Jets defensive back Kyle Wilson has started to play better...

Jets defensive back Kyle Wilson has started to play better after an inconsistent start to the season. Credit: Getty Images

Rex Ryan offered up six magic words that have to be music to Kyle Wilson's ears.

"Kyle may play more this week," Ryan said.

The rookie CB has been buried deep on the bench and depth chart after his initial early season struggles. Drew Coleman had leap frogged him in the rotation and slid into Wilson's starting nickel spot. However, Coleman hasn't been as sharp of late as he was when he first took over, and the Jets appear ready to turn things back over to their first-round pick. 

"I think the way he’s practiced," Ryan said, "he’s had some good weeks in a row and I think he’s ready to take on more. The last couple of weeks, he’s only had two or three plays on defense. He should play more than that and this week he will play more than that."

Ryan feels Wilson's confidence is back, and he can see using him more in nickel and dime situations. Wilson said he's "just kind of calmed down a little bit, but still just focusing on everything and just trying to get better."

Wilson's problems mainly stemmed from ball awareness and technique. He wasn't playing the ball and had trouble getting his head around in time before it arrived.

But he's been watching film with DB coach Dennis Thurman after practice and now has a better idea of how teams are trying to attack him.

Was his decreased playing time frustrating?

"I try to look at it positively," Wilson said. "It can obviously be taken the wrong way, which wouldn't be beneficial to me as a player. I definitely looked at it positively and took it the best way I could. I just studied more, worked that much harder and I think I’ve gotten that much smarter."

Of course, Wilson is also struggling in the punt return department. He's been unsure of himself at times and isn't as aggressive as special teams coordinator Mike Westhoff wants him to be.

Wilson fumbled during a punt return in the first quarter of Sunday's win in Detroit, coughing the ball up when he got drilled by LB Landon Johnson at the Jets' 28. Luckily, FB John Conner recovered at their 33 and the Jets kept the ball.

"I was disappointed," Westhoff said. "Frankly, I was hoping he’d break through on that one and he caught it exactly where we wanted. That’s the type of play you’ll see sometimes where the guy catches it and not only gets tackled and fumbles the ball, but he explodes through for the big one. I was disappointed in that, but we’ll just keep going with it.

"He caught it pretty good and it looked like he was going to hit it. He just danced a little tiny bit and the guy got a piece of it and a piece of him. You can’t lose the ball. I was very disappointed in that. But he’s still going to get his opportunities, and I’m hoping, I’m hoping. You have to explode through there. It’s not like you have big freakin' I-95 to run down. You've got to get through there and he didn't do it. It's disappointing.

"He’ll continue to get chances. He works hard every day and we’ll give him that opportunity."

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