Jets' Nathaniel Hackett believes offense has lot more to give

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. —  Yes, the Jets have had a fine start to this season. Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett is not going to sniff at a unit that has scored three touchdowns in each of its first three games.

In his next breath, however, Hackett stressed that there have been plays left on the field and that the unit he is responsible for has not reached its full capability. Not even close.

“There’s so much more that’s still out there that we can capitalize on,” Hackett said. “The expectation is to score touchdowns and a lot of them, and that’s what we’re hunting.”

So the assignments for Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium against the Denver Broncos are clear: Finish drives. Score touchdowns. Put as many points as possible on the scoreboard.

Entering the matchup against their old AFL rivals, the Jets (2-1) have scored 67 points in three games, an average of 22.3 points per game, which ranks 12th in the NFL.

Of the Jets’ nine touchdowns, six have come in the passing game and three on the ground. Breece Hall (two rushing, one receiving) and Allen Lazard (three receiving) are tied for the team lead with three each. They are followed by Braelon Allen with two (one rushing, one receiving), and Garrett Wilson, whose first touchdown of the season came in the Jets’ 24-3 win over the Patriots on Sept. 19.

If it sounds like a positive that the Jets are 60 minutes from their first 3-1 start since 2015 and that entering Sunday’s game against the Broncos (1-2), their big-play wide receiver has one touchdown, well, that’s because it is.

“The run game is performing really well,” coach Robert Saleh said before listing individual offensive players whose play in the dismantling of the Patriots stood out to him. “[Tyler] Conklin got involved. Mike Williams got involved. Lazard’s been having a good season so far and even [Xavier] Gipson got a couple.

“ . . . If we’re in a position where we can get some one-on-ones with Conk, Mike, Lazard, Breece, Braelon and Gibson, [Malachi] Corley, whoever’s out there, I think we feel good about our chances of winning.”

One of the reasons that the Jets’ other playmakers have had those one-on-one opportunities is because opponents are game-planning for Wilson.

The third-year wide receiver from Ohio State has 15 catches for 150 yards after recording 83 catches for 1,103 yards in 2022 and 95 catches for 1,042 yards in 2023.

Why the drop-off?

Essentially, opponents are covering Wilson with a cornerback and a safety, which is a double-edged sword. Certainly, having two players shadow Wilson all over the field limits the opportunities he has to make plays. However, it does allow Aaron Rodgers to play pitch-and-catch with the Jets’ other receivers and backs.

Nine players have recorded at least one catch in the three games. Hall leads the Jets with 16 receptions. Wilson’s 150 receiving yards ranks first on the team, as does Conklin’s 15.6 yards-per-catch average.

“A solid offense is when a lot of people are touching the football,” Hackett said. “You never want one person to be the true focal point. You want the defense to have to be able to cover everyone, and that’s just going to free more people up to get big plays.”

That’s all reasonable. Nevertheless, the Jets did not use the 10th pick in the 2022 draft on a decoy receiver. The thinking was that Wilson would be the big-play pass-catching threat they have lacked since Brandon Marshall.

While those in positions of responsibility believe that it is just a matter of time before Wilson has a showcase performance, he acknowledged that averaging 10 yards per catch through three games is irksome.

“I pride myself on making plays and stuff like that. Doing what I do,” he said. “But if they want to give me that [corner with a safety high] look, we got to handle it the best way we can handle it. That means the other side of the field is low in numbers, so we have to take advantage.”

Yet it is something of a balancing act. Saleh, Hackett and Rodgers do want to get Wilson involved early in the game but also want to avoid locking in on him at the expense of the Jets’ other skill position players.

“It’s a process,” said Rodgers, who is 321 passing yards away from becoming the ninth quarterback in NFL history to throw for 60,000 yards. “You’ve got to try and put him in situations where he can be the No. 1 in the progression, which he is a lot, and then mix up the looks. We’ve got to do a lot of things to get him a chance to get moving. We’d like to get the ball to him early. It’s just a process. He’s got to be patient. We’ve got to be patient. We can’t force it.”