Aaron Rodgers confirmed what we all thought to be true: through the first three weeks of the season, opposing defensive coordinators have committed to stopping Garrett Wilson. 

You can’t really stop someone like Wilson, your best hope is to slow him down. Through the first three weeks of the season Wilson has caught 15 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown.

But when defences are keying in on one player it opens up opportunities for others.

Tyler Conklin may not get all the plaudits on a weekly basis but the former Minnesota Viking has been one of the key contributors through the first three weeks of the season. 

In the week two win against the Tennessee Titans it was his blocking in focus, as he sealed the outside on a long gain by Breece Hall. Although he only recorded a single reception for 10 yards, he was a key part of the team that walked out of Music City with a victory. 

Last week, we saw Tyler Conklin the receiver as he worked his way to a career best 93 yards on 5 receptions, having put up a season’s best 621 receiving yards in 2023. The next stage is ensuring he takes a few trips to the endzone, somewhere he hasn’t been for the Jets since week 8 of the 2022 season – a stat that is hard to believe. 

If teams are going to continue to try to take Garrett Wilson away – and there’s no reason they shouldn’t considering #5 is one of the best receivers in the NFL – then Conklin will continue to play a key part.

Head Coach Robert Saleh spoke about Rodgers’ mind operating at a high level, and the Jets QB has identified the tendency of opposing defences to play cover-2 to prevent explosive plays down the sideline to the Jets big-play receivers, but that leaves space in the middle.

If you can isolate your tight end against linebackers, and your tight end is as effective as Conklin, good things are going to happen. He can beat his man, like below, or find the right spot by getting in behind, like above.

53 tight ends caught a pass in week three, but only two forced more than one missed tackle by the defence. Noah Fant in Seattle was one, Tyler Conklin was the other. 

Conklin also possesses some of the safest hands in the NFL from the TE position. Through 101 games, Conklin has a drop percentage of just 3.5%. That’s 8 drops on 301 targets. 

Last year, 23 tight ends earned at least 60 targets, but only one player (Cole Kmet 1.4%) had a better drop percentage than Tyler Conklin’s 1.6%. 

With Rodgers calling the shots and so many new faces on the offence, it’s going to take time to develop in-game chemistry. Look back to the Green Bay Packers 2020 season and you’ll see a 600+ yard and 12 touchdown season for tight end Robert Tonyan, so if the player is right and the playcalling is right, the TE position can be very fruitful with #8 slinging the football. 

Conklin showcased what he can do, now there needs to be some consistency within the game plan and performance. But you listen to any interview Conklin has ever given, and you get the impression that personal accolades don’t interest him. So if he has to block and leave the touchdowns to everyone else, you get the impression he’s fine with that as long as the Jets are winning football games, and right now the Jets are winning football games. 

When asked about his performance he diverted the accolades to Aaron Rodgers saying: “A couple of those situations were scramble drills. I was just trying to do my best to get open for him. All I had to do was catch the ball. He made it pretty easy on me.”