The restaurant is similar to many other restaurants in New Jersey. Garrett Wilson has high expectations as he climbs out of an idle SUV This is Sopranos country, after all, where no-nonsense menus and bustling service await every eager lunch patron.
“You know it’s good when the police eat here,” Wilson said, gesturing to a police car parked outside the Hackensack restaurant. Wilson walked inside, where he was quickly greeted by a long sit-down counter, checkered floor and the sound and smell of sizzling meat.
In last year’s whirlwind of a rookie season, Wilson established himself as a standout — a young, dynamic Jets wide receiver with the kind of sticky hands not seen since days by Keyshawn Johnson. Jets Coach Robert Saleh described Wilson as a “juicy route-runner,” one who finds open space because of his sharp breaks and injuries. “He’s so strong that when he runs his routes, he looks like he can break four different ways and he gets people on his heels,” Saleh said.
He did not, in his debut year, stop at a signature New Jersey restaurant.
Wilson, 23, has lived his life around football, choosing to live a short drive from the Jets’ facility in Florham Park, NJ, and, in an unusual move for a new pro, lived without family members or friends as roommates.
“The reality of it is, that stuff is a distraction,” he said. “I have a big family, so when I bring my family home, all of a sudden, I get six people in the house and six different thoughts in the house, who want, maybe want to go out today day, maybe want to have someone on this day.
But that unpredictability entered the field last year, as the Jets shuffled Zach Wilson, Joe Flacco and Mike White at quarterback. (And who can forget the irresistible Chris Streveler?)
Garrett Wilson, selected by the organization with the 10th overall pick in the 2022 draft, is a reliable target no matter who lobs him the ball, spirals or flutters. He listened to the veteran officiating, adjusted as defenses depended on him, and earned first downs on 56 of his 83 receptions. His 83 receptions and 1,103 yards helped him become the first Jet to earn offensive rookie of the year honors.
“He’s one of those guys that’s really motivated,” Saleh said of Wilson. “He’s got a big head on his shoulders. Everything for him is balls, all day, every day, and he’s just one of those kids, all he does in life is to be the best version of himself every day.
The Jets surged before stumbling and falling out of the playoff race. When the Sacramento Kings clinched an NBA playoff spot in March, the Jets’ 12-year postseason drought became the longest in all four major men’s North American professional sports. But Aaron Rodgers saw enough in the Jets to redeem himself from the Packers, who in the past drew the ire of the quarterback for not drafting a young receiver like Wilson.
In Green Bay, Rodgers previously formed a dynamic pairing with Davante Adams, the receiver who was named All-Pro in 2020 and 2021, seasons in which Rodgers won the Most Valuable Player Award. Wilson and Adams have the same jersey number and possibly more.
“Davante is in a class by himself,” Rodgers said. “But that 17 reminds me of the other 17.”
Adams, entering his second year with the Las Vegas Raiders, chimed in after Rodgers and Wilson connected at a training camp reception. Rodgers, scrambling, found Wilson in the back of the end zone. Wilson, his back turned to Rodgers, plucked the ball out of the sky with his right hand before collapsing to the ground. “This 2 bouta act up this year,” commented Adams in a social media repost of the video.
A waitress approached Wilson’s booth. He ordered a chicken wrap.
No one in the dining room knew the new star, the key player to unlock the many expectations surrounding the Jets led by Rodgers. Dressed in a Lifted Research Group T-shirt and Billionaire Boys Club shorts, Wilson said he now understands the apathy of fans in the New York area. “Maybe they saw Leonardo DiCaprio 30 minutes ago walking by so they don’t study me,” he said.
Wilson arrived at the restaurant after an appearance at nearby Hackensack High School, where he surprised its football team by donating equipment and helping design an alternate jersey. The teenagers, who were amused by the thought that they were sitting in another film session, were moving inside the auditorium when their coach, Brett Ressler, invited Wilson from backstage.
Wilson, wearing their jersey, blends in between them, and soon the teenagers have him pinned against a far wall, coverage more comfortable than most defensive backs have done in last season, asked him about the Jets and Rodgers. A couple boasted that they could defend Wilson.
He just smiled, posed and agreed to go to one of the team’s games this fall.
Although he grew up in a large family, with three older brothers and a younger sister, Wilson was most at ease with himself, alone with his thoughts and with his dog. , Melo, a Shiba Inu named in honor of the former Knicks star. He listened to Sade and Marvin Gaye on his way to training camp as he settled in for the day.
The waitress dropped Wilson’s package. “That was taken for granted,” he said. “Thank you.”
Wilson recalls an inspiring trip when, as a 12-year-old, he flew from Columbus, Ohio, to Austin, Texas, alone to join his father, Kenny, who was starting a new work there. His older brothers are either about to start college or out of school, and his mother, Candace, stays in Ohio with his sister for a while, but Garrett goes to football practices on his own. spring.
The boy thought he would never make another friend, that leaving Ohio meant his life was over. Most days Garrett hangs out at the hotel while Kenny works.
“When you tell him to do something, he does it,” Kenny said. “He followed the instructions. We know he is where he is said to be. “
His dad remembers being amazed to see that while he was gone, Garrett was collecting fruit and candy from the staff he lured to the pool during the day.
Garrett Wilson likes to think he played a part in luring Rodgers, the four-time MVP, to New Jersey. In March, he and the other second-year Jets, Sauce Gardner and Breece Hall, recorded a pitch video to Rodgers showing them burning the cheesehead, the symbol of Packers fandom.
“He’s very brainy and very smart and knows the ball to the point where whatever he tells you to do on that field is the right thing to do,” Wilson said of Rodgers at the luncheon. “And a lot of times it’s about the ball. We haven’t graduated to the point where we’re going to talk about anything, but I’d love for us to reach out.”
“He saw something in us,” added Wilson. “He’s Aaron Rodgers. I trusted what he saw. I trust his eyes.”
He also trusted her. Wilson began to pick up his cock, revealing a lewd trespasser from it.
Long hair?
“Nah, like a little scruff,” Wilson said. “I prefer long hair. Now I have to guess what it is. You see there? It’s curled though.
He chose fries. The waitress came back.
“Do you need a box or something?” he asked.
Wilson, kindly, respectfully, said that his food was not liked even though he moved the wrapper away.
Expectations are sometimes dashed, as the Jets have been many times. Wilson, with Rodgers as a slinging mate, hopes to change that.
Santul Nerkar contributed reporting from Florham Park, NJ