Jets' Kyle Wilson makes interception (Farrell)

Cornerback Kyle Wilson says the time is now for the Jets' secondary to improve.

(Tim Farrell/The Star-Ledger)

NORTH CALDWELL -- Kyle Wilson may not be concerned about whether he has an opportunity to start at one of the Jets' outside cornerback positions.

But thanks to this offseason's additions—drafting safety Calvin Pryor, cornerbacks Dexter McDougle and Brandon Dixon, and signing free agent Dimitri Patterson—Wilson thinks the Jets' secondary simply has to improve.

"We have to get better," Wilson said Thursday at the Green Brook Country Club, where he took part in Jets linebacker David Harris's annual charity golf tournament, which benefits the Give the Kids Hope Foundation.

Getting better might be easier said than done for the Jets' defensive backfield. While Pryor certainly has the ability to be an impact player, McDougle missed most of his senior season with an injury, Dixon played against Division II competition and seems raw, and Patterson is a journeyman now playing for his sixth team since 2005, including two stints each with the Browns and Dolphins.

There's no question the Jets' secondary can improve, and that general manager John Idzik took steps to address some needs with the unit, even though he missed on landing a top-shelf free agent corner.

Whether the corners and safeties can improve as a unit is another matter altogether. Football Outsiders ranked the Jets—as a unit, not just the secondary—18th in the NFL last season in pass defense efficiency.

The Jets have since cut cornerback Antonio Cromartie, who played through a hip injury for much of 2013. But Wilson, a 2010 first-round draft pick who played only 42 percent of the team's defensive snaps last season, mostly in the slot or in nickel packages, thinks there's no other option but to get better.

"It’s just time to do it," Wilson said. "I think we’ve got great chemistry with everybody in the room. We’ve got some young guys, but a lot of guys have experience. I think we’re set up to do well. It’s upon us. We don’t have any room for excuses, because everybody’s been in situations and we know what to do. It’s just time to go out there and do it."