 yards and at least 3 touchdowns in 4 of the 5 seasons in Green Bay with his best season coming in 2022 with 788 yards and 6 touchdowns.
The backup slot position for the Jets is rookie Malachi Corley, who was taken with the 65th overall pick. In his college career at Western Kentucky University, he had 3,035 yards and earned the nickname the “YAC King” for his yards-after-catch ability. Corley’s best season came his Sophomore year when he had 101 receptions, 1,295 yards, and 11 touchdowns.
From there on, the Jets wide receiver core consists of Irvin Charles on the 53-man roster and Jason Brownlee on the practice squad.
With great depth, the Jets WR core will certainly help 4-time MVP Aaron Rodgers.