Zach Wilson was taken by the New York Jets with the No. 2 overall pick. As is typically the case when a franchise selects a quarterback that high in the draft, expectations for the former BYU standout were high coming in.
To say that he hasn’t met them thus far would be an understatement.
Things got off to a bad start from the very beginning, when Wilson found himself as the last un-signed first round pick long after everyone else had already inked their deals.
When an agreement was eventually reached and Wilson finally got to practice, things only got worse. He struggled badly with accuracy, decision-making and just about everything else in his first session, and things didn’t improve much in subsequent practices.
It got to the point where the 22-year-old was getting routinely outperformed by Mike White and James Morgan – which kind of speaks for itself.
This week, Wilson got brutally honest about his struggles thus far.
This is a great answer and perspective on *practice* pic.twitter.com/x5bPCH7Si8
— Connor Rogers (@ConnorJRogers) August 11, 2021
“You know, I can’t be afraid to make mistakes in practice,” he said. “This isn’t a game so this is where I learn what I can get away with and what I can’t. There’s times in a game where I probably wouldn’t throw that, but [in practice] I’ll say ‘lemme try right here and see what I can get away with.’”
That said, Wilson also acknowledged that he understands his responsibility is to avoid turnovers.
“Taking care of the football is a quarterback’s job and one of my goals when I came out here was just like ‘how can I adapt to this NFL game as quickly as I can?’” he added.
Yikes. https://t.co/r0HoFoJE9h
— Game 7 (@game7__) August 10, 2021
Up to this point, Wilson’s mom’s wild antics have stolen most of the headlines as they pertain to him. But that’s done now. From here on out, he will sink or swim with the New York media based on his own merits.
Will Wilson be able to step up and meet the lofty expectations set for him? Time will tell.
Related: Kyle Kuzma’s Gets Brutally Honest About LeBron’s Impact On Career
A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
