FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Garrett Wilson got a call from Davante Adams during the offseason more than a year ago to let him know he was in New York City and invited the Jets wide receiver to join him and some friends for dinner.
Wilson happened to be in the area — “a fluke,” Adams called it — so he jumped at the opportunity to break bread and break down some football with a player he always strived to emulate on the field.
“I mean, little did we know that this is what it was going to come to at that time,” Wilson recalled Thursday. “You know, you can obviously hope. We threw it out there that you might play together and then all of the sudden, it came full circle and here we are.”
New York acquired Adams from Las Vegas on Oct. 15, reuniting the three-time All-Pro with Aaron Rodgers, his friend and quarterback for eight seasons in Green Bay. Adams was traded to the Raiders during the 2022 offseason, and Rodgers was dealt to the Jets a year later.
“Really, I was just trying to pick his brain about Aaron and talk about his connection,” Wilson said. "He’s one of my favorite players, man, growing up, and he knows that. And I wasn’t shy to tell him that when I first met him at that dinner. And I think just because of that and the way he felt about my game, we really had an enlightening convo for me.
“And he was able to drop a lot of knowledge on me. So with him being here now is just taking the next step.”
Off the field, and on.
In the second half of a 21-13 win over Houston last week, Wilson and Adams combined to dazzle the crowd at MetLife Stadium and give a big-time glimpse of what they might be able to do as a dynamic duo.
Exactly as they once envisioned.
“One hundred percent, yeah,” Adams said.
Wilson caught nine passes for 90 yards, including two one-handed touchdowns — one of which has been compared to the greatest NFL grabs of all time. Adams, who missed a few games with Las Vegas because of a hamstring injury, had seven receptions for 91 yards and his first TD in three games with the Jets.
“I knew the whole time it wasn’t necessarily going to happen in the Pittsburgh game,” Adams said of his debut with the Jets on Oct. 20, when he had three catches for 30 yards. "You've got to learn to play with each other. And that comes from the top, the coaches figuring out which plays to call and how to space out plays for different guys throughout the game. And obviously working with Aaron as well. So it takes time.
“But it was something that people were a little impatient about wanting to see. Now I know I feel a lot more comfortable. And hopefully now this is where we can kind of take off as an offense and get some consistency.”
Wilson was selected the AFC offensive player of the week and leads the NFL with 60 receptions and 94 targets. In three games with the Jets, Adams has 14 catches for 175 yards and a TD.
“Every day I come in, I’m thankful to be able to have someone like that, that I can pick their brain and just see how they go about their business, watching practice and really just steal moves, man,” Wilson said. “That boy’s cold. And it’s been like that for a long time and stuff like that doesn’t happen by accident.”
And neither does developing a rapport with the quarterback.
With their next touchdown connection, Rodgers and Adams will tie Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown for the fourth-most TDs by a quarterback-wide receiver duo in regular-season and playoff games with 78.
Meanwhile, Wilson and Rodgers are off to a nice start together this season after struggling a bit early to establish their on-field rapport.
“If I’m his favorite receiver, it’s because of the details and the things that I put in, which obviously he’s interested in learning because it’ll only help him in his career as well,” Adams said of Wilson. "It’s real synonymous, this game is. You see that sometimes the guy that’s the icon ends up being a fan of the young guy and the reverse.
“So it’s fun to work with him and to see him work every day. And I’m definitely looking for this continuing.”
As for Wilson, whose second touchdown catch ended up on highlight reels as well as on black T-shirts that were given out to players this week by the team, he has a simple plan for an encore to his huge game when New York plays at Arizona on Sunday.
"Hopefully just a dub," a smiling Wilson said. “You know, we've got to find a way to stack some wins.”
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Dennis Waszak Jr., The Associated Press
