NY Jets’ underrated receiver turning heads at training camp

In the New York Jets’ offense this season, Garrett Wilson will be the “top dog” in the receiver room.

The former Offensive Rookie of the Year is fresh off a four-year extension, and he is the first receiver in Jets history to record three straight 1,000-yard seasons in his first three years with the team.

How New York handles the receiver room outside of Wilson, though, is a big question mark.

The Jets have plenty of veterans and young standouts competing for quality playing time during training camp. Josh Reynolds has experience in the Jets’ offensive scheme, Arian Smith is a fourth-round rookie, and Allen Lazard is the elder statesman of the room.

There is one other receiver in the mix for quality time in New York’s offense.

And he has all the tools to be an underrated piece to their 2025 puzzle.

Tyler Johnson Stands Out at Jets Camp

When Tyler Johnson signed his free agent deal with the Jets this offseason, he understood what he was walking into. New York had signed Justin Fields to be their starting quarterback, beginning a transition to a run-first offense.

Johnson understands, as do Gang Green’s other wideouts, that targets will be hard to come by in this scheme.

That doesn’t mean the former Los Angeles Ram isn’t turning heads.

Speaking to reporters after Monday’s practice, Jets head coach Aaron Glenn spoke about how pleased he was with Johnson’s production to this point, and when he knew the veteran could be an important piece to his offense.

“The first thing I remember about Tyler was a playoff game, we were playing against him… He ran another shallow crosser, put his foot in the ground, redirected, and I think he gained like 60 yards,” Glenn said. “That in itself just shows his ability to be able to feel like where DBs are at, and I thought he was smart, understood exactly where to sit in zone, how to create leverage in man.”

The moment Glenn was hired to be the head coach of the Jets, he knew what kind of player he wanted at each position.

Luckily for him, Johnson fit all of those requirements.

“He might not be the fastest guy, he might not be the quickest guy, but sometimes when you’re as smart as he is, man, you can create things that other guys with all that speed and agility can’t,” Glenn said.

Johnson has never recorded a season in which he caught over 40 passes or for over 400 yards. He has been used sparingly in his five-year career with the Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Houston Texans.

He should be well prepared for the kind of passing offense New York is expected to go through.

In his four-year career, Fields has recorded an average of around 432 passing attempts per 17 starts. Garrett Wilson averages around 156 targets per season. That leaves 276 targets to go around for the rest of New York’s pass catchers.

If the tight end position (a group Fields has a history of preferring) records around 100 targets as a collective, that leaves under 170 targets for the wide receivers and running backs.

That could result in fewer than 40 targets this season for Johnson…if he’s lucky.

The 26-year-old is ready for that kind of system, though. He knows that, with limited targets, he will need to make the most of them to continue on with his career.

And that is precisely what he is doing at training camp.