ESPN Makes Bold Prediction for Buckeye Legend Garrett Wilson

Garrett Wilson burst onto the scene in the NFL with the New York Jets. Then things went south in a hurry through the Aaron Rodgers era.

But there’s an argument to be made that Wilson is one of the league’s biggest sleeping giants heading into the 2025 season. After all, two years ago Wilson caught 95 passes in an abysmal offense. Last year, he caught 101 passes while NFL fans wondered why Rodgers wasn’t targeting him enough.

He’s posted three straight 1,000-yard seasons with nearly 300 receptions and 14 touchdowns to his name. Shouldn’t there be more hype about his fourth season, in what is effectively a contract year for him?

ESPN’s Ben Solak sees more for Wilson in 2025, giving a soft prediction, which he calls a "nagging suspicion", that the former Buckeye will not just have a great season with Gang Green, he’ll lead the league in receiving yards.

It’s funny that Solak marked this section of his ‘100 Days to the 2025 NFL Season’ piece as his 'intrusive thoughts'. Sure, some may scoff at the idea that Wilson would make such a jump, but Solak came with a solid argument in three simple points:

• “Garrett Wilson is the best receiver Justin Fields has played with in his NFL career.

• “Wilson is the WR1 with the biggest gap in quality between him and his WR2 in the entire league.

• “Wilson has played mostly on hard mode (a lot of press coverage, downfield routes, contested balls, etc.), and new coordinator Tanner Engstrand will prioritize getting him easier targets.”
  

All of these are easy statements to get behind. There is the whole Justin Fields aspect since that former Buckeye has struggled early in his NFL career, but the two were teammates at Ohio State, so the chemistry is already there.

Still, leading the league in receiving yards is no easy feat. Since 2021, the league’s leading receiver has topped 1,700 yards. Only two receivers, Tyreek Hill in 2022 and CeeDee Lamb in 2023, topped that number without leading the league.

While Wilson does consistently hit the 1,000-yard mark, last season was his career high at 1,104, besting his rookie season by a single yard. Even with those three points Solak pointed out working in Wilson’s favor, it’s tough, though not impossible, to find those extra 600 yards he’d likely need to pull it off.