Ranking the AFC East WR rooms: Where do Garrett Wilson and the NY Jets rank?

2. New York Jets

The depth chart: superstar third-year receiver Garrett Wilson leads the way with veteran deep threat Mike Williams and second-year man Xavier Gipson penciled in as the starters so far. Rookie receiver Malachi Corley, free agent bust Allen Lazard, and second-year man Jason Brownlee round out the room.

Despite winning the Offensive Rooke of the Year award in 2022, and repeating his stellar performance in 2023, Wilson is still slept on as an elite receiver outside of the Gang Green faithful. He tallied 83 catches for 1,103 yards in 2022 and 95 catches for 1,042 yards in 2023, all with putrid, league-worst QB play in that two-year stretch.

2023's performance was that much more impressive considering the rest of the receiver room was a black hole of talent. Pro Football Focus ranked Wilson the 14th-best receiver in the league, noting that his 22 broken tackles were second to only Deebo Samuel.

With Aaron Rogers back and Mike Williams as his running mate, expect Wilson to shoot up into the upper echelon of production.

Williams should excite fans for two reasons. One, he's an explosive playmaker downfield and in the contested catch game who is one of the best No. 2 receivers in the league. And two, his skillset is the perfect complement to Wilson's.

Williams' ability as a deep threat opens up the intermediate area of the field for Wilson, which is where the latter thrives with his Gumby-like ability to make cuts and bounce off defenders to breaking tackles and generating yards after the catch. His contested-catch ability offsets the only real weakness in Wilson's game.

Together, as long as Williams is and stays healthy, they can be a dynamic duo that's among the best in the NFL. Right now, the No. 3 wideout spot behind them is up for grabs, and the frontrunner may surprise you.

It's not highly-touted third-round pick Malachi Corley leading the way but rather second-year UDFA Xavier Gipson who's the current favorite to start in the slot. Gipson was a training camp darling on Hard Knocks last season and electrified Jets fans with a walk-off punt return touchdown to seal the victory on the bittersweet 2023 opener.

Gipson didn't maintain that magic though. He struggled at times as a returner, and as a receiver, he finished with just 21 catches for 229 yards and no touchdowns. The buzz this spring is that his route running has been sharper and he's been making plays, so he'll be one to follow during training camp.

Rookie Malachi Corley has some big fans in the organization. The Western Kentucky product is built like a running back and plays with violence not commonly seen at the receiver position. The "YAC King's" style could be the perfect fit in the offense.

There are some questions though. The vast majority of his targets in college came at or near the line of scrimmage so he'll have to prove he can actually run routes at the NFL level. He also played against inferior competition in college, making the jump to the NFL that much more difficult. As with all rookies, he's a relative unknown until the season actually starts.

Allen Lazard may go down as one of the biggest free agency busts in team history. His 2023 performance led to a couple of benchings and has some believing he can't even be counted on as reliable depth. The hope is that he returns to form with Rodgers, but the spring results have been mixed thus far.

Jason Brownlee rounds out the room as another former UDFA looking to carve out a career. He dazzled with numerous highlight real catches in training camp last season but only tallied five catches for 56 yards when called upon in the regular season.

He may be an important backup though, because at 6-foot-2 and with his potential as a contested-catch target he might be the primary Mike Williams insurance as the rest of the room is either too small (Gipson, Corley) or too inefficient (Lazard) to fill that role.

There are a lot of questions with this revamped group which makes it hard to raise them higher. If Williams is healthy and productive and the rest of the room meets or exceeds expectations this could end up being the best unit in the division. If not, it won't fall below second place simply because Wilson is just that good.